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Conserve Outside |
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| Soil (Compost / Mulch) |
| Introduction |
| Build healthy soil to create a healthy, easier-to-care-for garden that needs less water and chemicals. Adding compost and using mulch helps the soil hold water and nutrients, and helps plants grow deep roots, resist diseases, and look good year 'round. |
| >> Download the Growing Healthy Soil (pdf) guide to learn more. |
| How To's |
In the Growing Healthy Soil guide, you'll learn how to:
- Get to know your soil - dig in and take a look for thatch, compaction, or other soil problems you can fix.
- Enrich your soil with compost when planting
- Mulch your plantings - save water and control weeds
- Use organic fertilizers - for cleaner streams and healthier lawns and gardens
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| Tools |
| Compost Calculator - How Much Compost Do You Need? |
| Compost Bins
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Resources |
| The Garden Hotline |
| For free copies of these guides, or answers to your questions, call (206) 633-0224 or e-mail help@gardenhotline.org.
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| Natural Lawn & Garden Guides |
- Natural Yard Care (pdf): Read this introduction to the whole series first, then get more detail in the seven guides below. A Spanish translation of the Natural Yard Care guide is also avaiable. View El Cuidado Natural del Jardin (pdf) or see translated summaries in 14 languages on the Seattle Public Utilities website.
- Growing Healthy Soil (pdf): Learn about using compost and mulch in your lawn, garden, and perennial beds.
- Composting at Home (pdf): Compost yard waste or kitchen scraps to make your own soil-building amendment.
- Choosing the Right Plants (pdf): Choose plants that will thrive in your yard, and need less water and chemicals.
- The Plant List (pdf): 240 plants to meet your garden's needs.
- Smart Watering (pdf): Grow healthier lawns and gardens by giving plants just enough water, but not too much.
- Natural Pest, Weed & Disease Control (pdf): Save money and reduce chemical risk, with these "natural" tips.
- Natural Lawn Care (pdf): Learn about mowing, fertilizing, watering, and more... for a healthy, easy-care lawn.
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| Other brochures, resources, and links |
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Water Right, Waste Less (pdf): You can develop a beautiful landscape that will thrive with fewer resources - including much less water - by following some basic steps.
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| Get to Know Your Soil (pdf) - learn to identify and solve soil problems, and how to water to reach plants' roots. |
Choosing a Nursery or Landscape Professional |
| Find the tools, products, and professional services you need for a healthy yard. Learn more > |
Books |
| Let It Rot: The Gardener's Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell, Storey Books, 1988. |
| The Mulch Book: A Complete Guide for Gardeners by Stu Campbell, and Donna Moore (Editor), Storey Books, 1991. |
| The Rodale Book of Composting edited by Deborah Martin and Grace Gershuny, Rodate Press, 1992. |
| Soil Biology Primer by the Soil & Water Conservation Society. Order from 800-THE-SOIL. |
| Start With the Soil: The Organic Gardener's Guide to Improving Soil for Higher Yields, More Beautiful Flowers, and a Healthy, Easy-Care Garden by Grace Gershuny, Rodale Press, 1997. |
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