Understanding the Importance of Soil Preparation

Before delving into the details of tillers, it’s crucial to comprehend the significance of soil preparation in gardening. Soil preparation involves loosening the soil, removing weeds and debris, and incorporating amendments to create an optimal environment for plants to grow.

The Role of a Tiller in Gardening

A tiller for breaking new ground is a valuable tool that simplifies the process of soil preparation. It works by breaking up compacted soil, mixing in organic matter, and creating a loose, well-aerated bed ready for planting. With the help of a tiller, gardeners can save time and effort while achieving better results in their gardens.

Types of Tillers

There are different types of tillers available in the market, each suited for various gardening needs. Let’s explore some common types:

• Rear-Tine Tillers (Rear-tine tillers are robust machines with engine-powered wheels and tines located at the back. These tillers provide excellent maneuverability and are suitable for large-scale gardening or landscaping projects. They can effortlessly handle compacted soil and break it up effectively.)
• Front-Tine Tillers (Front-tine tillers are smaller and more maneuverable compared to their rear-tine counterparts. They feature tines at the front and are suitable for smaller garden beds or areas with less challenging soil conditions. Front-tine tillers are ideal for home gardeners and those with limited storage space.)
• Mini-Tillers (Mini-tillers, also known as cultivators, are compact and lightweight machines designed for light tilling tasks. They are perfect for maintaining flower beds, vegetable gardens, and small patches of land. Mini-tillers are easy to handle and store, making them an excellent choice for casual gardeners.)

Selecting the Right Tiller for Your Needs

When choosing a tiller, consider the size of your gardening area, soil type, and the level of tilling required. Assess your specific needs and select a tiller that matches your requirements. It’s also essential to consider factors such as the power source (gas, electric, or manual) and additional features like adjustable tilling width.

Preparing for Tilling

Proper preparation before tilling ensures optimal results and helps avoid any potential issues. Here are some steps to follow:

• Clearing the Area (Remove any large rocks, debris, or vegetation from the tilling area. This step prevents damage to the tiller and ensures a smooth tilling process.)
• Moistening the Soil (If the soil is excessively dry, it’s beneficial to water it lightly a day or two before tilling. Moist soil is easier to till and allows better penetration of the tiller’s tines.)
• Removing Debris and Rocks (Scan the soil for smaller rocks, roots, or stones. Removing these obstacles beforehand prevents damage to the tiller and ensures a more even tilling process.)

Using a Tiller Effectively

To make the most out of your tiller, it’s essential to use it correctly. Here are some tips for effective tilling:

• Operating the Tiller Safely (Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and wear appropriate safety gear when operating a tiller. This includes safety glasses, sturdy footwear, and hearing protection if necessary.)
• Adjusting Tilling Depth (Most tillers offer adjustable tilling depths. Start with shallow tilling and gradually increase the depth as needed. This approach prevents the soil from becoming excessively compacted.)
• Tilling in Rows (Tilling in straight rows ensures even coverage and avoids overlap. It’s recommended to till in multiple passes, gradually working your way across the tilling area.)

Post-Tilling Activities

After tilling, there are a few additional steps to take to ensure optimal soil conditions for planting:

• Soil Testing (Perform a soil test to determine its pH level and nutrient content. This information will help you make informed decisions about adding necessary amendments to the soil.)
• Adding Amendments (Based on the soil test results, incorporate organic matter, compost, or fertilizers to improve the soil’s fertility and structure. This step enriches the soil and provides essential nutrients for plant growth.)
• Smoothing and Leveling the Soil (Use a rake or garden tool to smoothen and level the tilled soil. This creates a flat and uniform surface, making it easier to sow seeds or transplant seedlings.)

Tips for Tiller Maintenance

To ensure the longevity and optimal performance of your tiller, follow these maintenance tips:

• Regularly clean the tiller after each use, removing any debris or dirt.
• Check the tines for damage or wear and replace them if necessary.
• Change the oil, clean or replace the air filter, and perform routine maintenance as recommended by the manufacturer.

