Today's weather put on quite a show! It's always a great experience to have customers "rained in," and stuck with us watching the rain. It's a brief moment when every single person in the room is connected: everyone is captivated by nature, and everyone feels humbled by the powerful force of weather. We all smile at one another and encourage those who are making a break for it, dashing to their vehicle! A little bit of hail battered our beloved plants, but what a great day!

Gardeners geek out about soil, and for good reason! If you've been gardening in the same place for a couple years, you know the importance of building rich, healthy soil and you see it happen. You're absolutely estastic when you realize your soil is just the bomb.

First of all, what is soil? It's a mashup of broken down rocks, nutrients, minerals, dead and decaying organic stuff, water, air and other gases. It can take 500 years of erosion, rain and storms to create just an inch of topsoil. If your backyard has poor soil, it's not going to fix itself.

The big deal with amending soil is the soil structure. The structure is very important to the health of your plants and affects how a plant takes up water and what nutrients are available. Soil is composed of varying amounts of sand, clay and silt. Clay soil is nutrient rich, but drains too slowly and doesn't breath. Sand is quick-draining, but has trouble holding nutrients. When you get the right combination of the three, it's called loam.

If you have clay soil, common sense will tell you. When you grab a handful and squeeze, it forms a ball and falls back to the ground with a thud. Sandy soil will slip through your fingers. Loamy soil will make you smile. It's the stuff that dreams are made of. It's rich, dark and crumbles in your hand.

So loam is the goal, and the only way to get there is to give the soil what it's missing. In the case of clay, it needs organic matter to attract soil biology, and something to help it drain and breath. Amending the soil means amending all of the soil, not just amending a little hole to set a plant in. Put some muscles into it! Use a shovel and amend the soil 6-8 inches down. Plant roots need to be able to travel far and wide to get established.

There are a lot of composts, manures and soil amendments available, each boasting its own benefits. That's why we're here! Come talk to us about your soil. We'll help you find the right amendments so you can start building fertile, beautiful soil!

It's on the tip of everyone's tongue: water. The past years have been hot and dry, and this year looks to be no different.

We're lucky to live in a world full of grocery stores, farmers' markets and restaurants around every corner.  Why go to the hassle of growing your own food?

Saving money.  Sure, this one is always debatable.  Starting a huge garden isn't cheap and investing money in soil feels...strange.  Paying for dirt?  Weird.  Building good soil isn't free, but it's worth it.  Commit to your garden for a couple of years, and you'll start to notice that you already have the tools, seeds, great soil and most importantly the knowledge you need to successfully grow your own food.  If money is an issue, start small.  If you're a beginner, start small.  A few containers of leafy greens, carrots and your favorite vegetables will make you incredibly happy, and you'll be more successful than trying to tend to 20 different crops.

Better health. Whether you go completely organic, or simply don't use synthetic pesticides, you're keeping chemicals off your plate.  Many pesticides have a link to cancer or other diseases.  For the home gardener, spending a little extra to buy the organic pest control won't break the bank.  You're not growing hundreds of acres of vegetables, so don't freak out about an extra dollar.

Better taste. If you've never had a homegrown tomato, or thick, meaty Bloomsdale spinach right from the garden, you're missing out on the finer things in life.  Homegrown vegetables are ripened on the vine, like nature intended.  Those strawberries from the store, that are white in the middle?  That's not the strawberry Mother Nature wanted to give you.  The pink-greenish tomatoes?  They were picked green and gassed on the way to market so they wouldn't get smushed in transport.

It's a worthwhile activity. You should know where your food comes from. I mean where it really comes from: What the seed looks like, what the plant looks like, how long it actually takes to grow an amazing, juicy tomato. The more you learn about your food the more you appreciate it, and the better you eat.  It's a skill you can pass on to children and friends.

                                                                                                 - Carly Risley, Bath Garden Center

Do you remember this story from July 2012:

"Minnesota Man Kills 40,000 sq. ft. Lawn"

We can imagine how terrible he felt, and how mad he must have been at the garden center employee who recommended the product used.  We do our best to recommend the right products for you, but mistakes and miscommunication do happen.  Please, please read all product labels carefully before use, even when an employee recommends a product.  Two heads are always better than one!

Two of our favorite weed killers, that WILL NOT kill your lawn:

What a great turnout for the weekend's Fairy Garden Festival!  We enjoyed watching everyone make fairy gardens and fairy wands, and ride the unicorn.  Young and old, people were dressed in their favorite fairy attire.  We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did!

Chances are you've met at least one of the Bath family dogs, because there are a lot of them!  This is the newest member, Delilah, showing off her Halloween costume.  Our employees are definitely dog lovers, and your well-behaved dog is always welcome to visit the garden center with you.

What can you do with leaves that are beginning to fall?  The obvious answer is to compost them, but Leaf Mold is a great soil amendment in it's Leaf Mold is a great soil conditioner, and all you need are fallen leaves and some patience.  It can be compared to peat moss for its water-holding capabilities, but it's easily renewable.  Though it doesn't provide much for nutrients, it is a great way to build your soil fertility.  Read more about making leaf mold.