Compost at it's BEST

I just took out my compost bin from the kitchen. I'm a bit lazy and it's been brewing in here for about a week or so. In a blue plastic bin, we keep a brown paper bag. We put all of the compostable materials into the bag. When it is time to compost, we take the blue bin out to our three bin composter and dump the bag and it's contents into the bin.

Well today, when I dumped the brown paper bag into the composter and hit it with the pitch fork, steam came billowing out of it. Compost working at it's best! IT WAS AWESOME! I did add leaves on top to help continue the decomposition, but I was so excited about it, I had to run in and blog. Yes friends, I get that excited about composting!

The Yard is ALIVE!

It has been a hectic few weeks without hubby dearest. My gardening has fallen to the wayside in attempt to catch up on the 1 million other things that need to be done to keep this household afloat. That being said, the garden/yard doesn't wait for anyone!

Two days ago I was running into the house to avoid the rain when I noticed growing outside my front door were what I thought to be button mushrooms. I know some mushrooms are poisionous, so I came in and looked them up on the internet. To my dismay, they are poisionous but look REALLY cool anyway. I was hoping they'd be another thing I could harvest from the yard, but alas... NO!

My Lilac bushes have seen the worst of winter. My largest one on the back corner of my house had been crushed by the snow. The trunk is lying across my yard and the roots are mostly upheaved, however that little sucker is still blooming. Lilacs are my FAVORITE flower and I am having a hard time deciding what to do with this bush. The Hippie in me wants to somehow tie it back up, but the realist in me says, there is NO WAY you can lift that heavy bush and put it back. But it is still alive after all that..... and I think I need to figure out a way to have it stay!

My Quince tree is blooming and I am hoping for a nice harvest this fall!

The spring bulbs are all but gone. The last of my tulips are falling to the ground. Daffodils gone, Hyacinths, gone, crocuses, way gone.... but this makes way for the new plants. I have a beautiful showing of plumage from Irises. Even if they never bloom, the leaves are BEAUTIFUL! I believe I planted some lillies in the fall, as these seem to be sprouting up all over. And my faithful hostas are popping up everywhere. SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!

AHHHH, the garden..... well that is coming along nicely. I have one plant of brussel sprouts growing (these are my FAVORITE veggie aside from potatos), several types of lettuce, a pak choi, broccoli raab, scallions and my garlic. I have an EXTREMELY hardy plant of oregano that lasted outside thru the winter. I also received as a gift 5 strawberry plants and a raspberry plant from my friend Aimee. I have those in, however I think only two of the strawberry plants are gonna make it. I hope they all do, but three aren't looking so hot. I guess we'll see. I started plants inside, including a bunch of different tomatoes, basil, hot peppers (hub's favorite), dill, etc. But my newest adventure is the watermelons I started. I think I have about 7 or 8 that sprouted and I am gonna give Aimee a few...... I'm a bit nervous about growing these as I hear they need lots of love. But WHAT THE HELL!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle or just compost!

The past two weeks I've been in charge of garbage. Not a job I readily accept, but in this instance, I have no choice. Hubby is out of town for work and so his "chores" fall on me. As I collected the garbage bags out of the upstairs garbage can and the kitchen garbage can, I was quite surprised. Everything I had to go to the street didn't even fill up one bag. I thought, surely I forgot about a few bags I must have hauled out to the garage and into the "big" cans. But, when I got there, I was surprised to see NOTHING! I then grabbed the two blue containers of recycling, which was overflowing. HMMMMM, I thought. I guess this week I did my job for Mother Earth.

My compost bin in the kitchen needs emptied and I began thinking how much garbage would be spared from the landfill if each person tried to only have one bag of garbage per week. The thought of something like that catching on, is probably out of this world impossible. However, if everyone could learn to compost, there would be much less waste. Less waste in the landfill, yeah, but even more so than that, less consumption of gas to pick up dirt, less chemicals being used to kill synergistic microbes needed for healthy plants, less money being spent on gardening needs, less.... well you get the point. We could use what we have and make our yards better with garbage. Yes you read that right..... GARBAGE!

Let's commemorate Mother Earth this week by attempting to lessen our garbage and maybe learn to compost.

That's a LOT of squares!

Yesterday was Easter, but to us it was D-Day. Matt left today for 7 weeks on a work trip therefore, yesterday was the last day we had to get our garden beds up and functional. The past three years I had a garden bed right outside of my porch area. This area worked out great, except, last year when I converted it into a "square foot" garden, I didn't follow the rules. There was a tiny path for me to walk along to pick and plant, when I bent over I would bump the porch and fall into the garden. Not to mention, I didn't use "Mel's Mix" so the ground became hard and clay like. We, meaning Matt and I, decided to add this area to our overhaul of gardening. After literally "snapping" together the Vermont Cedar bed, we were thinking this too was an easy job. Unfortunately, it was not as easy.

First I should explain. Last year we took a "class" on square foot gardening. The woman putting on the class showed us pictures of people who had done "different" gardens. One that I thought was really cool was a person had used cinder blocks as their outer perameter. This meant the holes in the block were extra space for planting. Last year I planted herbs in those holes and it worked out well. Using these blocks again this year, we decided to expand the garden, knock out the last two rows so there was space to walk, and then expanding the front by two squares. In all, we ended up with a 4x11 garden space or in square foot terms, 44 squares.

