Open soil.

Hello from a chilly day in Gauteng. It is raining. Glorious.

Yesterday I helped my neighbor in her garden. I work with one of my guys and her gardener. We do training and implement some changes. We also give instructions on the way forward to achieve a desired outcome.

These are some of the things I see all the time.

The turning of soil. I know this can be controversial. I side with the group that believe that your soil is an eco system that provide the environment for living organisms to thrive. Turning the soil disturbs this delicate balance.

Open soil. You should never ever ever ever have open soil. All soil needs to be covered. If your plants are not big enough to cover the soil you can use mulch. Open soil dries out much quicker and is not water wise. Open soil invites weeds to come and grow.

Garden rubbish being removed. All garden waste should be recycled in your garden. I can hear you gasp. Yes. All. Even when you cut down trees. Sometimes we need to remove trees and then the wood can be used as firewood or the smaller stumps can be used for permaculture. And please, please... Do not rake away leaves. They are there to cover your soil and become compost that nurtures your garden.

Lawn care. There are a few common mistakes that I see. First you must have the right lawn for your conditions. Shade and sun lawn. Never cut the lawn on the lowest setting. Grass makes a little roof to protect the roots. When you cut the lawn too short you expose the roots to the sun and the lawn dies. Lawn needs to be watered. Weeds needs to be removed by hand. Air rate your lawn. Also by hand. Those machines for hire are not recommended. When lawn is cared for properly, it is the most beautiful feature of any garden.

I also fell in love with my worm water. Again. I forget how fabulous it works. I am very busy and don't get as much time for my indoor plants. They started looking a little sad. I gave them a little worm water and by the end of day they all perked up. I decided to sell my worm water by the bottle. Let me know if you are interested.

That is all I have for now.

The photo is of plants in glass jars. I am doing research and experiments around this topic at the moment.

www.ineeden.co.za