Articles written by Cassandra Truax
All 24 articles written by Cassandra Truax
Category: Composting
Composting worms do need moisture, but too much can kill. Overly wet bins can also foster pest insect outbreaks. Give worms adequate moisture, but not too much. more...
Three Ways to Harvest Red Worms: How to Separate Composting Worms From Compost
Category: Composting
Buying an expensive machine is not usually an option for home-based composters. The best way to separate worms and compost is to convince the worms to do it themselves. more...
Category: Vacations & Leisure (general)
Arizona's White Mountains offer a cool summer get away. The Fort Apache Indian reservation has many hunting, recreation, and sightseeing opportunities. more...
5 Reasons Raised Beds are Better Than Digging: Intensive Gardening is Less Work Than Row Cropping
Category: Organic Gardens (general)
Raised bed gardening is much less work than tilling a garden and planting rows and has many other benefits to both plants and humans. more...
What is a Ceramic Cone?: Correct Temperatures for Firing Ceramics
Category: Ceramics (general)
Ceramics are fired according to a cone schedule. Thinking of the range of cone temperatures like a thermometer can help alleviate confusion. more...
3 Advantages and 4 Benefits of Worm Composting: How Red Wiggler Worms Make Life Easier
Category: Composting
Worm composting produces compost rich in nutrients, cuts down on waste in the garbage can, and produces red wiggler worms. more...
Building a Worm Compost Bin: Worm Bin Design for Raising Red Worms
Category: Composting
How to build a worm compost bin. Red wiggler worms eat their body weight or more each day, and create rich worm castings for the garden. more...
Category: Flower Gardens (general)
High in the mountains of the southwestern United States, late snows and early freezes can put a damper on flowering gardens. more...
7 Steps to Upside Down Tomatoes: Hanging Tomatoes are an Easy Do It Yourself Project
Category: Vegetable Gardens (general)
Using a 5 gallon bucket, a hanger and a couple of tools, it's easy to plant upside down tomatoes. With the tomatoes hanging out the bottom, no staking is necessary. more...
The Top 5 Central Texas Landscape Plants: Texas Natives are Perennial and Drought Hardy
Category: Landscaping (general)
Use native Texas plants to create heat loving, colorful, drought tolerant landscapes that are perennial and easy to care for. more...
An Easy Way to Grow Potatoes: A Potato Bin Yields a Bumper Crop
Category: Organic Vegetable Gardens
A potato bin is fashioned from fencing or other material, and makes planting and harvest quick and easy. more...
Making a Ceramic Decal from Clay Slip: Clay and Concepts Make a Decal That Blends with Clay Body
Category: Ceramic Techniques
A ceramic decal can be made from Concepts and clay slip. A design is painted on paper, covered with slip, and then applied to a clay project before firing. more...
High Elevation Cooking: Solutions to Baking and Cooking at Elevations over 5,000 feet
Category: Baking & Desserts (general)
At high elevations, cakes come out flat and sticky. Beans often stay hard. With a few recipe modifications, high elevation cooking is a snap. more...
Feeding Red Wiggler Worms: What Happens After Starting a Worm Bin
Category: Composting
Setting up a worm bin is easy enough. This article seeks to answer questions related to composting worm feeding and care after the bin is set up. more...
5 Ways to Reduce Water Use in the Garden: How to Spend Less Time and Money Watering the Garden
Category: Desert/Water-wise Gardens (general)
Ways to reduce water use in the garden include mulching, plant selection and water harvesting. more...
Soil Mix for Raised Bed Gardens: Mixing Great Garden Soil Gives High Yields
Category: Organic Gardens (general)
Regular potting soil will do for raised beds, but the best raised bed soil will be high in organic matter and have high water-holding capacity. more...
How to Pit-Fire Pottery: Finishing Pottery With an Open Flame
Category: Pottery
Firing pottery with an open flame in a pit or barrel yields unique and beautiful effects. Adding chemicals and household substances can add flashes of color. more...
Organic Soil: The Best Garden Soil Recipe Includes Lots of Organic Matter
Category: Organic Vegetable Gardens
Soil is made from minerals, water, air and organic matter. The key to great garden soil is increasing the organic matter and the biological activity in the soil. more...
Container Gardens: How to Grow Strawberries in a Container and Other Favorites
Category: Container Gardens
Many garden favorites such as strawberries, blueberries, peppers and tomatoes can be grown in containers. Design a container garden around what you enjoy eating. more...
How to Build a Worm Tower: Encourage Worms in Your Garden and Watch It Thrive
Category: Organic Vegetable Gardens
Worm compost is a valuable additive to the organic garden. Building a worm bin is one way to harvest compost. An easier way to obtain worm castings is via a worm tower. more...
The Secret Ingredient to Great Soil: Charcoal and Compost Create Healthy Soil
Category: Organic Gardens (general)
Charcoal incorporated with soil creates added living space for microorganisms which increase soil health and fertility. more...
What is Raku Pottery?: A Brief Description of Raku Firing
Category: Ceramic Techniques
Raku firing is unpredictable and volatile, but produces exquisitely beautiful results. more...
Category: Organic Gardens (general)
Using natural herbicides may require a little more elbow grease, but are much safer in the long run. more...
Category: Ceramic Techniques
Decal paper made for laser printers can be used to make a permanent image on ceramics. Some toners contain iron, which bonds with the glaze and becomes permanent. more...
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