Landscape ideas - are you trying to find them? Sometimes we just come up blank when we try to figure out what to put in our yards or even where to begin! Where do you find the landscape ideas you need to make your yard the beautiful place you desire? There are lot's of places to find landscape ideas, but I will tell you where to get the best tips that will help you create the perfect landscape for your home's location.

Finding Landscape Ideas for Your Area

So here is the scoop on landscape ideas - you need to focus on ideas for your area! I found this out the hard way. All winter long I would pour over gardening magazines. I would put tabs on all my favorite plants and landscape ideas that I liked. Then, in the spring I would begin my quest to find those exact plants for my yard. If I couldn't find them at my local nursery, I would search large retailers and even buy online. So how did this work for me? It failed! Why? Because I wasn't planting things that would grow well in my soil or in my gardening region. I was solely planting them because I thought they were pretty. The hot pink azalea I planted died in a few short weeks because it needed acidic soil and mine is the opposite of acidic!

So what did I do? First of all, I got a job at a local nursery and worked to become a certified nursery professional. I studied and learned about the climate, region, soils, etc. All this helped me to get the landscape ideas I needed to create a beautiful yard. But not everyone needs to become a nursery professional or work in a garden center to have a beautiful yard. You just need to be aware of what is growing in your area.

The best landscape ideas are found by simply looking around your neighborhood. When you see a plant or an landscaping arrangement you like, take a picture of it. You can ask the homeowner what type of plant it is, or take the photo to a nursery and have them help you. As you look at landscapes you like, make not of the direction the home faces and the amount of light the yard gets. You don't want to plant something that requires full sun in an area that is shaded most of the day.

One of the good things about gathering landscape ideas like this is you are seeing the plants in a realistic setting. They haven't been primed for a photo shoot, they are in a yard in the same environment you have in your own yard. You can get an idea of how big a plant grows, the bloom period of flowers and if a tree is messy or not.  I have seen too many people (including myself) plant something they saw in a magazine only to rip it out a few months or years later because it doesn't work in their yard.

*Just a note - I think that gardening and landscape magazines are a great place to find landscape ideas for the structure and design of your yard. But for the types of plants to put in, it is best to look for landscape ideas locally. You can find the design idea in a magazine and then use local plants to make it work!

Public Places for Landscape Ideas

Another great way to gather landscape ideas is to visit local parks and public buildings. Yes, they have professional gardeners, but they will plant the things that grow best in the area, are not too messy and look great for long periods of time. For instance, I have seen daylilies planted in many public places. This is because they are easy to grow, look great even when they aren't blooming and then cover a good size area - eliminating the need for additional planting of annuals or ground cover.

If there is a botanical garden near you, this is another great source for landscape ideas. At least for the types of plants to grow. They will have plants that grow well in the area and they are usually labeled with the common and botanical name so you can find them later at a garden center. The personnel that work at a botanical garden are usually very knowledgeable about the plants and where they grow best, etc.

Of course one of the best sources for landscape ideas is your local nursery. They will know what grows best in the area and all the information you will need to grow certain plants in your yard. They often have landscape design knowledge as well and will often come to your home for a consultation. Check with your local nursery for details and pricing.

Landscape ideas are easy to find if you know where to look. You can find structure and design ideas in magazine, but look locally for the types of plants to grow in your yard. By putting these two things together, you will find landscape ideas that will transform your yard!

Find Landscape Ideas:

	Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love

	Landscape Graphics

	Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Landscape Construction: 60 Step-by-step Projects for Creating a Perfect Landscape (Black & Decker Complete Guide)

How To Compost - Composting is something that many gardeners want to try, but they aren't sure how to compost. Where do you begin? What supplies do you need? What can you compost? There are a lot of questions about how to go about composting, but once you begin the process it will become like second nature!

How To Compost - Where to Compost?

One of the first things you need to determine before you begin composting is where you will be putting your compost pile or compost bin. Usually people put their compost in a place that is close to the garden, but away from family play areas. The reason for this is people think compost smells. Compost can have an earthy smell, but since everything you should be composting is organic, and you should be keeping it moist and turned regularly,  it should not have an offensive odor.

