Homegrown Elixirs: DIY Formulas for Eco-Friendly Gardeners
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In the spirit of eco-friendly gardening, we present a practical guide for home gardeners in 2020. This comprehensive approach encompasses raised garden beds, natural fertilizers, composting, and essential tools to make your gardening experience more productive and sustainable.
Raised Garden Beds
For home gardeners, the following options are recommended:
- The Vego Garden Elevated Garden Bed comes in sizes from 4' to 8' long and 2' wide, featuring a built-in storage rack and a sturdy design that makes for easy gardening without the need for excessive bending [1].
- The Cedar Complete Raised Garden Bed Kit (12' x 8' x 20") offers a large planting area with untreated cedar construction, fencing to keep pests out, and a gate for accessibility, ideal for growing enough vegetables for a family [3].
- Building your own raised bed using untreated cedar lumber is also a good option; cedar is naturally rot resistant, and garden beds of about 4’ x 8’ are common and manageable [5].
Additionally, the Natural Cedar L-Shaped Raised Garden Beds are available in various sizes, providing a versatile option for your home garden [6].
Composters and Composting
For soil amendment, using well-aged compost is highly recommended. You can integrate compost into raised beds as part of the soil mixture for nutrients and healthy soil microbes [2]. Making compost tea is an effective fertilizer: steep high-quality compost in water with added aeration and stimulants like molasses or seaweed extract, then use as a liquid fertilizer to boost plant growth [4].
The Worm Factory 360 Composter is another option, offering a continuous composting system suitable for both household and garden waste [7]. The Stainless Steel Compost Keeper is a product mentioned in the article, useful for maintaining your compost [8].
Fertilizers
Organic amendments like well-aged compost, biochar, mycorrhizal fungi inoculants, cover crop residues, and rock dust are excellent for raised beds, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers while supporting soil health [2]. Maintaining soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0 is ideal for most vegetables. To adjust pH, elemental sulfur can be used to lower pH; compost and organic mulches help maintain fertility [2].
The Corn Gluten Organic Fertilizer is a natural way to control weed growth, with a weight of 40 lbs and an 8-0-0 composition [9].
Gardening Tools
While specific tools aren't directly listed in the results, essential tools for raised bed gardening generally include:
- Hand trowel and cultivator
- Pruning shears
- Watering can or hose with adjustable nozzle
- Gloves and knee pads or cushions (especially useful with raised beds)
- Compost aerator or turning fork for compost maintenance
Additional Products
The Wildflower Farms Eco-Lawn Grass Seed is designed for eco-friendly lawns and available in a 5 lb package [10]. The Premium Drinking Water Safe Garden Hose is slim, 7/16" in diameter, and lightweight, making it easy to handle [11].
The Jora JK270 Composter can be used for composting kitchen waste and has a capacity of 9.5 cubic feet [12]. The Farmstead Raised Garden Bed is designed for easy assembly and maintenance [6]. The VegTrug Raised Garden Planter is made of natural wood [6].
This combined approach provides a practical, effective, and sustainable approach to home gardening with raised beds, natural fertilizers, and useful tools to improve ease and production. Using untreated cedar beds with good soil amendment practices and compost tea fertilization is particularly well-suited for home gardens [1][2][3][4][5].
This article was published on April 5, 2020, by Shannon Cowan [13].
Organic gardening is an essential part of the home-and-garden lifestyle, as evidenced by the use of natural, organic amendments like well-aged compost, biochar, mycorrhizal fungi inoculants, cover crop residues, and rock dust in raised bed gardens. Home gardeners can choose from various options for raised garden beds, such as the Vego Garden Elevated Garden Bed, the Cedar Complete Raised Garden Bed Kit, or building their own using untreated cedar lumber. Additionally, making compost tea is an effective organic fertilizer, while the Worm Factory 360 Composter is a suitable choice for both household and garden waste.
