WM Earthcare

Locally sourced and produced, 100% recycled compost and mulch

For Large Orders Call Us at:

877–WMEarth
(877-963-2784)

  • Home
  • Products
    • Compost
    • Mulch
    • Soil Blends
    • Hardscape
    • Lawn Conversion
    • Availability & Pricing
    • Color Chooser
    • Coverage Calculator
    • Request a Quote
  • LOCATIONS
    • Livermore
    • Novato
    • San Jose
    • San Leandro
    • Florida
  • Resources
    • About Composting
    • About Mulching
    • LEED
    • About Sheet Mulching
    • FAQs
  • About Us
    • Testimonials
    • Awards and Affiliations
    • Our Approach
  • Community
    • Blog
    • Community Giving
  • Contact
  • WMEARTHCARE FLORIDA >

January Soil Tip: CompostCon!

January 13, 2014 by Steven Andrews

compostcon

To Experience Compost Up Close!

Join me, the Compost Crusader, and members of the WM EarthCare team for a day of fun and learning celebrating compost.

Gardeners, urban farmers, landscape professionals, and teachers can all learn and see the latest compost trends and technologies through music, workshops, demonstrations, and the one of a kind compost marketplace. Special activities for children and families including a compost costume contest are planned so that CompostCon can be experienced by one and all.

And don’t forget to attend one my hands-on compost workshops. I’ll be talking about the science of compost, testing, purchasing and more. Be sure to check the program upon arrival to ensure your seat.

Mark you calendar now, and save the date:

Saturday, January 25, 2014
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Oakland Convention Center
550 10th Street, Oakland, CA 94607

www.healthysoil.org

Admission fees for the event are $8/adult, $5 children 8-15, and $20 for families. Arrive dressed in a compost, garden, or food themed costume and admission is FREE!

~Stephen Andrews

Filed Under: Events, General, Home Gardening

December Soil Tip

December 13, 2013 by Steven Andrews

Winter has arrived early this year with two-thirds of the lower 48 states experiencing freezing temperatures for several days or more already this month. Prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, even by so-called hardy plants, can result in damage.

Below are a few of my favorite “anti-freeze” measures that you can employ to defend your landscape and garden plants from the effects of Jack Frost.

  • Thoroughly water soil around established plantings, raised beds, and containers (except for succulents). Water has a high heat capacity that will trap daytime warmth and release it slowly overnight during danger periods for frost.
  • Cover transplants and newly sprouted plant materials with clear or milky white one gallon or two liter plastic containers used as cloches. Remove the bottoms of the containers and place one over each plant, taking care to press each container about one inch into the moist soil. Remove the bottle caps during daylight hours to vent excess heat and moisture and replace the caps each afternoon to protect tender plants from cold nighttime temperatures.

plant cover

Clear plastic 2 liter and gallon-sized bottles make great cloches for protecting tender plant materials.

  • Surround low-level plantings completely with a loose mound of mulch made from leaf mold, evergreen trimmings (Christmas tree), pine needles, straw, or shredded newspaper. If wind is an issue cover the mound with burlap and stake it in place. Uncover the upper portion of the mound when the danger of frost has passed, but keep it handy to recover should another freezing event occur. Reuse the mulch in spring to prevent weed growth, or add to your compost pile.

 xmas tree cover

Christmas tree cuttings used to protect plant materials from frost damage.

  • Surround knee-high plantings and taller plantings as well as dwarf trees with rolls of recycled cardboard, or cardboard appliance boxes. Washer, dryer, refrigerator, and water heater boxes make great frost covers that are easy to install and remove. In windy areas, anchor the boxes with twine and stakes. The cardboard can be reused in the spring for sheet mulching.
  • Use bamboo poles to create teepee plant enclosures covered with burlap, old blankets, towels, sheets, drop clothes, plastic sheeting, or carpet padding. Take care to keep the cover material from making contact with covered plants. Be sure to open the teepee each day after the threat of frost has passed.
  • Move small and mobile containers together along an exterior wall with a sheltering overhang. For extremely sensitive plants, relocate to a shed or garage.

 

Following these preventive measures just may keep your plantings from the ravages of winter’s cold.

Filed Under: General, Home Gardening

November Soil Tip

November 21, 2013 by Steven Andrews

Don’t throw all those freshly fallen leaves into your green waste cart for curbside pickup. Instead, create a leaf mold compost bin and let nature do the work of recycling those leaves into a nutrient rich soil amendment.

Producing leaf mold compost is easy to do, takes little time, and, except for the cost of a roll of chicken wire and a few stakes, is free.

Step 1: Locate a shady out of the way place to build your leaf mold compost bin.

Step 2: Shape a three (3’) foot by four (4’) foot circular bin from a roll of chicken (or similar type) wire. Overlap the ends of the wire roll and tie them together with twist ties, then evenly space three (3) to five (5) stakes around the bin to hold it firmly in place.

Step 3. Loosely fill the bin with leaves taking care not to compress or pack the leaves too heavily. You want air to circulate in the pile to promote aerobic decomposition.

Step 4. Lightly wet the pile as needed, taking care not to saturate the pile. You want to maintain the moisture of the pile at a level similar to a moist sponge.

Step 5. If you’re feeling ambitious, give the pile a turn once a month.

In just 12 to 24 months you’ll have a fantastic soil amendment that will improve the moisture holding capacity, drought tolerance, and structure of your soil.

Filed Under: General, Home Gardening, Tips

October Soil Tip

October 16, 2013 by Steven Andrews

It’s time to cover all of those open spaces in your garden and landscape with two inches of WM EarthCare™ Homegrown Compost.

Add spring color to open patches and raised beds by spreading a mix of wildflower seeds over the compost and water-in lightly. Winter rains will soon take over watering your seeds and help your wildflower garden flourish. The wildflowers make great cut flower bouquets as well as attract a variety of pollinators.

As an alternative to wildflowers, plant a green manure cover crop of clover, vetch, peas or other nitrogen-fixing legumes that you can turn under or mulch in spring. You’ll be building structure and adding essential nitrogen to the soil that will quickly be utilized by spring plantings.

Remember to always keep your soil covered.

Filed Under: General, Home Gardening, Tips

September Soil Tip: Let Root Balls Decompose in Place

September 19, 2013 by WM EarthCare

It’s once again that time of year when we start to tidy up all those tired, spent plants that gave us their best with flowers and veggies throughout the summer.

Before you go crazy pulling wildly, save yourself time and money, and do your soil a favor too by simply cutting the above-ground portion of spent plants for composting, and leaving the root-balls to decompose in-place. Leaving the root-ball of spent plants to compost in-place promotes the development of soil structure, maintains pore space, holds moisture, and facilitates active soil biology.

Covering plant stubble with 1-2 inches of high quality compost or planting a cover crop will accelerate decomposition of the root-balls and add nutrients back to the soil for winter and spring planting.

So sharpen your shears and start clipping.

Filed Under: General, Home Gardening, Tips

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »
WMEarthcare

WM EarthCare™ is produced by
USA Waste of California, Inc.
172 98th Avenue – Oakland, CA.

  • Home
  • Products
  • LOCATIONS
  • Resources
  • About Us
  • Community
  • Contact
  • WMEARTHCARE FLORIDA >

Copyright © 2021 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in