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Whatever You Do, Don’t Put Coffee Grounds in Your Garden

There’s nothing like eating veggies you grew in your own garden. But gardening is a big investment: there’s the daily watering, the careful pest control, and the delicate process of keeping the soil chemistry just right. The internet is full of ways you can make gardening easier and cheaper, but some methods are too good to be true. No matter what the gardening blogs tell you, leave the spent coffee grounds alone. They’re bad news for your garden.

We get it: It feels good to do something with your morning coffee waste besides throwing it in the garbage. The gardeners who write about it aren’t wrong when they say it’s full of soil-friendly nutrients like nitrogen, which is essential for plant growth. Generally, adding organic material to the soil is good for your garden, since bacteria will feed on it and break it down into more nutrients the plants can use.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.discovery.com/science/Coffee-Grounds-in-Your-Garden

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Gardening column: Big tips on fertilizing your garden

I don’t know if fertilizer is flying off the shelves yet, but I am guessing a few more people might be interested in gardening this year … you know … stocking up!

Growing your own produce is fun and eating it fresh from the garden is rewarding. Growing organically remains popular — so much so that each generation seems to think they invented it!

Regardless whether you garden flowers, veggies or manage turf — using the least amount of inputs is always best.

The two broad groups of garden products are synthetic (human-made), chemical types or organic/natural based chemicals. Both are chemicals.

For example, the chemical composition for bone meal, a natural product can range from 10-30% phosphorus, depending on the type of bones and methods used to process it. Products used as organic fertilizers are usually available separately, so you can mix up your own concoction.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/lifestyles/gardening-column-big-tips-on-fertilizing-your-garden/article_1f83e760-67f8-11ea-998f-9fc94aab9627.html