Conclusion

In summary, a tiller is an invaluab for breaking new ground and preparing the soil for gardening. By understanding the importance of soil preparation, selecting the right tiller, and following proper tilling techniques, gardeners can create an optimal environment for plant growth and maximize their gardening efforts.

FAQs

What is the ideal time for tilling?

The ideal time for tilling is when the soil is moist but not excessively wet. Avoid tilling when the soil is too dry or waterlogged.

Can I use a tiller for removing weeds?

Tillers are effective in uprooting and burying existing weeds. However, they may also bring dormant weed seeds to the surface, so follow up with appropriate weed control measures.

Are tillers suitable for small gardens?

Yes, there are mini-tillers or cultivators specifically designed for small gardens. These compact machines are perfect for maintaining flower beds or small vegetable patches.

How deep should I till the soil?

The recommended tilling depth depends on the type of plants you intend to grow. Generally, tilling between 6 to 8 inches deep is sufficient for most garden beds.

Is it necessary to till every year?

Tilling may not be necessary every year, especially if you have already achieved the desired soil structure. However, periodic tilling can help loosen compacted soil and incorporate amendments for improved plant growth.

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Compost is very good for cucumbers because it provides the plant with organic nutrients. In addition, the soil with a lot of compost is very light so that the roots can develop quickly.

The use of compost for cucumbers has many nuances, so let’s understand this in detail.

What Compost Should I Use for cucumbers?

You should use only good-quality compost for growing cucumbers. It must be free of pests and diseases.

You can make it yourself or buy ready-made compost. Next, we will look at three types of compost. You can also grow cucumbers with hydroponic systems and if you are interested, take a look at the best ones.

Regular Compost

Regular compost is the most widely used type of compost. It is made from plant material that is usually obtained after the pruning of trees and shrubs.

If you decide to make your own compost, only use branches and leaves from healthy plants. Avoid using kitchen scraps.

To ensure that the compost is properly made, all layers need access to air. For this reason, do not cover the compost heap with anything. Also do not make the compost heap higher than 3 feet.

Vermicompost

Recently, vermicompost has become more and more popular. It is a type of compost made with worms. It is more nutritious but a bit more difficult to make.

You can add almost anything to this compost. It can be plant debris from your garden or from farmland. Also, you can put kitchen scraps in it.

An indispensable component is worms. Unfortunately, ordinary earthworms are not suitable so you need to get red worms. This type of worms multiplies very quickly and can decompose large amounts of organic matter. The result is a great nutrient compost.

What does compost do for cucumbers?

Compost has a number of properties that improve the soil. This is the reason why it is increasingly being used to grow cucumbers. In general, even the most unsuitable soil can be improved with compost, so let’s understand what it does.

The first is that compost improves the structure of the soil. The fibers that are present in organic matter can make heavy soil looser and lighter.

This has a very good effect on the growth of the root system. Roots are much easier to grow in lighter soil, and the bigger the root system, the bigger the crop will be.

The second is water retention. The organic matter in the compost can quickly absorb a lot of water and hold it for some time. This is very good for improving sandy soil which dries out very quickly.

On the other hand, the soil improved by the compost is able to let the excess water through easily. This eliminates the problem of stagnant water. This property is especially useful if you have heavy clay soil.

Next is nutrients. Organic matter is able to slowly supply cucumbers with minerals and other elements for rapid growth. First and foremost is nitrogen, which is critical.

Compost is able to nourish the plant for several years, which is very handy. It also makes the soil slightly acidic, which avoids chlorosis.

How do you put compost on cucumbers?

The first thing you need to consider is when to apply the compost. The best time to do this is in the spring when you intend to plant cucumbers.

Simply pour one bucket of compost into the place where the cucumber will grow. Next, mix the compost well with the native soil. Repeat this for each plant, which means that each cucumber plant should grow in soil improved by one bucket of compost.

That’s it, now you can plant your cucumbers in a mixture of compost and native soil. In most cases, no additional fertilizer is necessary.

