Houston we have an answer to your problem. 

If one was to be beginning their first venture of home gardening, they would be bombarded with foreign terminology, thousands of company names, thousands of conflicting philosophies and techniques, and almost more information than any one person can handle. However, this can all be for the most, part made easy if you just take on a simple mindset of being natural and growing in the way that God intended it to be done. This mind set has a common name that most of us can identify with and this name is "organic". By definition the word organic means relating to, or derived from living organisms and another definition that is more suited for gardening is marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin, raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals. And by most peoples definition organic means not putting potentially harmful man made products into harmless natural products. Thankfully, there has been a growing movement since the 1970's that has focused on teaching and using organic principles and this movement has spread to every city, state, and nation. On a local level, there have been many individuals who have been involved in this movement and Daniel Shields of Humble, Texas is one of these wonderful individuals. Texas Heritage Organic Soils is the name of Mr. Shields  and his partners Ted Lewis and Mike O'bride's organic company and this is a soil company that uses only organic products at the most affordable prices. They offer a Premium Blend (48 lb bags and by the yard) that is USCC (US Compost Council) grade compost with OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute) approved VermaMax and VermaPlex that uses no fillers and no weed seeds and it replaces the need for fertilizers. VermaMax® is organic chicken litter composted by a patented process using VermaPlex®.  VermaMax® fulfills your extra nitrogen needs and contains an astounding 6% calcium. VermaMax® also contains Pure Black Castings or in simple terms good ol' worm poop. Composted Top Soil (48 lb bags and by the yard) is also offered and it is USCC grade compost approved with no fillers and weed seed used and is a great base and general use in lawn and garden.  TXHOSS also offers Premium Potting Soil (25 lb bags and by the yard) that are also USCC grade composted with 7% perilite, black castings with VermaPlex that is OMRI listed.  On top of offering these great organic products they also provide full lawn and garden services that include evaluating all needs for large projects as well as lawns, gardens, and sports fields, creating sustainable growing media with deep root systems with a specialization in water conservation systems. So basically, Mr. Shields and crew will take on any project you have whether it be a football or soccer field, a garden or lawn, a backyard project to a shopping mall project, and turn it into a beautiful, all natural environment for all walks of life to enjoy. When one decides to use a company such as Texas Heritage Organic Soils and uses organic means, they are choosing to use a philosophy and technique that has beautiful and bountiful results and that does not harm the environment or others. This organic way of life can be achieved by seeking the help of individuals and businesses like that of Daniel Shields,Ted Lewis, and Mike O'bride of Texas Heritage Organic Soils and other similar ones. For more information about the business go to www.txhoss.com or contact Texas Heritage Organic Soils at Phone 281.415.8588 or texashos@att.net or stop by Dan's Hardware at 21714 Aldine Westfield Road  Humble, TX 77338. Remember going organic means going the natural way that God had intended it to be.  

How To Get My Yard Back after the The Great Drought

"The Great Drought" I bet you never thought you would ever see this? Global warming? No. Climate change? No. Cycles ? Yes. A purging of sorts. Nature has a way of cleaning up after a mess somewhat like a self cleaning oven. A culling out some would say. Darwin would call it a survival of the the fittist. I just call it too damn hot ! Sometimes what goes around come around. We can always learn from this.
  Since we have some time to think let me suggest an idea or two. Don't do the wrong thing twice!
Point #1.To re-establish or rejuvenate your yard as soon as you are ready, let's start with the soil.
              The organics are virtully dead if you have been using synthetics for the last decade...Period!
Point #2. Don't waste more money repeating the same habits twice....Period!
Point #3. Here's why,
   "Top soil" is an accumulation of compost from years of  leaves, limbs, mold, animals droppings, bug and microscopic bacteria and fungi decay. It is neither good nor bad in content but is balanced as to it's purpose in nature's plan. The soil or the "agronomy" of the the soil is paramount in the survival of all plant life. We ( human helpers) are not a shared part of this equation as to the role we play, unless of course we somehow alter this "natural" occurance of natures' plan. Obviously we have. Now, going forward. To bring back the soil into a usable product, science can play an important role in commercially growing organic cultures that can be added to the soil in an "active state." This will reproduce the living microbes that will thrive in the soil and will start the enrichment process.
    Turf or grass can be placed or seeded over the new organic soil. The excellent marriage between the two
will stimulate root growth that is ten to twenty times greater than synthetic fertilizers. The immunities that are
built into the new growth act as barriers against a variety of deseases and  bug infestations.

    Tree , Shrubs, and Gardens share the same problems and can be spared the same outcomes as
yards. The soil is the same and the root systems are affected  by heat and extreme cold in the same manner.
Organics are the most valuable asset for any gardener and are as simple as the soil.The most important tip is start in the Fall and you will be ready for an easy Spring and Summer. Next year we will learn about water accumulation projects and we will be able to use the water we need to irragate our yards as we please and be ahead of the heat issues we face today.

Your Friend,
Dan Shields
Texas Heritage Organic Soils
texashos@att.net
281-415-8588
 
 

The If's,Why's, and & How's For the Approach to Natural or Organic Gardening

    Common man and common purposes have relied on the same things for thousands of years. Food and water, clothing and shelter, all of these things derive from the soil and nothing can exist without it. Without a doubt we have forgotten that the most simple of all the commodities we have taken for granted. This is the very thing that we are destroying today. Soil has always been in the most abundant supply and when left alone would replenish itself without any assistance from man. We had to work overtime to abuse it to the point that we now have to replenish it to it's natural condition. 

  

  When? You ask, did we first realize that we were creating this problem? I don't know that we still fully understand it to this day. The fact is, until you can't afford something you really don't understand it' loss. Example; When, we lose the ability to place a seed in the ground to grow a nourishing form of food, at this   exact moment we have reached the first stage of non-self-sufficiency. Most Americans are at that point right now. 90 % of people rely on a synthetic means of growing food by an artificially produced plant in a artificial environment. Soil only remains healthy when it is used for the purpose it was created for. It goes through natural stages in which recycle bacterial and enzymatic growth for plants. What is produced or harvested are essential as nutrients and unless we think that all vitamins come from pills we are in for a rude awakening. 

     Now, getting to the root of things. I'd really like to discuss this very specifically. On this subject there is nothing that can be more effective than what the root is doing when pushing through the soil. When the soil is healthy, only good things happen. First, the plant is growing and is withstanding the elements from a structural standpoint. The minerals in the soil are being absorbed from contact with the ecto-digestive secretions and enzymatic release that naturally help to balance (ph) (when needed.) Bacteria provide fuel to the plant thru the digestive remains of plant and insect matter in exchange for oxygen & sugar chelating derived from the plant. This is perfect harmony, a dance of motion. It may not be poetry to some but to nature it is perfect balance.

    The average home owner spends a yearly amount on their yard for upkeep and maintenance, not including mowing and edging of about $850.00 to $1200.00 depending on economic situations. The resale value of homes depends heavily on the upkeep of the neighborhood and landscaping. We are extremely dependant on what the advertisers tell us and are led about by our pocket books. It is amazing how for we will be taken off course until will can't find our way back home. Do you get my drift? What if, by some simplistic approach we were to find some direction without a magic bean? It's possible and it's affordable.

Children are the best students when introducing this concept only because it is acceptable fun. Adult sometime look at it as work and it is. I look at it as therapeutic and somewhat spiritual balance. I never was a Hippy but probably have evolved. I want money still. So call me. Text me. E-mail me. Blog me Set up seminars or beer parties and I will attempt to come if God will allow  

Dan Shields