Lawn & Garden / garden

From the featured article in ID GUIDE, Callie Zamzow shares the most common gardening mistakes made in the Treasure Valley and how to prevent them. Drawing on over 92 years of family experience, Callie covers everything from planting timing and soil health to proper watering and plant selection.

A lasting green lawn starts with healthy soil. Idaho soils are mostly clay and lack organic matter, which makes nutrient absorption difficult. Zamzows Huma Green improves your soil by adding vital organic material, enhancing drainage, and making nutrients more available. For a greener lawn that stands up to stress, start from the ground up.

Raised beds are very versatile and easy to use. A raised bed allows you to easily control your soil mixture so that you can always have the proper soil for your plants. As you customize the soil mixtures in your raised beds, you can improve soil drainage and soil compaction, this being the most important advantage. This is very important, especially with the high alkaline, clay soil that we deal with here in our area.

What is a cover crop and how do you use them in your garden? Cover crops are essentially sacrificial crops that are planted, allowed to grow, then mowed over and tilled under to allow the organic matter to decompose.

When it comes to the home garden. People that don’t “Garden” still like to grow a tomato or two. Over the years, we have compiled some great advice to help everyone be successful.

Companion planting is a timeless practice deeply rooted in the history of agriculture. From the earliest crop cultivators to modern-day gardeners, the concept of strategically planting complementary crops together has been embraced across cultures and continents.

Step back in time to 1921, when a devastating cholera epidemic wreaked havoc on the Southern United States, claiming the lives of countless hogs. However, amidst the tragedy, an incredible discovery was made—one that would change the course of agriculture forever.

Transforming your backyard into a haven for bees and other pollinators not only invites nature's beauty but also supports local ecosystems. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds play a vital role in pollinating plants, ensuring food, beauty, and biodiversity.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed when you decide to grow your first garden. One thing I know for sure, for every gardener, there is a slightly different and equally legitimate way to grow a garden. Over time, with practice, you will become one of those unique growers of produce. There is not one "correct" way to be a successful gardener. It takes time, failure, imagination, and patience.

The word Bokashi is Japanese in origin and generally translates to the term, “fermented organic matter.” To write this article I listened to one of our recent podcast episodes hosted by Jos and Jim Zamzow with their special guest,Craig Alger. You can listen to the podcast here. Through some additional research, there seems to be some confusion around the origin and direct translation of the word “Bokashi,” the process and benefits are very clear.

We all get that natural spring cleaning bug that creeps in when the weather starts to warm up. This is the perfect time to embrace that extra energy and take it outside! The following are a few items to put on your spring to-do list for the lawn and garden. 

During the heat of summer, our gardens put on a lot of growth. Unfortunately, the weeds can begin to take off as well. Adding a summer mulch can help with your weeding, conserve water and cool the soil.