If your cucumbers are already growing but you want to add compost, it’s best to mulch the root zone with it. Just spread a 1-2 inch layer of compost around the cucumber stem. Avoid touching the soil near the cucumber as this can cause injury to the roots.

Also, avoid planting cucumbers in compost alone. This is because it is too acidic and nutritious. This can lead to overgrowth and weakening of the plant.

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Perfume is a billion-dollar market in the beauty industry. New scents and trends are developed regularly to suit the taste of almost every consumer on the planet. But dogs may not necessarily get attracted to the perfumes that humans find intoxicating.

It is known that dogs have at least 1,000 times more powerful sense of smell than humans. They perceive the world mainly by how things smell for them. While you find a particular perfume attractive, your dog senses a widely intense and stressful aroma. And this isn’t limited to just perfumes because it includes any product that contains fragrances.

It is understandable that dogs sometimes have a funky smell, but using perfume to get rid of their “dog smell” isn’t something you should always do.

What are Human Perfumes Made Of?

What are the components of human perfume that make it unattractive to dogs? Let’s talk about it in detail.

Perfumes are made of more dense and concentrated materials because they are intended to travel farther and linger longer in the body and clothing. Body Sprays are more diluted and less potent than perfumes. And perfumes have a higher percentage of fragrance oil mixed with alcohol that can be a little overpowering for dogs’ noses.

Dog Hygiene

According to Mark Braeden, dogs have an unusual smell that often comes up when they haven’t taken a bath for a few days to a few weeks. Some dog owners are so busy that they forget to bathe their dog or have enough time to bring their pet to the groomer. Instead, they try to mask their smell by applying heavy perfume on their fur.

Some dogs have been observed to roll on the grass, floor, or a familiar smelling object to try to get rid of the fragrance that’s been clinging on their fur from the shampoo and conditioner. Try to find one that is not heavily scented.

Furthermore, dogs have natural sebum and good bacteria on their skin that gives off this “dog smell.” This is an important part of their health and keeps their skin free from irritations. It has been proven that water “activates” the lousy dog odor, so the best way to remove the awful dog smell is to keep their skin and fur dry and away from wet surfaces.

Effects of Human Perfume on Dogs

You can occasionally squirt small amounts of human perfume behind the ears and on the tail. But it does not bode well for all dogs, especially if you are using heavily scented products. Some dogs get nauseous, dizzy, and weak after smelling human perfume. Others even lose their appetite because the smell of the perfume clings onto their nose, and it overpowers the smell of their food.

Worse cases that have been reported include dogs inhaling the perfume deeply, causing respiratory infection. Others say that their dogs have suffered from alcohol poisoning from removing the perfume off of their fur by licking it.

But not all effects are negative. Some studies show that natural scents like lavender and chamomile promote relaxation and grounding on pets without suffering from the unwanted side effects of fragrance. It is why you need to find the right perfume that works well for your furry friend.

Special Dog Perfumes

It has been observed in plenty of dogs that human perfume causes allergic reactions or irritation in their nose, eyes, ears, and skin. This is not a pleasant experience to put your dog into. It is why specially blended perfumes for dogs are created to avoid any unwanted effects. But if you want to be sure and safe, try to limit your dog’s exposure to perfumes and scented products because they like the natural scent of things around them.

Dog perfumes have been in the market for the past two decades. It has unique formulations to keep our dogs safe from toxic chemicals found in regular human perfume. If you can get dog perfume instead of using your own, it will be better.

Formulators removed alcohol from dog perfume to prevent them from getting poisoned and their skin drying out. Avoid using dog perfumes around their eyes, nose, genitals, and bald spots. The best time to put it on is after they get a bath. But do remember that everything in excess is never good.

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Imagine that you have already made a menu, packed with a thermal bag from the Globe, prepared reusable dishes and hats so that your head does not get hot in the sun. Everything? Well, not quite.
Don’t forget to ask if it is possible to have a picnic at the location of your choice.

