Gardening Guide

The US Department of Agriculture created the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map to provide a standard definition of climatic conditions relevant to plant growth and survival. It is used by the agriculture industry to define what plants grow best in what areas. By understanding what zone you’re located in, you can find out which plants will grow best in your area and which won’t.

Dirt is not the same as soil. Simply put, dirt is soil without any life. It is sterile. Dirt is ‘dead’. It contains no biology or non in a living state. Dirt is a mixture of minerals, sand, silt and clay. Sand particles are the largest. Silt are smaller yet and clay is even smaller. Sand will allow water to easily pass through it. Silt will allow water to pass through, but slower than sand. Clay, depending on the layering and the quantity, will block water. It is why clay pots are used to store water

The following process is called an instant garden and it was made popular by Bill Mollison, the person who coined the phrase Permaculture. In short, forests have the largest productions of any growing systems in the world. They also have the widest diversity of life, both above and below the surface of the soil.