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Creating Raised Bed Planters

Raised beds have become popular features in the home landscape. They are both functional and attractive and can be used to grow flowers, vegetables, and small fruits.

Learn how to build your own raised beds for use in vegetable gardens and other areas in the landscape.

Composting FAQs

Composting is the best way to dispose of your yard and garden wastes. Below are resources and frequently asked questions on composting.  

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Vermicomposting Frequently Asked Questions

Vermicomposting is composting with earthworms. It is becoming a popular alternative or addition to composting and has several benefits for home gardeners. Because the earthworms actually eat vegetable and fruit scraps, the scraps are degraded faster than in typical composting systems. Vermicomposting can also be done indoors throughout the winter, whereas typical composting slows or stops during the winter months. 

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How to Create and Use Vermicompost

Worm composting, or vermicomposting is often used for composting kitchen scraps. It is an appropriate option for a basement or other semi-heated indoor space.

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What types of material can be placed in a compost pile?

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Suitable materials for the compost pile include garden debris, leaves, grass clippings, straw, sawdust, and small twigs and branches. You can also add food scraps from produce items, such as apple cores, potato and banana peels, and melon rinds. Coffee grounds and eggshells can also be placed in the compost pile.

How do you construct a compost pile?

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When sufficient materials are on hand, build a pile that is at least 3 feet by 3 feet square and 3 feet in height, but no larger than 5 feet by 5 feet square and 5 feet in height. Use a mixture of garden debris, leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste. Build the compost pile in layers. Start with a 6-to-8-inch-layer of plant material topped with a 1-to-2-inch-layer of soil or previously made compost. Sprinkle 1 to 2 pints of a complete analysis fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, over each layer to supply nitrogen to the microbes. Barnyard manure may be used as an alternative to a commercial fertilizer. A 1-to-2-inch-layer of manure should be sufficient. Continue these layers until the compost pile is 3 to 5 feet in height.

Spring Garden Tasks

As winter fades and spring arrives, several things can be done to prepare the garden for the upcoming growing season.

Below are tips for the perennial garden, vegetable garden, annual containers, trees & shrubs, houseplants, and lawns.

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Using Manure in the Home Garden

Manure is the oldest fertilizer known to civilization and can be a cost-effective soil amendment with many beneficial qualities. Many gardeners feel manure is superior to synthetic products. Careful and appropriate use of manure, especially in vegetable gardens, is important. 

How To Change Your Soil's pH

Iowa soils are very diverse and so are the chemical characteristics that make up these soils.  Soil pH is one property that can vary widely across the state both naturally and due to how we manage the field or garden.  It is also one of the most cost effective and easy to manage soil properties that can be modified to improve plant health and crop production.

Learn about how to decrease and increase your soil pH below.

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