The Forest Floor.  Decomposition.  Green, lush trees and plants.  The fallen leaves make the ground layer of the rainforest.  Although it is often a dark and humid place with almost constant shade, the forest floor is an important and vital part of the forest ecosystem. How does the concept of the forest floor relate to our landscaping and nursery practices, you ask?  Implementing the use of compost is much like that of the forest floor.  Compost supplies beneficial microorganisms to the soil, it supplies a variety of macro and micro nutrients, and it also supplies significant quantities of organic matter. In Hawaii, we are challenged with very over-farmed soils that are usually very low in organic matter, making them hard packed, low in nutrients, and hard to use.  Plants need food; and most chemical fertilizers are not able to supply complete plant nutrition…that is why the use of compost is much like the theory of the forest floor. Composting is derived through a natural biological process that accelerates the breakdown... ...

  This is the first in a series of articles starting with troubleshooting and ending with how to replace the broken tool:  1. It’s broken, 2. Now what—repair or replace; 3. so what should I buy?  We hope that you  will be able to relate to these situations,  and that the suggestions will be helpful to you. WHAT?  IT’S BROKEN! You’re sitting in your office or driving to your next job, when you get the dreaded call—your employee says the piece of equipment he was using stopped working—“it just died”.   Your first question—what happened?  The invariable response, “I don’t know; it just stopped”. THE NEXT FEW QUESTIONS ARE THE KEYS TO UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY 1.    What stopped?  Did the engine stop?  If it’s a mower, did the mower blades stop?  Was it under load when it stopped?   It is essential to narrow down the problem.   the more specific you can be, the closer you can get to the source of the trouble—ask the right questions. What were you doing... ...