What is a dry garden?

Rain collectors are a vital part of dry gardening.

How do you grow a dry garden? That doesn't even sound feasible, does it? The term dry garden sounds like, but is not a garden grown completely without water. It simply uses techniques which allow the garden to be grown with the least amount of water possible.

Here are some tips for growing a productive, yet relatively dry garden:

*Use compost and mulch to help retain water in the dry garden. Mulch protects the dry garden soil from drying sun and wind. Composted soil holds water better than regular soil.

*Do not allow weeds to grow and compete with garden plants for water. Controlling weeds gives dry garden plants less competition and cuts water usage.

*Use rain water collectors. Collect rain water or direct it to the garden. Roof gutters can be directed into the dry garden with extensions.

*Reduce the number of garden plants. Less plants means less water competition. Most gardens produce more than the average family eats anyway.

*Loosen soil deeply. Start by digging up and overturning 12 inches with a garden spade. Use a hand tiller to deepen the loosening of the dry garden soil.

*Plant quick growth vegetables in the dry garden. Vegetables that mature quickly like radishes and lettuce will use less water in their lifetime than others.

*Space plants well away from each other. Consider watering plants by hand. Properly spaced plants do not compete for water in the dry garden.

*Harvest in a timely manner. Avoid leaving ripe vegetables in the dry garden. They will use more water the longer they are left unharvested.

*Aerate soil in the dry garden just as you would in the lawn. This allows water an avenue to reach the plants. Use worms, a hand aerator, or both.

*When watering the dry garden use water conserving methods. Consider container gardening, drip irrigation, a soaker-hose, or individual plant watering. Only the plants need water, not the whole garden.

Weeds reveal soil types

Many gardeners battle clay soil. I'm one of them. That doesn't mean all gardens have it. There are numerous ways to test soil. You can buy a test kit, do a clump test, or you can see what weeds are growing in your garden.

Weeds are just like any other type of plant.

They grow where conditions are right to support them. One of those conditions is the type of soil. Here's a short, handy guide to the type of weeds that thrive in different soils.

My experience:

When we moved into my home, our yard was filled with chicory, thistle, buttercups and sorrel. All of these weeds indicate clay content. A soil test confirmed it and also that the soil was quite poor, having been robbed of nutrients by the overwhelming weed growth.

I first decided to loosen and amend my huge back yard a little at a time for garden usage. Then, I decided to incorporate raised beds and containers with prepared soil from a local, trusted greenhouse.

Got ground ivy?

If so, your soil is likely wet and well drained. Ground ivy isn't very common here in Denver for good reason. Denver isn't known for wet weather or good drainage without soil amendment. Summers are hot and dry.

Cattails indicate wet, marshy or boggy soil.

You don't see many marshes here in Denver either, but they do exist. Usually they're found in parks at the edge of ponds. There are a few Denver properties with cattails, but it's pretty uncommon.

Hawk-weed loves dry soil.

Whatever type of soil you have, if it lacks water, hawk-weed may grow there. Still, it's less likely in clay soil. Sandy soil attracts hawk-weed because it dries out rapidly after the rain. This makes it an ideal home for hawk-weed at all times.

Clover thrives in low nutrient, heavily compacted soil.

If your clay soil has been neglected, or infrequently aerated, it will support clover and bindweed.

It's not often people consider the benefits of weeds.

Most of the time, we're just trying to annihilate them from our lawns and gardens. Before you do that this year, take the time to see what kind of weeds are growing in your garden. Weeds are the ultimate free soil test kit.

What fall practices get my vegetable garden ready for spring?

Fall comes every year in the 4 season garden. Preparing for spring gardening can start in the fall after everything has been harvested. Why not save yourself a little work by taking care of these tasks in cool weather? Use these fall gardening tips to get your vegetable garden spring ready.

Save those seeds

Save as many seeds and bulbs as possible from this years' vegetable crop. Why waste money on seeds next spring when you likely plant the same vegetables each year? One ear of corn will yield enough seeds for the entire garden next year. The same is true for most vegetables. Just save the seeds from one piece of produce per vegetable type and variety.

