Kid Zone

Compost makers are where you find them. They may be either the people who make the compost or the equipment they use.

On a municipal or commercial level, compost makers will usually be large machinery. They may be something as simple as the bucket on a farm tractor that is used to pick up compost material and slowly slip it over the edge so as to mix and pile it or they could be as specialized as compost rotators that are essentially open ended tubes. The tube is set at about 5° off horizontal and material is dropped in the top. The tube slowly rotates and the the material is continually aerated and beaten smaller. Moisture content is closely monitored and the compost may be finished in as little as five days.

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Tags: bin, compost maker, composting, garden, gardening, humus, making, organic, pile, tumbler, turning

Compost piles are a feast for millions of microorganisms. Once the proper mix of food, moisture and air are available, the parties come to the feast and do their work. However, most of those who compost want it as fast as possible and some suppliers of garden materials tell us we need an accelerator or starter for the pile to make it work faster. They are only half right when it comes to an accelerator for the compost pile.

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Tags: bin, compost scce;erator, composting, garden, gardening, making, mulch, organic, pile, turning

No matter how much people try to encourage the wildlife to visit and live in their gardens there will always be occasions and/or parts of the garden where we do not welcome them. This being mainly when we are planting young seedlings or a crop of edible plants is getting close to harvest. So we have to strike a balance between encouraging the wildlife as well as being able to discourage them at other times or from certain particular places. There are four ways of protecting your plants or crop from the ravages of birds and animals; these methods include fences, scarers, covers and sprays. Here we will deal with suggestions for the last three of these ideas.

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Tags: animals, birds, cuttings, garden, gardening, plants, seedlings

The Chinese Elm is native to China, Korea, and northern Vietnam and was introduced to Japan as a tree that was ideal for bonsai. The Chinese elm makes a good bonsai tree for beginners because it is hardy and forgiving to pruning mistakes.

An interesting feature of the Chinese elm is that it has small tightly arranged leaves making it a good candidate for bonsai. The bark of the Chinese elm also varies from smooth to rough with unique and interesting textures. Bonsai that have a smoother bark need more care than a Chinese elm with a more rough bark and should be kept in mind when choosing a bonsai tree for beginners.

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Tags: bonsai, chinese, chinese elm bonsai, elm, garden, miniature, plant, tree

Hydroponics gardening becomes more and more popular these days. Some consider it miraculous. But what is hydroponics gardening after all? How does this system work? Why is it considered more convenient and more successful than classic gardening (geoponics)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of growing your own hydroponics garden? Here are some answers to the questions above.

With hydroponics you can grow plants (fruits, vegetables, flowers etc.) using water and mineral nutrients instead of soil. The idea behind hydroponics gardening is to provide the plants with all the nutrients they need to absorb, without using soil. Besides, soil is just a nutrient reservoir and its not critical to the plant growth.

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Tags: garden, gardening, geoponics, grow, hydroponics, nutrients, plants, soil, systems, techniques, water, watering