If you plan to stay in the sun for a long time, then in addition to hats, natural sunscreen will not hurt.
Take better drinking water, since juices, soda do not quench your thirst and you can rinse your face and hands with it if necessary. And pour tea or coffee into a thermos.
Choose an antibacterial hand gel instead of disposable wet wipes. Levran has a small volume of 10 ml, it is convenient to take with you.
Unexpected guests can join your picnic: mosquitoes, ticks, midges. Grab a clove, eucalyptus, lemongrass, or geranium essential oil to keep yourself safe. Or choose a ready-made repellent, but pay attention to the composition. If you still cannot avoid stings, use Levrana Tea Tree Healing Cream. I’m nowhere without him. It is recommended not to leave open parts of the body against ticks, especially on the legs.

Make good use of your picnic time – this is a great opportunity to chat with friends, play games, take a break from the bustle of the city.

In this post I will share the main rule of a picnic, which I have followed since childhood: do not turn a picnic, even the most zero waste, into an event called “eat in nature.” ? Camon! You finally find yourself in your native, truly native element, so give yourself a chance to remember what that means. Take a walk, hug trees, just sit on the grass or rock with your eyes closed. Enjoy the silence, rustle of grass, rustle of leaves, splash of water. Feel the sun warm you up. Like the wind blows on your face and tangles your hair. Like rain drumming on a raincoat, umbrella or tent. As somewhere high up birds are chatting.
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Let food be just a nice addition. A way to replenish energy, recharge when you whet your appetite. Well, choose local products: not some mangoes with pineapples, but cucumbers, radishes, greens – and more!

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The public movement Fairtrade (from English fair, fair trade), the most famous international community today, aims to provide fair trade conditions for manufacturers, in particular from developing countries, as well as fair working conditions for workers. In addition, Fairtrade monitors the quality of the production of goods and issues the appropriate certification, which for the consumer means quality goods, produced in compliance with the rights of workers and the formation of a fair price.

Individual initiatives and products under the fair label are also known. For example, the creators of Fairphone claim that when creating their new smartphone, all requirements for ethical production were taken into account and employees received decent wages. The price of an ethical smartphone is considerable, the characteristics are decent, but not the most modern – the choice is up to the buyer and his attitude to functionality, quality and the proposed price tag. There are also many examples of fairfashion in the fashion world. It has long been known that popular mass-market clothing brands, which release collections several times a year and sell their products at incredibly low prices, are guilty of using child labor, environmental pollution at the location of factories and an unsafe work process. So, fair fashion cares about the quality of products, about those who produce these products, and those who will wear them (which means, about us in the end). Examples of honest initiatives can be found both from globally renowned and long-standing brands and designers, such as Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Vivenne Westwood, and from start-ups, usually small, ethical companies.

The post What is sustainability? appeared first on Compost.

Let’s start with the fact that regenerative agriculture (for brevity we will call it “regAgri”), like many good things (natural cosmetics, for example) does not have a legislative definition anywhere in the world. So there are a lot of interpretations. But the basic interpretation (and here it is for dummies in general) is simple: regenerative agriculture is the restoration of soil and other natural resources.

That is, in the process of growing food according to the methods of RegAgri, the farmer does not destroy natural biocenoses, does not pollute the water, does not deprive the soil of fertility, but worms, flies and other fleas – life, but on the contrary, restores mother nature. That is, regenerative agriculture is practices, methods that can be applied collectively or separately in order not to destroy the environment by growing food.

But if the story works with the regenerating cream, alas, not always, then correctly applying RegAgry practice, you should get:

• restore soil fertility without the help of synthetic fertilizers
• make the earth richer in minerals (again without synthetics)
• keep ground water and water bodies clean
• restore bee populations and healthy bio-balance in the fields
• maintain and improve biodiversity (plant local varieties of potatoes and apple trees, grow local, climate-adapted livestock breeds)
• reduce CO2 emissions – significantly!

