CORVALLIS – Adding organic matter is the best way to improve nearly all kinds of soils. If you’re unsure if your soil needs amendments, take note if it dries and cracks in summer, drains slowly or is ...

Before you toss that sagging jack-o-lantern, learn how this piece of Halloween waste can get a new life as a soil amendment ...

There are many benefits of using compost in your garden, planting beds, and your lawn, and fall can be the perfect time to start a compost pile while you are cleaning up the garden and removing leaves ...

Adding compost to your garden soil is a step that you really shouldn't be skipping. A well-made compost is the key to soil health because it adds essential nutrients, improves soil structure, and ...

I would like to improve the heavy clay soil in my vegetable garden. A friend suggested that I rototill several inches of sand to improve the drainage. Is that a good way to improve clay soil?

I recently got a question from a reader about where to get good soil and compost. Part of her request was for “organic” soil and compost. The Spokane region is home to a wide variety of soils ...

The conventional way that gardeners solve bad-soil trouble is by adding organic matter such as compost, leaves, grass clippings, and/or rotted manure – or bypassing in-ground planting altogether with ...

Why pay to throw away leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps and other household organic waste when you could turn it into superb soil? That’s the idea of composting – improving your lousy soil while ...

After Halloween, properly disposing of pumpkins is integral for the health of local ecosystems, according to officials.

To get the most out of any organic fertilizer, keep in mind how plants feed and how these fertilizers act in the soil. The bulk of a plant’s feeder roots -- whether it’s a midget marigold or a mighty ...

What does nitrogen do for plants? Read on to learn how to improve the health of your plants and how to add nitrogen to soil by fixing the nitrogen cycle in your garden. This article is also in audio ...

To improve their soil, gardeners often are told to add organic matter. What’s that? “Organic matter is anything that used to be alive,” says Meghan Midgley, soil scientist in the Center for Tree ...