Saturday, 26 May 2012

Latest Mass Hort Events

Mon, May 28th, @10:00am - 11:00AM
Caterpillar Club
Thu, May 31st, @2:00pm - 06:00PM
Wellesley Farmers' Market
Thu, May 31st, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
A Walk Through the Bressingham Garden
Thu, Jun 7th, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
The Basics of Rose Growing
Thu, Jun 14th, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
Creating Glorious Summer Container Gardens
Thu, Jun 21st, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
Composting
Thu, Jun 28th, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
TBA
Thu, Jul 5th, @7:00pm - 08:30PM
No Lecture - Holiday Weekend!

Friends of Mass Hort Events

Sat, Jun 2nd
Common Threads: Three Historic Estates and their Gardens
Sat, Jun 9th
Antiques at Elm Bank
Sun, Jun 24th, @9:00am - 03:30PM
Elm Bank Antique Auto Show
Events
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Earth Day at Mass Hort - Day 1
Friday, April 22 2011, 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Join an Earth Day project at the beautiful Massachusetts Horticultural Society location at the Elm Bank Reservation. Our horticulturalists and Massachusetts Master Gardener Association volunteers will lead Earth Day volunteers in spring clean up projects around Mass Hort. Additionally, we will learn about invasive plants that are hindering our eco-system and gather some of those plants.
Wear good working shoes and gloves!

April 22: 2 PM start time
April 23: 9 AM start time

Coffee and donuts! Everyone’s invited: Children (with parents) and four-legged family members.

Reserve Your EARTH MACHINE Compost Bin
Online Today!

Earth Machine CompostingThe Earth Machine has been made available for the special price of $40 to help encourage individual homeowners to compost their organic waste.

Learn to compost your organic waste!

Free compost training with the purchase of The Earth Machine backyard compost bin.

Features:

  • Easy snap together assembly
  • Big enough for a family of 5
  • Made of recycled materials
  • Large 80 gallon capacity
  • 10 year warranty

Pre-Order Your Earth Machine Now!

Order Earth Day Machine Now

 

 

And pick up at Mass Hort during Earth Day events April 22-23


Would You Consider Compost?

By composting organic materials you transform waste into valuable nutrients for your garden. Compost gives structure and life to soil by enriching it with enzymes, carbon, microbes and fungi, and helping it absorb and hold water.

What Is Compost?

Brown matter (carbon sources such as dried leaves, straw, and shredded newspaper) is mixed with green material (nitrogen sources such as fruit and vegetable wastes, garden trimmings, coffee grounds, and eggshells). The microbes in the compost convert organic nitrogen into the inorganic nitrogen compounds that are easy for plants to use.

The beneficial fungi in compost causes bits of soil to clump together pieces of soil into structures called aggregates.

These aggregates keep minerals, carbon and essential nutrients near the plant roots.

Aggregates are irregularly shaped, creating spaces between in the soil that allow air and water to reach the roots of the plants.

Compost N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) value is less than 2-1-2. The process of nitrogen conversion in compost takes place slowly over a long period of time, so excess nitrogen is eliminated before it can run off into streams or groundwater.

Composting is very simple. In fact, it is already taking place around you. In the leaf litter of our woodlands, in the grass clippings from your lawn, and in the garden mulch that disappears from your beds each year.

How to Make Compost

1 Compost is made by adding one part green material (Nitrogen) to three parts brown material (Carbon). Layer or mix the parts, adding a shovelful of rich soil or completed compost to the pile to provide the needed microorganisms and fungi. Add only enough water to the pile to keep it moist.

2 Turn the pile to add oxygen and to mix materials into the middle, where they will break down more easily. If you choose not to turn the pile, it will take longer for materials to break down into usable compost. Do not add weed seed heads or diseased plant materials into the compost pile. Home compost piles seldom reach the internal temperature of 140-160°F needed to kill seeds and disease pathogens.

3 Green Materials: Grass clippings, fresh leaves, seedless weeds, fruit and vegetables waste, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bag and garden trimmings.

4 Brown Materials: Dry leaves, shredded black and white newspaper, old bread, rice or pasta (but not with a meat sauce), paper towels and cardboard, sawdust, pine needles, chipped branches and brush.

Important: Do Not Add oil, fat, meat, bones, dairy products, weeds gone to seed or diseased plants
 

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About the Massachusetts Horticultural Society

Massachusetts Horticultural Society LogoFounded in 1829, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and developing the public's enjoyment, appreciation, and understanding of plants and the environment.