Written by: Will Larson Growing native plants from seed is a constant exercise in replicating habitat. We expose the seed to specific pre-treatment conditions to simulate the contexts and pressures…
Gardening Basics
Local Seed Collection
Written by: Molly Marquand Go local: Over the course of the last decade, native plants have garnered a place in the spotlight of popular horticulture. However, most of the…
Celebra el Día de la Tierra todos los días- ¡Empiece con estas Eco-Acciones!
A medida que nos acercamos al Día de la Tierra 2021, comparta la lista de pasos ecológicos de ELA con colegas, amigos y familiares. Aquí hay acciones que todos podemos tomar para hacer que nuestros paisajes sean más amigables con la tierra.
Celebrate Earth Day Every Day – Get Started with these Eco-Actions!
As we approach Earth Day, share ELA’s list of ecological steps colleagues, friends, and family. Here are actions all of us can take to make our landscapes more earth friendly.
Leave the Leaves!
By Catherine Carney-Feldman
Though fall cleanup can be a hard habit to break, there are ample reasons to leave those leaves. Most native pollinator species overwinter right in your leaf litter and dead stems of your perennials. Leaf compost can greatly enhance the quality of your soil, help it retain moisture, and protect young plants from fluctuating winter temperatures. Utilize your leaves as a resource rather than a problem.
Spring Tool Maintenance
by Steve Cushman
One of the most important chores for tool maintenance is keeping cutting edges sharp; however, sharpening can cover a huge realm of techniques and tools. Find out about techniques requiring only a small investment in tools, and you’ll have your garden tools in perfect shape as the season starts – and perhaps be inspired to keep them that way.
Green Manure
by Robert Kourik
You say you want to garden all-naturally, but the closest source of animal manure is many miles away? Then green manuring might be for you. Green manuring is the process of tilling fresh green plants into the soil to help make it drain better and allow it to hold onto more moisture, with an added bonus – the plants, as they decay, act as a readily available fertilizer. Green manuring is also pretty darn close to free fertilizer – discounting the cost of a few seeds and plenty of elbow grease. Learning how the natural cycle of decomposition works means you’ll know exactly what part of the cycle to influence, how to speed up the natural processes, and how to improve the soil in either the short or the long term.
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Eco-Answers from the Pros: How Clean Should Fall Cleanup Be?
As I begin fall cleanup in my gardens, what are your recommendations? Should I clean beds off, cutting foliage and remaining seed heads off? Are there some plants best cut off and others that are good to leave until spring? Also, should I remove leaves entirely from the ground around plants? I didn’t get all the leaves removed from beds last year and had a lot of damage to plant roots from either voles or moles.
Native Plants for the Small Yard: Easy, Beautiful Home Gardens that Support the Local Ecology
Text by Kate Brandes Illustrations by Tom Maxfield Social scientists have looked at how people feel about their yards, and their research shows that preferences are determined mostly by people’s…
Leave the Leaves!
by Justin Wheeler Reprinted with permission from the Xerces Society’s blog. Besides providing the right plants, and protecting your garden from pesticides, one of the next most valuable things you…
The Garden in Every Sense and Season
by Tovah Martin Taken from The Garden in Every Sense and Season© Copyright 2018 by Tovah Martin, photographs by Kindra Clineff. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of…
Drought Tolerant Container Gardens, Beyond the Traditional
by Irene Brady Barber When people think of the plants for drought tolerant container gardens, immediately succulents come to mind. Succulents are great for that purpose, but there are many…
