Buzzzzzz

Happy first day of spring!

Composting

I noticed that last Earth Day I did a post on composting, dirt, here is a follow up:

One year later I am both composting & vermiposting.  We have been composting by digging a hole in the ground (large, 3' x 3' x 3' is ideal, ours are usually smaller) & throwing cut up kitchen & yard scraps into the hole.  We water & turn it approximately every 2 weeks, adding carbon-containing material (dry leaves or straw) if it starts to be too wet or begins to rot.  

It’s amazing how quickly raw compost breaks down.

After a hole has been added to for some time, a few months perhaps, we retire that hole & start another.  After a few more months that hole will be finished & the finished compost or humus added to soil & potted plants as an amendment/fertilizer.

When cooking we keep a large bowl or container on the counter adding eggs shells, peels, cores, veggie/fruit parts, dryer lint, etc. to the bowl.   The very best of the scraps go to the worms who get fed three times a week or less (I have gone a week or two without even looking at them), the remaining scraps get cut up a bit smaller or not & thrown into the compost when we get around to it. 

Knowing what I know now, I recommend vermiposting for apartment dwellers, the hole in the ground method for people with limited space & the ability to dig the hole (a loving husband in my case) & repurposed recycle/trash bins for those who have the space.

There are many other methods & options of course, large woodbins can look nice or you can just use a large plastic storage bin you may have laying around.  Check out what your city offers, they may have free or discounted containers or if you are super lucky your city already collects green waste along side trash & recycling.

So compost, please, create your own nutrient rich soil amendment while reducing the volume, carbon dioxide, methane & nitrous oxide in our landfills.  

Guerrilla Grafters

Guerrilla Grafters are splicing fruit-bearing branches onto city trees in SF!  Super cool.

Read the whole story here: http://www.fastcoexist.com

Happy Independence Day!

Dottie

The other day while walking home I spotted Dottie working in her yard.  I said hi and told her I had always admired her yard. 

She invited me for a tour of the rest, so impressive… she has tomatoes, Japanese cucumber, Australian beans, raspberries, blackberries, a huge grape vine, orange tree, fig tree, pineapples, carrots, beets, potatoes, passion fruit, every herb you can think of, Myer lemons, chard, artichokes, brussels sprouts and more.  She has lived in the house 78 years, in addition to gardening she is a mechanic and handywoman, ocean enthusiast, and motorcycle lover.  She regularly cans and pickles her abundant produce. 

I’m sharing a few pics snapped with my phone while I was there… she didn’t want to be photographed, but I have to tell you she was very fit and had the most adorable white hair. 

I hope we become friends!  

Hydroponics

It seems to me that hyroponic gardening can be as low-tech or high-tech as you wish.  I have had great success growing green onions and mint in some old shot glasses. Sometimes I start mint here and then plant it in the garden... or just pinch leaves off as needed.   The only upkeep is changing the water and rinsing the roots every few days. The green onions are really fun because they grow really fast... It's great to just use sissors to snip fresh green onions when needed.  You can get about three regrown sprigs from your store bought green onions before it's best to start over.

I recently spotted a classy way of doing a similiar thing online: 

Image and more information on grow bottles can be found here: http://inhabitat.com/grow-your-own-hydroponic-garden-with-the-growbottle/

Companion Planting

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity, on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity.

With this idea in mind I have planted garlic chives around my tomatoes and borage with my strawberries.  I just learned about the "three sisters" apparently the "three sisters" are the old ladies of companion planting.  I am also growing corn and plan to attempt a pole bean growing up the stock so I was almost there.

More info and image taken from here: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html

Dirt!

Composting.   Just started doing it at home and I'm amazed at our reduction in actual trash.  It is great to reduce our input to the landfill and nice to know that one-day we will have our own nutrient rich compost to add to the garden.


However, there have been a few bumps along the way.  I was at an urban farm recently and asked if they had any earthworms to share, to help speed up the decomposition process of our kitchen scraps.  I was given grubs instead and they are about 20 times more disgusting than an earthworm.  (At least to me, apparently people eat these!)

After filling a few buckets that we had been using we decided to purchase a larger composting container:

Now we have to find a home for our Soilsaver.  The last concern for composting in this urban setting is finding materials with a high carbon content such as leaves or straw, to mix with our high nitrogen kitchen scraps... gardening stores sell straw for a crazy high price but I have found a local tack and feed store where I can get a bale for $7.  I have composting friends in the same situation so I will be able to share the load but still have to get some help to unload it from the car and to find space to store the hay for layering.


So... I was just at an Earth Day event and explaining the above to a woman who runs a composting class... she said I should be vermiposting not composting if I don't have much carbon content to add.  I told her I had considered this but the city (where I bought the Soilsaver for a discounted price) was out of the vermiposting bins.  She said she would get me one and exchange it for the composting container I already received.  I will be replacing the Soilsaver with a Wriggly Wranch soon and instead of hay I will be buying red wigglers!

If you want more on soil watch this excellent film, Dirt! The Movie.  It's well done and will be enjoyed by both kids and adults.

Happy Earth Day!

Composting, one year later

Edible Landscaping

Spring is here! 


Now is the time to plant your summer crops.  Some easy summer crops to plant now include: strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, onions… even pumpkins.

Good Luck.