K. Finch our expert of the day, writes:

Compost is what is left over when organic matter decomposes. Organic matter can be things like vegetable scraps, leaves, mown grass and any other garden waste. This material will decompose without any assistance at all, though you can help it along and enjoy the benefits of compost faster if you wish.

Because it doesn’t contain a high level of essential nutrients, compost is not considered an actual fertilizer. Instead, it is treated as a soil conditioner or amendment. Compost does supply many good things to the soil. It attracts beneficial creatures like earthworms and it improves the soil composition.

Cold composting is basically just making a pile and letting it sit in the bin. This takes longer than hot composting. Hot composting is when you take a shovel and turn your pile every few days to supply more oxygen to the microorganisms in your compost pile.

Location

Clint Jhonson our expert of the day, writes:

Penny Mohney our expert of the day, writes:

It’s easy,very inexpensive and they taste better too so lets get started!

STEP 1: Which tomatoes should I grow? If you have a long growing season then you would want to go with an indeterminate variety which grows all summer long. If your growing season is short then you would go with a determinate variety which produces its fruit quickly (in as little as 85 days or less) and ripens all at once. Go to www.PennysTomatoes.com for more info on varieties.

Step 2: Now that I have bought my seeds what do I do with them? Six to eight weeks for the end of winter I line up little paper cups filled with peat moss and put one seed in each cup. I then place them in a sunny window sill and water almost daily as peat tends to dry out quickly. Make sure not to over water or let the seed/roots sit in excessive water as this will kill them.

Dael Leathe our expert of the day, writes:

If you’re not a big fan of getting dirty in the outside garden, then fear not. Most of the vegetables grown at home can be grown equally well in containers. By finding the right container and filling it with the right potting mixture, you will be able to grow anything you want in it, even tomatoes.

First you need to find the right size container for your plants. If you want the little cherry tomatoes (which are excellent in salads) then you can use the regular size hanging baskets, but if you prefer the larger tomatoes you’d do best to purchase five gallon buckets, because your plants need plenty of room to grow, you don’t want them to be cramped. Next you need to go to a nursery and purchase your tomato plants. You don’t want to get too large of a plant, you can buy a determinate tomato plant, that stops growing after they reach a certain size, or indeterminate that will continue to grow and produce larger tomato plants. Two very popular indeterminate tomato plants are Big Beef and Better Boy, which are also very resistant to plant disease and will give you tomatoes for a longer period of time.

Ray G Cunningham our expert of the day, writes:

The art of bonsai tending embraces the growing of miniature, usually in small trays, or small pots.

By precision pruning and growing them in small containers, it is practicable to retain their small forms.

It takes but a short time, to learn the basic art of pruning a bonsai tree and give you great satisfaction, but perhaps a lifetime to master the art.

Japanese, ’shin zen bi’ combines the three forces, beauty, truth and essence, as part of the philosophy,

behind their form of bonsai.

In their long quest for perfection, the Japanese aim for a perfectly natural, though miniaturized look to the tree, or plant. Their bonsai look as though they grew that way, without human help. That is the aim.

The Chinese tend toward the artistic and more imaginative with their bonsai, growing them into Chinese lettering and mythical lifeforms, as well as wildlife. Personally, I much prefer the more challenging, but natural miniaturized Japanese form, as it is more pleasing to my eye and senses.

The bonsai art form goes back a long, long time.

Penny Mohney our expert of the day, writes:

Richard Vande Sompel our expert of the day, writes:

A small deck does not necessarily have to remain a small deck. There are a number of techniques to make that less than large area increase in size and become more comfortable. The key to small deck design is simplicity.

1. Create the illusion of one big area from 2 smaller spaces. If your deck is bordered by the backyard lawn then allow this outdoor living area to spill out into that open space and it will create the illusion of being larger.

2. Create colorful flower or garden beds on 1 or more sides of the deck so that it does not seem to float like an island in the grassed area of your backyard. Instead the multicolored flowers and greenery will work together to seamlessly blend with the deck and become an integral part of the backyard landscape.

3. Emphasize the deck and not the property line. Instead of letting the lawn end at the property line create perimeter planting beds that will turn any attention inward toward the deck. The careful placement of trees, shrubs and plants in these perimeter garden areas will lead the eye back to the deck which should be the focal point of the yard.