Planting Trees- General Guidelines Wednesday, October 3rd 2007 Planting Trees- General Guidelines May 23, 2005 When to Plant Trees Climate plays a deciding role when determining the appropriate planting time. Newly planted trees do best when exposed to moderate temperature and rainfall and they need time to root and acclimatize before the onset of intense heat and dryness of summer or the freezing temperatures of winter. Read More Brighten your Yard with Summer Bulbs Thursday, July 26th 2007 Beauty. Vibrancy. Read More Fire Blight Wednesday, June 13th 2007 What is Fire Blight? Fire blight is a destructive, highly infectious and widespread disease caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. Fire blight thrives in warm, wet weather when the disease causing bacterium becomes active. Read More How To Choose a Tree Sunday, May 27th 2007 Planting trees is an easy and effective way to beautify your property, provide shade in summer and wind protection in winter and enhance privacy all while increasing real estate values at the same time. Because there is so much variation in size, shape, growth habits and care requirements, the type of tree you choose for your landscape will have repercussions for years to come. Read More Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next		What You Need to Know Before Buying Compost Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 Buying compost has really never been easier. Think back five to ten years ago. The only compost you ever knew about was the stuff that some folks managed to make out of their scraps in bins in their backyards. Garden guides often refer to compost as "natures method" of recycling. Nature does a wonderful job of recycling but her time frame is that of eternity and most of us here on earth don't have nearly that long to wait (or want to wait) for a beautiful lawn and garden! What are you getting when you are buying compost? What's in it? Do you know? And if you don't, how can you find out? Anyone producing STA Certified compost (like the kind we make here at Hansen's) must have their compost mixture tested on a regular basis and those test results need to fall into so pretty specific guidelines for nutrients. So the easy answer is when buying compost, check to see if it is indeed STA Certified. If you are trying some composting at home or picking some up from the city in which you live - if they do composting- make sure to sniff the compost. What does it smell like? Is it sour smelling? Rank? Bitter or nasty smelling? If it is, it would be best to leave it alone. Compost should smell sweet and earthy, just like good soil. Composting is the natural way of recyling & harnessing a very natural process but it takes people who understand that process, to make good compost.