Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes And Concoctions For Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, And More

Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes And Concoctions For Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, And More

Garden Alchemy is a hands-on guide for do-it-yourself gardeners who want to turn their garden into gold using natural recipes and herbal concoctions (while saving both time and money!). This gardening recipe and project book is packed with over 80 ideas to naturally beautify your garden, using organic methods that regenerate your soil and revitalize your plants. By following the processes that are closest to nature, it brings the gardener in sync with the garden, allowing plants to thrive with less effort and less cost. Recipes for mixing your own potting soils and homemadeorganic fertilizers give you the freedom to choose what ingredients make their way into your garden. Step-by-step instructions for building a compost pile, concocting soil tests, and constructing inexpensive DIY seed-starting equipment are accompanied by gorgeous, full-color, step-by-step photography. You'll also find recipes for natural pest deterrents and traps, garden teas, and growth-boosting foliar sprays to help your garden grow strong all season long.Garden Alchemy starts with home experiments to help you get to know your soil and customize recipes for your individual needs. The rest of the chapters share how to decipher and combine natural ingredients to make the best quality amendments and elixirs. Detailed descriptions of earth-based materials demystify common ingredients, such as mycorrhizae, biochar, and greensand, and help you learn how to fix common garden problems with minimal effort. The simple method of making use of what you have available supports plants better than brand-name products. Dozens of recipes and projects include:Homemade seed bombs, disks, and tapesGranular and liquid natural fertilizer recipes?IY rooting hormoneHerbal anti-fungal sprayPlant propagation instructionsSoil care recipes to adjust?he pH and manage fertility13 specialty potting mixes7 clever traps for common garden pestsWritten by Stephanie Rose, the creative gardener, permaculturist, and herbalist behind the popular website Garden Therapy, this fun and beautifully illustrated book is packed with great ideas and inspiration for DIY gardeners who want to embrace their creativity and have more control of the garden's care.Review?In her new colorful book, Stephanie Rose nails the simplicity and magic of soil science-making it easy for gardeners to?se what?s on hand-from common plants to other biomass to grow in ideal conditions.?Readers will now have the wisdom they need to create healthy and fertile soil for their gardens!? - Jessi Bloom, best-selling author, CPH, ECP, ISA arborist, and owner of NW Bloom Ecological Services"Whether an avid gardener or a novice planting your first garden,Garden Alchemy is the definitive guidebook to have on hand.?A virtual ?cook book? for the garden, it contains countless recipes, projects, and practical advice for how to create the healthiest plants possible using all natural solutions. A fairly accomplished gardener myself, I was delightfully surprised at how much I learned from Stephanie Rose?s guide to gardening.?Her book includes instructions for creating your own ?do it yourself? soil testing kit, self watering containers, butterfly ?puddlers? and bee baths, seed bombs, as well as a variety of recipes and concoctions for a wide range of potting mixes, pest deterrents, organic fertilizers, plant elixirs and even lush green ?garden smoothies? to fortify your plants.? Along with the wealth of practical advice she shares, the authors loving homage?o nature is woven throughout this gorgeous do it yourself gardening guide ~ listen deeply to the plants and learn all you can from observing Mother Nature." ?- Rosemary Gladstar - herbalist, author and gardener"Stephanie empowers the reader to experiment with ways to fix common garden problems with minimal effort - and showing how there are so many things the home gardener can do before deciding to buy a "problem-solving" prod