by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
The “Hidden” Benefits Of Fungicides & Other Chemicals Synthetic horticultural chemicals do not work. One study showed that since the 1940’s, crop loss inflicted by insects pests have nearly doubled from 7% to 13% despite a ten-fold increase in...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
The most exciting new item in biological disease control is “Compost Tea”. Compost Tea is made by using high quality compost and microbe foods and then brewing it with oxygen (aeration) for about 24 hours. The “Tea” produced is a brown color...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Boiler ash is a generic term applied to many types of ash produced by the burning of various materials. They are 4 general types of boiler ash commonly available, each with its own chemical and environmental characteristics: Wood Ash – from boilers where wood...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Good organic lawn care involves more than fertilizer and avoiding pesticides. It means building up your lawn’s root structure and the soil that supports it so that you achieve a natural balance between beneficial organisms and pests. With organic techniques that...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
There are no labeling laws in Texas for compost; hence anything can be marketed as compost. However, there is an easy way to protect your family and garden. Compost can be broken into three basic types based on its quality and usage. These are Biological, Commercial,...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
GENERAL BENEFITS Mulch is as much a part of gardening as soil, fertilizer, watering, planting and pruning. It is often even more important and beneficial. Mulch is applied to the surface of the soil, it conserves moisture, moderates soil temperature, controls weeds,...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
1) What is compost or composting? Composting is, in the simplest terms, the biological reduction of organic wastes into humus. It is a natural process used by nature to return nutrients contained in organic materials that were once alive, to the soil. Compost is...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
COMPOST or BLACK GOLD? II Compost provides primary nutrients as well as trace minerals, humus and humic acids, in a proportion that almost exactly matches plant requirements. Compost also helps unlock minerals present in existing soil. Why waste money on fertilizers...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Compost contains microorganisms that help prevent damping off disease. The microorganisms in the compost are competitors of the pathogens such as Pythium and Rhizoctonia. Compost is a 100% organic fertilizer containing primary nutrients as well as trace minerals,...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Colored or dyed mulch is a product that comes in many forms and has evolved and changed a lot over the last few years. Many of the early problems have been overcome, however it is still a special purpose mulch, with limited uses, and must be used correctly or it may...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral that is made up of calcium sulfate and water (CaSO4+2H2O) that is sometimes called hydrous calcium sulfate. It is the mineral calcium sulfate with two water molecules attached. By weight it is 79% calcium sulfate and 21% water....
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Chloramine is a mixture of chlorine and ammonia and is added to public water systems in addition to chlorine. It takes on many chemical forms depending on the mineral content and the pH of the water, monochloramine (NH2Cl), dichloramine (NHCl2, trichloramine (NCl3)...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Recent research by Carl Potter of the EPA has found that composting significantly reduces polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons found in creosote. BioCycle September, 1995. Compost is valuable as pollution prevention tool from storm water treatment to global warming...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
3 Simple Steps to Save Money 1) Use only ORGANIC FERTILIZERS2) Apply COMPOST3) Apply TRACE MINERALS Organic Fertilizers do not leach and pollute our streams; hence, they are only used 2 times per year instead of 4-5 times as with synthetic fertilizers. Synthetic...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
It is extremely well documented that Brown Patch is caused by the soil borne fungus (Rhizoctonia solani) and Take-All Patch is caused by the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis both of which thrive in unhealthy soils BROWN...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Diatomaceous earth (often abbreviated D.E.) comes from a soft sedimentary rock deposits called “Diatomite”. It is a soft very fine grained rock, rich in silica that is composed of the remains of fossilized diatoms. Deposits of diatomite are found all over...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
A question we often get asked is “What is expanded shale?” The products we call Expanded shale may be produced from several sources, clay, shale or slate and have several different names depending on what part of the country one lives in. To help us...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Improve the physical structure of the soil.Improve water filtration rates and absorption rates helping the soil to drain better. Less runoff equals less watering and less erosion. Their tunneling activity improves soil aeration, porosity, and permeability. Increases...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Many of you have read emails circulating about the possibility of Formosan Subterranean Termites in mulch coming from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Here are John Ferguson’s thoughts that he has shared with others regarding this subject. The risk factor is...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Greensand Greensand is a naturally occurring mineral mined from ocean deposits from a sedimentary rock known as “Glauconite”. It is often an olive-green colored sandstone rock found in layers in many sedimentary rock formations. Origin of Greensand...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Mushroom Compost First Mushroom Compost is not real compost! The real name of this product is spent mushroom substrate (SMS). It is called “Mushroom Compost” as a marketing ploy to help dispose of it. SMS is made from a combination of wheat straw, dried...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
The Organic philosophies believes that one should work within and with the laws of nature (God) not fight against nature as we have been taught by the synthetic chemical industry. Traditionalists (synthetic chemicals supporters) fight nature (paddle upstream) while...
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
The Nutrient Story Organic fertilizers contain trace minerals which are often critical to plant health and growth and missing in artificial fertilizers. Organic fertilizers do not leach out of the soils as compared to water soluble artificial chemical fertilizers....
by John Ferguson | Fact and Infosheets
Rubber mulch is typically made from ground up recycled tires and has generated a lot of discussion on the benefits and risks or dangers of using it. There seems to be two schools of thought on rubber mulch. It seems that all the studies paid for by the rubber mulch...