The location you choose should be based on what type of compost bin you choose to use. The rotating composters on the market should be in a place where it is easy for you to add organic matter and turn the unit.  In fact, this holds true for any type of commercial composter you choose. Make sure the unit is in a place where you will use it - if you tuck it in a far corner it might be too inconvenient to add organic material to it.

If you are like me, a compost pile is the easiest way to create compost. My pile is in a corner of my yard with enough space to turn it. Just a note - the pile approach may not work for everyone. Lot size and landscaping may make it hard to have a large pile of composting material in the corner of your yard.

How to Compost - What to Compost?

Now that you have found a location and an container, you need to start the process. So, how do you begin composting? Easy! Add organic material. You may be surprised at all the things you can add to a compost pile. First of all, you will want to add some garden soil. Adding garden soil to your compost mix will help to reduce any odors, and the little micro-organisms in the soil will help speed the composting process up.

Other things to add? Well here is a list:

• garden waste - spend flower blossoms, plant cuttings, leaves, etc. *note - don't put plants with disease or fungus in your compost bin. I would also not put in weeds that have begun to seed - although some people feel that the heat from the composting kills weed seeds, I just would rather not take the chance!
• kitchen scraps such as fruit and vegetable trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, etc. *note - don't put any animal or fatty waste in your compost bin. Use only plant based waste.
• waste paper - newspaper, cardboard egg cartons, paper from your shredder. Make sure you break up cardboard and tear up newspapers a little so they will compost quicker
• grass clippings - it is much better than putting them in the trash! However, make sure your compost doesn't become heavy on grass clippings - keep it balanced. FYI - grass clippings will add nitrogen to your compost.
• And more! Pretty much anything that is plant based can and will break down in a compost bin - just make sure you keep a good balance between green waste - such as garden and kitchen scraps, brown waste - such as newspaper, cardboard, etc., and organic material - such as garden soil or peat moss.

How To Compost - Now What?

While everything in your compost pile will eventually compost on it's own, you want to help speed the process. That is why you want to keep it moist and turn it often! When I say moist, I mean damp - not soggy. You don't want your compost pile to feel like dust, but just a little more moist than the peat moss or potting soil you buy at the garden center when it is fresh out of the bag. What I like to do with my pile is turn it with a pitchfork or turning fork  in the morning, then spray it with the hose. It will then bask in the sun all day composting away.

If you use a rotating compost bin, then the process of turning and keeping moist is even easier! You can easily reach in and test the moisture level and then give the bin a quick couple of turns with the handle and you are done. So easy!

How To Compost - When Is It Done?

Probably one of the biggest questions people ask about how to compost is when is it done? How do you know if it is ready? Compost that is ready to use will have a dark, rich color. It will be a little coarse, but will crumble nicely. Many people will use a screen to sift the compost to remove any large chunks that have not composted completely. This is a good idea, or you can rake it out over your garden and pick up large pieces and put them back into the compost pile

Some people choose to have two compost bins or piles. They will add to one for a while and then let it 'cook' and start adding composting material to the other. This way they don't have do much sifting and they don't have to guess if the compost is ready. This is fine if you have the room for two, but it really isn't difficult to separate the composted material from that that still needs to spend more time in the compost bin.

Once your compost is ready, mix it into your garden soil - both flower beds and vegetable gardens, even container gardens will benefit from compost. Compost will boost  your soil by adding valuable organic matter that will help nourish plants and enrich the soil.

Composting is easy to do and the whole family can contribute. Composting will help build your garden soil while reducing the waste you send to the landfill as well. Composting is a win/win situation!

Learn More About How To Compost:

	Composting In a Nutshell

	How To Compost: Everything You Need To Know To Start Composting, And Nothing You Don't!

	Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System

Gardening With Kids - If there is one thing that teaches kids about nature, the life cycle, weather, and even teaches them patience it is gardening! When you introduce kids to plants and soil you open a whole new world of learning that is truly hands on. You can teach them everything from soil preparation and composting to what to plant and how to harvest. Unfortunately, many people aren't sure where to start gardening with kids, so here are a few pointers.

Gardening With Kids - Where to Start?

The first thing to realize when you begin gardening with kids is not to over think things. Keep it simple! You can either start children with vegetables or flowers, which ever they and you prefer. But make sure you start with things that are easy to grow, have few pest problems and aren't picky about soil and light.

It is best to gauge what you grow by the age of the child as well. Plant something with a short growing season and a quick germination time for younger kids. They will get so excited when they see that first bean sprout come up shortly after they plant it! Planting a seed in a small paper cup and putting it in a sunny window were they can watch it grown and nurture it each day with help is an ideal way to introduce the concept of growing things to small children.

As they get older, gardening with kids can become a fun adventure. You can involve them in the family garden or even give them a small plot or a container to plant on their own. Let the kids research different types of seeds and plants and then help them plan their garden before planting. Show them how to work the soil so the roots will have a place to grow. It is important that they realize that much of the growing takes place underground where eyes can't see. This is a good opportunity to teach them about working the soil and adding compost and other amendments to enrich the soil for good growing conditions.

Explain to your kids that light and water are vital to a healthy plant. Take a little trip around your yard or garden plot and help the kids determine where the best place to plant each type of plant would be based on how much sun and moisture the area gets. Now, this might sound like we are complicating things when I said to keep it simple, but you can keep this part simple as well. Just show the kids how to observe if buildings or trees are shading an area that they want to put a full sun plant. You are just helping them be aware of the growing differences in your own yard and how to find the best spot for planting.

If you are planting a vegetable garden, plan it so there is something to harvest most of the season. Plant peas early in the spring and end with pumpkins for carving at Halloween. When you are starting out gardening with kids, you want to have a sequence of harvests to keep the kids interested.

Use the produce you grow in your family meals or allow the kids to sell it at a farmers market. It is surprising how much more kids like to eat their vegetables when they have grown them!

Gardening with kids is a very rewarding activity that will allow you to spend quality time as a family and teach your kids about nature at the same time.

More information about gardening with kids here:

	Gardening with Kids

	Gardening with Kids

	The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids: 101 Ways to Get Kids Outside, Dirty, and Having Fun

Vegetable Garden Tips - Whether you are planting your first vegetable garden or your twentieth, everyone can use a few vegetable garden tips for a successful garden.  After all, there is more to growing good vegetables than just putting the seeds in the ground! Growing a great vegetable garden starts with good planning, plus the three things that I feel are most important to growing a garden: soil, water, and light.

3 Vegetable Garden Tips

So why do I think that soil, water, and light are the most important aspects to growing a great vegetable garden? All three are absolutely essential to your success.  No matter how hard you try, if you don't have good soil, adequate water and drainage, and sufficient light your garden will not reach it's full potential. Sure, you will be able to grow a few thing, but for the most yield at harvest follow these vegetable garden tips.

Vegetable Garden Soil

It is important to give your vegetable garden a great start with good soil. Before you plant, amend your soil by adding things such as aged manure, peat moss, and/or compost. Personally, I think compost is the best thing you can add to garden soil. The organic material found in compost is rich in nutrients and is perfect for prepping garden soil. If you choose to add manure, make sure it is aged so it doesn't burn the plants. Peat moss is a great addition to soil if you need to increase the acidity of your soil.

In addition to adding one of these items to your soil, you should add a general purpose fertilizer. I like to add a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote that will feed the plants for three to four months. After adding the soil additives, including the fertilizer, using a small tiller or a hand tiller work the soil to a depth of about six to twelve inches.

Note: If your soil is very poor or rocky, you may want to consider raised bed gardening. You can put the beds on top of the existing soil and then add good soil to the beds. Still add the slow release fertilizer to the healthy garden soil. With raised beds you will be able to grow a great vegetable garden in spite of poor soil!

