Meadowlark Cooperative's Blog (5)

You can grow sprouts in soil or in water. water is far easier, but produces an inferior product. i'll write about soil first.

The best way to undertake sprouts in soil is to use a cardboard box. If you are using sandy loam, such as that which is found around here, especially any soil with poor drainage, you'll want to cover the seed with less soil than those soils with more drainage, such as sandy soils. clay soils are inappropriate for sprouts.

Soils that do not drain well are…

It is appropriate to plant a field with what will earn you the most money or pleasure, or with what will best provide for the needs of your household.  Raspberries accomplish all three of these goals and, with minimal care, are ready for the rigors of Colorado.

Drs. J. Reich, H. Hughes and J.E. Ells  of Colorado State University (http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/07001.html) report that on average a 25…

Planting a grape can be difficult.  You have so many choices on how to support the vines.  Do you string it along a fence, or inside an arbor?  Most people never consider wedding it to a tree.  When trees are about 6 feet tall, plant a grape at their base, and train the grape to climb the trunk and the lower branches.  The grapes love the partial shade of the tree, and the tree loves the shelter of the grape leaves.  They support each other as they grow!  Like a human marriage, they become…

When your garden is very compacted from water, or worse, from water and neighborhood children (and sometimes clueless neighbors) walking through it, here’s what to do.

First put up a visual barrier so that the people know that it is not a good place to walk.  A line of blocks, or even old tires works great.  Then, improve the barrier so that they actually cannot walk there.  A fence is good for this, but simply stacking the blocks or old tires taller will do as well.

Then you…