Bring it in

There are some plants that actually survive quite well indoors and can regrow in the spring. Why not save a little cash by experimenting with potting up some vegetables to grow indoors this fall? I'm told that tomatoes are actually a perennial plant when grown in warmer climates. Think about a greenhouse for winter storage as well.

Scrape it off and dump it out

Collect all that expensive mulch you purchased for the garden in the spring. Bag it up into plastic garbage bags to use next year. Dump out all the pots that held annuals right into the garden. These add to the soil and organic matter for the spring garden. Don't forget to remove the seeds to avoid unwanted spring growth.

Plow it under

Once any residual seeds are thrown away and perennial bulbs are dug up for replanting, plow those garden plants under. Why waste this valuable organic matter by throwing plants in the trash? You can compost it, but I prefer to turn my entire garden into a compost pile over the winter months. Use a rototiller to chew up those plants and work them at least 6 inches into the garden soil.

Compost it over

Spread the entire compost pile over the garden and till it again. Work all that good organic matter in and chop it up as fine as possible. Add some leaves from raking the yard. Then start the compost you will use in the spring after the last yard raking. By the time the spring sun is upon us, this can be worked right into the garden too.

Winter wheat

Once the garden is completely tilled, consider growing some winter wheat. What is winter wheat? This is not a crop for eating but one that makes even more natural fertilizer for the spring garden. Winter wheat is a mixture of seeds like rye that will grow in early spring. These grasses make great fertilizer when planted in the fall and tilled into the spring garden.

Adverse health effects of nitrogen-enriched soil

What's the harm in using animal manure as fertilizer?

Many gardeners believe in using various animal manures to fertilize their soil. Some may also use chemically produced nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen enriched soil may boost growth but it has adverse health effects as well. How does nitrogen enriched soil create these adverse health effects? What is the role of the farming industry in this issue? What alternatives are there to nitrogen enriched fertilizer?

Nitrogen enriched soil as a pollutant

Nearly everything put into the soil eventually ends up in the water supply. Some may argue that manure is a natural substance. How can adverse health effects come from putting something completely natural into the soil? What harm is there to promoting vegetation growth? Isn't more vegetation healthy?

The earth's vegetation does produce oxygen. Unfortunately everything on this earth must stay in balance. Too much of a good thing can also be bad. When nitrogen enriched soil leeches into the water supply, it causes algae overgrowth. The algae then consumes the oxygen in the water. This wipes out the fish and other plants which depend on the water for oxygen.

The adverse health effects of nitrogen enriched soil in our water supply doesn't stop there. Although nitrogen is a necessary nutrient, too much nitrogen can lead to many ailments. These include blue baby syndrome (due to lack of oxygen), hypothyroidism, cancer, birth defects and nervous system issues. Infants, young children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the adverse health effects of nitrogen enriched soil.

The farming industry

Due to the overwhelming population of the world today, there are more and more farms, producing meat, dairy and produce in overwhelming proportions. In addition to runoff from produce fields fertilized with nitrogen, there is the issue of waste from billions of cows, pigs and other farm animals raised for food.

Fertilizer alternatives

What can be done about the pollution and devastation caused by nitrogen enriched soil? One solution is using compost as a substitute fertilizer. Compost is traditionally made from waste such as kitchen vegetable scraps, grass clippings and fallen leaves. Many organic gardeners use vegetable based compost for their personal gardens.

How can we incorporate compost into large factory farming operations? One simple idea is the planting of winter wheat. Winter wheat is sometimes referred to as green manure. It's planted after the harvest. Once grown, it can be tilled into the soil to compost over the winter. Winter wheat then acts as a superior fertilizer, without the health hazards of heavily nitrogen enhanced soil.

What about the animal farms? According to the UN, as long as Americans continue to eat a primarily meat and dairy based diet there will be adverse health effects. Not only is the hormone and antibiotic injected meat a health hazard, the very close living conditions of the animals makes for excess bacteria in the meat. What's more? The environmental health issues caused by an omnivore diet and the resultant fertilizer run-off don't stop there.