Water

Of course water is essential to a good vegetable garden. But have you thought about how much to water and more specifically, drainage? The amount of water your vegetable garden will need is going to be based on your soil. If you have a clay soil it will take longer to dry out so you will water less. If you have sandy soil it will dry out very quickly so more frequent and deeper watering is a must.  Of course if you follow the tip above for soil, you can amend both of these soil types to get the perfect garden soil which is a sandy loam. If your soil has a lot of clay, mix some sand in as well as compost and fertilizer. Sandy soil can benefit from the addition of peat moss to help retain water.

You do not want the water to stand in puddles for long periods of time. If you see areas such as this in your garden, then you have a drainage problem. Amend the soil in that area with sand or if you have raised beds, make sure there is a layer of gravel under the bed if it isn't draining well.

Light, light, LIGHT!

Like water, light is essential to a great vegetable garden but many people don't think about how the light hits the garden. When planning your vegetable garden, think about where the sun will hit the garden at different times of day. Don't plant tall plants where they will shade the smaller ones. It is usually best to put tall plants such as corn and sunflowers at the north and east points of your vegetable garden and the shorter plants at the south and west points. This will ensure that all the plants get good sunlight for the best growth.

There are many factors that go into a great vegetable garden, but these three vegetable garden tips will help you have a great garden every year!

Annuals or Perennials - Many gardeners wonder if they should fill their yard with perennials or plant annuals every year. Perennials will come back each year and annuals have to be bought and planted every season. So it would seem that perennials would be the smarter choice, but maybe not.

What Should You Plant, Annuals or Perennials?

If you want a beautiful flower garden that has color all summer long, it is best to go with a combination of both.  The is good reason for this. Annuals will provide you will color all summer long, where perennials have a season. They will bloom for a period and then either remain as green foliage or die back to the ground until next year.

So, you may be saying why not just plant annuals since they bloom all season, right? It really is personal preference and you can fill your yard with annuals if you want. But, by mixing the two you get a yard that is always changing, with new interest almost weekly.

Perennials also give your flower beds a structure or definition. They are always constant, after a few years you will look forward to the peonies that always come up and bloom in the spring, or the fall mums that show their color after everything else has faded.  As I stated above, many perennials will remain as green foliage when they aren't blooming and that provides a beautiful backdrop for your showy annuals.

A good plan is to design your yard so you have shrubs, perennials and annuals.  Start with the shrubs and trees since they are like the framework. Then tuck groupings of perennials here and there in your yard. Take care to notice the exposure requirement and how big a plant will get before you plant it. Many gardeners have had to pull out beautiful perennials because they grew too big for the spot they were planted! It is also a good idea to take note of when the plant usually blooms.  That way you can spread the beauty around your yard. You don't want all the spring bloomers in one spot and the summer ones in another.

When you are planting your perennials, leave pockets of space for annuals.  It is so beautiful to have a few showy annuals sprinkled throughout the yard. If you want a real show, leave a couple of larger areas where you can plant an entire bed or section of just petunias or other vibrant annuals for gorgeous color.

It is really up to you whether too plant annuals or perennials. But a good mix of both will make your yard stunning!

More information on annuals and perennials:

	Container Gardening: How To Grow Food, Flowers and Fun At Home (Gardening Guidebooks)

	Flower gardening

	Flower Gardening

	The Flower Gardener's Bible: A Complete Guide to Colorful Blooms All Season Long; 10th Anniversary Edition with a new foreword by Suzy Bales

Cordless Tiller - Having a small garden tiller is very beneficial for a home gardener.  However, sometimes the cord prevents you from working far from an outlet with electric models or the noise of the gas engine makes it hard to use early in the morning when the neighbors are sleeping. But with a cordless tiller you can use it anytime and anywhere you choose!