RegAgri is a practice that uses natural mechanisms in the process of food production and – oh bingo! – all this really significantly reduces CO2 emissions. That is, once again a person was convinced: nature is not stupid, and it is necessary to use practices spied on in nature in order to reduce the harmful effect of agriculture on climate change.

The post There are 60 crops left to harvest and there will be no more food appeared first on Compost.

The quality of the product that may have an impact on human health.
We will consider each material in terms of these criteria.

Wool is a natural material made from animal hair. Natural wool is pleasant to wear, absorbs moisture well, retains heat better, but at the same time wool is more expensive and more difficult to care for.
Wool is a renewable, compostable and biodegradable product, but even so it cannot be argued that the ecological footprint of wool is insignificant – it all depends on the production and processing methods. For example, cattle breeding – and wool is often a by-product of the meat or dairy industries – is an extremely environmentally friendly industry with an impressive eco-trail, and alpaca wool in Peru is harvested by hand from free-flowing alpacas. The difference is obvious. Also, wool is treated with dyes and chemicals to improve its properties, and the fields on which animals graze are watered with pesticides and fertilizers, which also increases its eco-trail. If the ecological footprint of the wool you buy is important to you, choose a product that is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard, an organization that monitors sheep living conditions on different farms and helps farmers learn progressive ways of growing and harvesting wool.

The ethics of wool is always on the farmer’s conscience. For example, the most common wool, the wool of merino sheep, is often produced using an extremely inhumane procedure: trimming the folds at the back of the body. The problem is that insects often grow in these folds, and cunning farmers simply cut off the “extra” part of the body. Whether this method was used by the farmer who grew the wool for your jacket is unknown (but most likely yes).

Certification that monitors how tissue affects human health does not yet exist (but apparently, it will be soon!). If you don’t have allergies, organic wool is a great choice!

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A study carried out by a group of German scientists, voiced by Jana Weisser, PhD candidate at the Munich University of Technology in the framework of the just past BioFach / Vivaness-2021, has clarified a lot for me personally. And even a little reassuring. Until. I offer a synopsis and a guide to action.

Microplastic: what is it and the main routes of infection

Microplastics are plastic particles ranging from 0.1 to 5,000 microns (micrometers). It can be primary (for example, plastic granules in cosmetic scrubs or acrylic fibers from your sweater or “eco-coat”) and secondary – particles separated from tires, as well as formed as a result of the decay of plastic waste in the ocean or on land. The main modes of human exposure to microplastics are inhalation (air) and absorption with food and drink.

To minimize the inhalation of microplastics, it is necessary to walk along the highway as little as possible (tires are the main polyuter of the planet with microplastics) and limit acrylic, polyester and other synthetics for personal use. We already wrote about this, but Yana Weisser’s research is about microplastics in food, so let’s focus on how to limit the consumption of microplastics at lunch.

MICROPLASTIC IN DRINKS

Beer: not detected White wine: incomprehensible soft drinks: incomprehensible butylated water: 0 – 317 mh / l (microparticles per liter) tea in plastic bags: 5800 – 2.3 10⁶ mh / serving (microparticles per serving) milk: incomprehensible mains water: 0 – 0.066 mh / l (microparticles per liter)

MICROPLASTIC IN FOOD

plastic wrapped meat: 4.0 – 18.7 mh / kg (microparticles per kg) vegetables: incomprehensible fruits: incomprehensible fish: 0 – 10.5 mh / g (microparticles per gram) fish: 0 – 7 mph / fish (microparticles per fish) honey: incomprehensible salt: 0.55 – 0.68 mh / g (microparticles per gram)

From these data, it is clear that one should fear, first of all, mussels and bottled water. Tea bags made of nylon should be avoided altogether. Sea salt contains quite a lot of microplastics, but given that we do not consume much of it, it should also not cause undue concern. Tap water is safe. As for fish, the researcher noted that most of the microplastic particles are found in the food tract of fish, which we usually do not eat. Meat in plastic packaging should not be a concern at all, as the detectable number of particles is too small.

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