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Fruition Garden Journal

video tutorials, tried-and-true tips + our latest learnings to surround you with abundance all season long

3 Keys to Maximizing Your Leaves This Fall

Nov 15, 2018

'Tis the season when leaves are falling and streets are lined with ready-made mulch, compost-to-be, nutrient dense and often already bagged for the intrepid gardener to stock up one of the quickest ways to build top-notch soil.

So true!

Here are three keys to maximizing your leaves this fall, to build your soil quickly and mulch most effectively:

1. Deciduous Leaves are the Best for Mulch and Building Soil

Only apply deciduous leaves as mulch in your garden beds. Coniferous pine needles will decompose and acidify your soil, often making the resulting pH less than ideal for growing vegetables, flowers and herbs. If you’re growing blueberries, rhododendrons or want blue hydrangeas, coniferous materials are one of the easiest ways to both mulch and feed them.

2. Chipping/Shredding Your Leaves has the Greatest Impact

Whether you’re building your soil with leaves or spreading them as mulch, send your leaves through a chipper/shredder first. I’ve learned the hard...

2 Easy Ways to Boost Your Garlic Harvest this June

Jun 20, 2018

Garlic is one of our favorite crops to grow. Delicious in every season and marvelously medicinal, garlic is also easy to grow. If I had to pick only a handful of crops to grow each season, garlic would always be one. Always.

Garlic swells from the size of a dime to a full-size bulb in ~5 short weeks, from early June to mid-July. June is the time to give her all you've got :)

Small bulbs are most commonly the result of nutrient deficiency and weed pressure, so here are easy ways to ensure you have abundant nutrients and manageable weeds to optimize your garlic harvest this season!

1. Feed Your Garlic

Garlic is a heavy feeder, requiring lots of nutrients to grow large and store long.

Here are the best times and ways to ensure your garlic has full access to abundant nutrients:

- Add rich fertility when you prepare your soil to plant in fall. We love to add mature compost as well as our organic granular fertilizer.

- Mulch with deciduous leaves in fall, spring, or both....