The Benefits of a Cordless Tiller

While it may not be the tiller you would choose for big jobs, a cordless tiller can be a great help in the yard. The nice thing about a cordless tiller is they are generally small enough that they can get in to tight areas of the yard that a larger tiller might have trouble with.  Plus they are lightweight so you can easily get them where you need them. Not to mention quiet so you don't have to worry about disturbing the neighbors.

A cordless tiller is a great way to loosen the soil in flower beds before you plant in the spring. You can also use them to remove small weeds. They don't work the best with large weeds, but they will loosen them enough that you can easily pull them by hand.  People who own a cordless tiller also use them to help reseed patches of lawn. They are great for removing the dead grass and breaking up the soil enough to plant new seed.

The Cons of a Cordless Tiller

There are a lot of reasons to own a cordless tiller, and of course there are a few disadvantages to owning one. The main issue being battery life. Consumers seem too have an issue about how fast the batteries drain on a cordless tiller. For the most part, the batteries last around an hour, but recharge time can take longer.  Although there is no doubt that the battery will drain quickly, you need to keep in mind that a cordless tiller is not made to do projects that a larger or corded tiller will do. That being said, you can get quite a bit of tilling done in an hour. A cordless tiller is made for small jobs in tight spaces. You will get a lot of good use from it, but you need to remember the capabilities and limitations.

A cordless tiller can be a good investment if you are looking for a small tiller that will allow you to work in small places and in areas where you don't have access to power. Could a cordless tiller be right for you?

Buy a cordless tiller:

	Black and Decker LGC120 20-Volt Lithium Ion Cordless Garden Cultivator/Tiller,Includes 20v Battery

	Black & Decker CTL36 36-Volt Cordless Electric Front Tine Tiller

	Black & Decker GC818 18-Volt Cordless Electric Garden Cultivator

Compost Tea - We have all heard of garden compost, but compost tea? That is right - compost tea. This liquid is a byproduct of making compost and it is rich in nutrients and very beneficial for your garden. If you have ever moved a compost pile, perhaps you have noticed how rich the soil is underneath. This is because of compost tea.

Compost Tea - What Is It?

When organic material breaks down, it releases fluid and when this fluid is part of the composting process it is called compost tea. This liquid is very high in nutrients and is beneficial for all plants.

While garden compost is used to enrich the soil and benefits plants in this manner, compost tea can be watered in or applied directly to the foliage of plants.  In fact, compost tea can help fight foliage diseases and it allows the nutrients to be absorbed quicker by the plant.

Wow - compost tea is like a superfood for plants! So how do you get compost tea? Well, you can purchase ready made compost tea from garden centers or online. You can also make your own compost tea. It isn't a hard process at all. We will cover the basics here, but if you want step by step with pictures check out finegardening.com for a great tutorial.

Now there are a few compost tumblers, such as the Envirocycle composter, that have a collection area for compost tea and that makes it very easy for gardeners to collect and use this valuable resource.

The Basics of Making Compost Tea

Making compost tea is almost like making the tea you drink, but on a larger scale. First of all you will need a 5 gallon bucket and a cloth bag. Fill the cloth bag with a couple of shovels full of compost. Fill the bucket with 5 gallons of water and put the cloth bag of compost in it. Let the bucket sit for about a week and you will have nutrient rich compost tea.

You can also make compost tea in this manner without putting the compost in a bag. Just put the compost directly into the water and then strain the mixture when you are through.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While this is the way that compost tea has been made for years, you need to be aware that bacteria will grow in the mixture. Now bacteria is beneficial for the compost and plants, but it can be harmful to humans. So, to produce 'safe' compost tea, you will want to add oxygen to the process. This can be done by using a simple aquarium air pump and running two or three lines of aquarium tubing with a bubbler on the end of each tube into the bucket. The oxygen will encourage the growth of good bacteria and discourage the grown of the bad.

More about compost tea:

	Bu's Brew Biodynamic Compost Tea Bags

	Soil Mender Compost Tea Qt RTS

	Good Ideas CW-2X Compost Wizard Dueling Tumbler

	Compost Bin: Good Ideas 52 Gallon Recycled Plastic Compost Tea Tumbler

Planting a Fall Garden - Did you know that you can continue to harvest delicious home grown vegetables up until the first frost? That is right, by planting a fall garden you can enjoy fresh produce when traditional gardens have stopped producing.