Our first issue was when we tried to place the block right on the ground which was not level. Add to that, the rule of thumb is to put cardboard or wet newspaper down under the block and all over the garden area before you add your "Mel's Mix". Ever try to balance something on uneven ground and cardboard?

The second issue was there weren't enough blocks. We ended up having enough for three sides, however the back side we decided after some friendly chat back and forth that blocks there would be too big and would compromise squatting space for planting and picking.

The third issue was there wasn't enough cardboard. I had to open some items that I wasn't ready to open to be able to use the cardboard. Who'd have thought we would run out of cardboard?!?!

The fourth issue was that we didn't have enough stuff to make a batch of "Mel's Mix" so it was off to the garden center again. It's been expensive to make this special dirt but we are hoping that with the addition of our compost inbetween plantings that we'll be able to use this for a long time.

The last issue we encountered was after getting it built and all the dirt in how we were going to make the squares. In the wooden construction, we just drilled screws in and strung it with string. Matt attempted to drill straight into the block without first drilling pilot holes and a big chunk of block fell off. Luckily it didn't compromise our garden and it was easily remedied, but I was quite exhausted after that and I hadn't even done the majority of the work.

At this point we have the 44 squares in the block construction and 21 blocks in the wooden construction, plus about 3 inches along one side of the wooden garden in which I can plant carrots or other tight fitting plants.

Those of you who are up on square foot gardening, you may be wondering why all these squares for a family of 4. I am hoping to have enough of a harvest this year to can.... especially tomatos. And since they take up one square per plant, I hope I have enough. My plan is to continue to add garden beds each year for different things. Let's hope these two gardens work out and I finally become a real gardener......

New Garden Bed Achieved!

Today was one of those days that if I could start it all over again, I would. I had a million things keeping me from getting out into my garden beginning with the last day of work being done on my basement, followed by needing to meet up with a friend for Easter candy, followed by a trip to the garden center where my kids and husband realized they were hungry, followed by a stop at a local restaurant. FINALLY, we got back home somewhere around 5:30 p.m. and began our garden.

Earlier in the day, we snapped together our brand new Vermont Cedar raised bed garden. My husband found this link and he said he couldn't buy the wood for the asking price which also included shipping. ( http://www.gardenraisedbeds.com/ ) One thing I am disappointed in is that the 4x8 ends up measuring somewhere about 39 inches x 87 inches because of the mortise and tendon joints. This means I have about a quarter of a square which runs down one short side and down one long side. I've reserved this spot for carrots since you can pack them in to a small space. Aside from the size being a bit off for square foot gardening, the construction is nice, the wood is great, and the shipping was fast. Not to mention the price was also very, very good.

At the garden center, we bought peat moss, manure and vermiculite. All three in equal parts is "Mel's Mix". I was hesitant on using the vermiculite as it is a form of asbestos, but last year I didn't and my garden soil is crap this year. So sticking with the "rules" I caved and got it.

The guy at the garden center also talked me into a few fertilizers. One ironically is epsom salt. I've used this for years as a soak in the tub and once as a "gall bladder cleanse" (NOT RECOMMENDED!). But apparently this "salt" is also good for plants. I also bought Monty's Joy Juice and Osmocote. All three together supposedly make you an excellent gardener. And hell, let's be real. I NEED THAT!

When we got home with all of our miracle working gardening "tools" at 5:30 p.m. we began dumping the peat, vermiculite and manure all together. We stirred it by hand and even had the kids helping until they smelled the manure. Matt and the kids drilled some screws into the frame so I could use string and make my squares. Lastly, I planted spring crops. Lettuce, Scallions, Leeks, Spinach, Brussel Sprouts, etc.

My husband says if this fails, I should give up as a gardener. I hate to admit he is right, but he is. Honestly, if I kill these plants, I may just give up all together. But then, maybe not..... digging in the dirt is addictive!

We're Having "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Weather!

This past week has been continually warming up. Beginning of the week we were in the low 50's however this weekend coming up, the temps are slated to rise to 80 degrees, IN PITTSBURGH!! Weather like this is unheard of this time of year around here. To take advantage, I have a variety of plans for my time.

First, I am going to FINALLY start my tomatos, hot peppers, some herbs, etc.

Second, my dear husband bought us a cedar (I believe) raised bed garden. The corners have been cut to mortise and tendon. For the price, which included shipping, my husband who is a woodworker himself, said he couldn't buy the wood for that price. We plan on putting this thing together, filling it with our "Mel's Mix" and sectioning off our squares.

Third, I would like to finish ripping out the pesky ivy. I know this has been a several year process, but literally this stuff is insane! Just when I think I get it all, it rears it's head. Maybe I am not that bad of a gardener, if I haven't killed this yet.

With the prospects of Matt leaving for a few months for work, I am tempted to tackle a project that he is against. Mostly because when he gets back and sees it, he'll like it but convincing him to take the plunge is always the worst part of our relationship. I guess if time allows, I may attempt something. Until then, I need to keep my nose to the grind and get my garden up and running for this year!!!