What is a Fall Garden

A fall garden is just the same as a summer garden, but you just plant it later in the year. When you grow a traditional vegetable garden, you plant it in the spring after the threat of frost is passed.  With a fall garden, you plan your garden so the plants are ready for harvest before the first frost hits.

So, how do you know how to time your garden? Well, the first step is to find out when the first frost generally hits your area. You can get this information from your local garden center, extension office, or by reading the Farmer's Almanac.

After you have an idea when the frost will hit, it is time to decide what plants you will put in your garden. Find seeds with a fairly short growing season, often times they will have early in the name. Most seed packets will have the days to maturity listed on the back.

Just a note: You will probably want to buy the seeds for your fall garden in the early spring when seeds are plentiful at garden centers.  Many stores will shift their products to fall/winter by mid-summer so finding seeds later will be a challenge.

What to Plant in a Fall Garden

Many people get hung up on what to plant in their fall garden. Well, you can plant almost anything that you would grow in a traditional garden! The nice thing about a fall garden is you can grow two crops of many vegetables. For instance, corn is a crop that produces for a few weeks and then it is done. The remaining ears of corn are too tough and old to be delicious. But, if you plant corn in your fall garden, you can enjoy corn on the cob for a longer period of time.

Your only limit with a fall garden is the time of the first frost. However, if you know the approximate date of the typical first frost and you check the maturity dates on your seed packets everything will be fine. Check those seed packets closely though. You don't want to plant a crop with a 90 day maturity on July 31 when your first frost is October 1!

Planting Your Fall Garden

There is really nothing special about planting a fall garden. It is just like planting your traditional garden, you are just doing it later in the year.  One thing you will need to pay close attention to is water. When you plant a spring garden, the weather is cooler and there is usually plenty of rain.  However, when you plant mid-summer the temperatures are higher and the climate is generally drier. As a result, you need to make sure your seed beds don't dry out while trying to sprout.

One way to ensure that your fall garden gets a good start is to till the soil to create a good planting bed. Then thoroughly wet down the area and wait about 24 hours before planting. Doing this will make sure that the entire planting depth is moist, just like it is in the spring.

After your plants have broke through the ground and are about two to three inches tall, put plenty of mulch around them. The addition of mulch will help keep the ground cooler and retain moisture for healthier plants.

Take care of your fall garden just like you do your traditional garden and it will reward you will delicious produce long after your neighbors have given up on their gardens. A fall garden is a great way to enjoy home grown produce longer!

Find out more about all gardens including planting a fall garden:

	Home Vegetable Gardening

	Fiskars 9424 Garden Bucket Caddy

	Home Vegetable Gardening -a Complete and Practical Guide to the Planting and Care of All Vegetables, Fruits and Berries Worth Growing for Home Use

Hand Held Cultivator - A hand held cultivator is one garden tool that should be in every gardeners tool chest. Why you ask? Because a hand cultivator is an all purpose garden tool that can help you accomplish so many different garden tasks.  In fact, you may find that you use your hand held cultivator so much you will wonder how you ever gardened without it!

Using a Hand Held Cultivator

Before we can discuss how to use a hand held cultivator, lets take a look at what a cultivator is. According to Dictionary.com the definition of cultivator is:

cul·ti·va·tor - [kuhl-tuh-vey-ter] –noun

1.  a person or thing that cultivates.
2.  an implement drawn between rows of growing plants to loosen the earth and destroy weeds.

According to this definition, a cultivator can either be a person or a thing that breaks up the soil and helps to remove weeds. Of course you can be a manual cultivator simply by pulling weeds, but having a tool like a hand held cultivator makes working in the garden so much easier!

You can find a hand held cultivator with both short and long handles. Personally, I have one of each. The cultivator with a short handle is great when you are working around small plants or planting in small spaces. Of course, using a hand cultivator with a short handle requires you to get down on the ground which may not be the easiest thing to do for many people.

That is why a hand cultivator with a long handle is such a wonderful garden tool.  My long handled cultivator is my favorite garden tool, in fact I wrote about it here.  This is the tool I reach for every time I work in the yard.  This hand held cultivator is perfect to smooth the soil after planting, pulling leaves and other debris off planting beds in the spring, and of course to help with weeding and cultivating.  A hand held cultivator can also be used to mix fertilizer and compost into the soil.

A hand held cultivator is one garden tool I would never want to be without.  It is the perfect, multi-purpose garden tool. Do you have one?

Buy a hand held cultivator:

	Radius Garden 103 Ergonomic Aluminum Hand Cultivator

	Garden Weasel 91316 Red Garden Claw

	Bully Tools 92150-L Dirt Ripper Jr All Steel 3-Tine Hand Cultivator

Envirocycle Composter - As home composting grows in popularity, people are looking for ways to make compost in an easy and mess free way. The Envirocycle composter is the perfect answer. This sturdy compost tumbler is the perfect way to make your own quality compost. In fact, the Envirocycle composter is so easy to use that even your children can get involved!

What Makes the Envirocycle Composter Great

The Evirocycle composter is a favorite among consumers for many reasons.  But probably the number one reason that people love this garden composter is because it is so easy to use! You simply put your garden waste, kitchen scraps, etc. in the bin and give it a spin.  Spinning the composter is easy as well, in fact many users give the job of spinning the Envirocycle composter to their children. That way the kids are involved in the process.

Just a note - in my opinion the composter should always be spun after adding new material. That way it gets mixed in with the waste that is already breaking down which will help the new material start decaying as well. Spinning after each addition is just a good way to keep the process going!

Inside the Envirocycle composter are eight rollers that ensure that your compost ingredients are mixed thoroughly each time you spin.  You don't have to worry about using a turning fork or compost aerator with this compost maker!

Another great thing about the Envirocycle composter is it comes pre-assembled! No searching for tools or trying to match part A to part B, just put it in the backyard and you are ready to go!

The Envirocycle composter will hold up to 7 cubic feet of organic material, which is usually adequate for most homeowners. However, some people do buy two compost tumblers so one can be 'cooking' and the other one to add fresh material to. After the first one is done with the garden compost, let the other composter cook and start adding your organic material to the bin that you emptied. Using this method you will always have a good supply of compost on hand!

The two bin method above is the optimal way to create your compost. But if you don't want two bins, you can stop adding material to your Envirocycle composter once it is full and collect any additional waste in a compost pile. You can then move the waste to the compost tumbler once your first batch is finished. The waste will start to break down in the compost pile so you will have a head start on the next batch! While your compost is cooking, spin the Envirocycle composter three times per week and you should have healthy garden compost in about four to six weeks.

Compost Tea

The Envirocycle composter has been on the market for more than 20 years, and it is still a favorite among consumers. This compost bin will not only help you make healthy garden compost, but this backyard composter was the first commercially available compost bin to collect compost tea.

So what is compost tea? Well, it is the liquid that drains off the compost as it decays. In traditional compost piles, this liquid drains directly into the ground. This is the reason that the soil where a compost pile was located is always so rich and healthy! Compost tea can be used when you water your plants. It is like mixing fertilizer in with your water. In fact, using compost tea can replace water soluble fertilizers that you normally use.

The Envirocycle composter is created in a way that the compost tea drains into the base.  The base of the composter will hold just under four gallons of compost tea. The base of the composter is removable so you can easily pour the compost tea into another container.

The Envirocycle composter is a great product that will help you make great compost! Almost all consumers who have an Envirocycle composter say they would buy another one. The people who use it know it is one of the best compost tumblers around!

Buy an Envirocycle composter:

	Envirocycle Original Composter Black

	EarthCare Compost Tumbler

	Enviro-Cycle Composter Roller