compost

20 Mar 2013 2 Comments

Time to Break Some Ground!

Put your “fun cap” on because it’s time to get your hands dirty!  It’s time to break ground for your new spring garden!  Already have a garden?  Perfect, but you can still get in on the action as it’s a good idea to work your soil for a fresh start.

Now, while I’d like to say this is the easy part—that would be a lie.  This is the part where you get your exercise.  Stretch those cold stiff muscles and get limber again.  Remember, we reap what we sow and we can’t sow if we don’t dig.

Are you smiling yet?  Good.  Now, one of the secrets to great plants is loose soil.  Loose soil promotes strong, deep roots and encourages a healthy plant which means a productive plant.  I learned this the hard way with carrots.  Have you ever seen an “L” shaped carrot?  I have.  As a general rule, carrots will grow down as far as they can easily manage, until the going gets too tough, and then they grow sideways.  Literally.  Packed soil is not their friend.  It’s not friendly to any plant, really, because it doesn’t promote good aeration which helps the plant take in the nutrients it needs. More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

16 Nov 2012 No Comments

Lookee What We Found in the Compost!

You know it’s a good day in the compost pile when this little fella is making his home in your homemade dirt.  Can you see him?  He’s the curvy-looking stick. :)

It means nice, damp conditions.  It means nutrients.  It means this compost will be AWESOME for garden use–all of which we learned this week in our lessons (listed below).  But better yet, a compost pile is just plain fun. More

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

05 Sep 2012 2 Comments

I’m Ready for Fall Gardening!

And I have a new secret weapon.  But first, how did I get to the point where I needed a new secret weapon?  I mean, I’m organic, I rotate my crops, my soil is in tip-top condition, right?

Yes, well, just when you think you have it all figured out, the bugs find you.  The ones you can’t see.  The ones that lurk beneath the surface and devour your plants one by one–even as you plant them!  It’s awful.  Discouraging.  My spring garden was not what it could have been.  So I solarized the beds to kill the varmints and now I’m ready for fall planting.  Yes, those are my plastic-covered rows plus everything but the kitchen sink.  Do you know how hard it is to keep that stuff down during an afternoon storm in Florida?

It’s not easy and I have no shame in using whatever it takes to keep my paper down–bricks, tiles, rusted iron rods–you name it, I used it.  However, when I pulled back the black sheets, my soil didn’t look so good.  Now “they say” that solarizing the soil helps to release the nutrients within.  Hm.  Funny, but it didn’t look that way to me.  Rather than healthy nutrient-rich soil, it looked like a bunch of hot sand to me. 

So I decided to amend my beds.  Now I have a compost pile, but it’s nowhere near enough to cover my garden.  As you can see, my garden is big — 100 X 40.  And I have a big appetite for this fall’s garden.  You might be thinking that I marched right down to the “compost store” and loaded up on the stuff.  Nope.  I’ve been hearing rumors about something better.  Similar, but better.  It’s called mushroom compost and according to those who have gardened with the stuff, it’s simply AMAZING.

And cheap.  We were able to buy a trailer full of the stuff for $10.  Yep.  No kidding.  $10.  Enough to fill the entire bed of a full-sized pickup truck.  (In Central Florida, we contacted Monterey Mushroom Farm–but they have branches across the US.)  Once home, it was time to unload the secret weapon.  Caution:  mushroom compost stinks.  Raking it into beds is not only hard work, but stinky.  As you mix it in, it’s not so bad.  But take a couple of tips from me.

***Rent a tiller.  You’ll still have to shovel the compost into your row, but rent a tiller to mix it in.  Unless you want your workout for the week to count as one day in the garden and then you’re good to go.  :)

***And use the commercial-grade paper to line your walkways, NOT the black weed paper.  It disintegrates.  If you double it up, like I did here between my squash and zucchini rows (pictured below).  It will hold up better, but trust me–raking those beds was like déjà vu.  Feels like I’ve done this before!

As it stands, I have my red beans, okra, squash and zucchini in.  Here’s another tip:  instead of forming individual holes for your beans, make channels down the length of your bed–like you do for carrots, only deeper–and then drop the beans in, about 4 – 6″ apart and then cover with an inch or so of dirt  .  We used organic compost to cover the beans, hoping that it will hold the moisture better than that depleted-looking sand next to it.  Normally, I form wells around my newly planted seeds, as seen above with the squash and zucchini.

The kids helped with this one and the job went much quicker.  (Yes, this Labor Day weekend we labored.)  I formed the channels, she dropped them in, he covered them with compost.  The white dots you see are snail bait.  This was last season’s tomato row and I didn’t have time to solarize it, nor do I think that red paper helped in dissuading the varmints from taking up residence.  

But our efforts will prove worth it.   Ultimately, once I uncover all the beds, I’ll use the heavier black paper to replace the lighter-grade paper you see her walking on above.  I enjoy gardening, but I do not like to repeat my efforts when I don’t have to–it’s not smart!

And we’re smart gardeners. :)   I’ll keep you posted on how my magic mushroom compost works out!

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

17 Aug 2012 No Comments

Tami’s Last Hurrah

After a long summer of vacay and summer rain, Tami’s garden has survived, albeit her tomatoes and compost have succumbed to neglect.  What can she say?  She’s busy.  It’s hot.  You get my drift.  It was a valiant first effort that will blossom anew this fall, with more tolerable temps and a fresh new attitude.  But not all is lost.  Her green peppers look great.

Turning to red as they mature.  While it doesn’t look as pretty, it will taste sweet and delicious.

Don’t even ask about mine.  Talk about succumb!  I’m not sure who was harder on them—me, or Mother Nature.  But we won’t go there.  We’re talking about Tami’s garden at the moment.  The basil is blooming up a storm.  Needs pinched, but it’s still producing, still thriving.

Her aloe is gorgeous and full and the perfect remedy for an oven burn.  Slice off a piece of one thick, juicy leaf and smear the oozing liquid over the burn and voíla!  No scar, quick healing.  Careful:  the stuff is stinky and it will stain.  So take care when using.

The blueberry looks lost but not forgotten (entirely).  A little weed pulling and this baby is back in action! 

Now for all you tomato lovers, take note:  this is what hornworms can do to your plants.  In a matter of hours. 

Yep.  It’s ugly—and the main reason you want to make daily visits to your garden, for the sake of vigilance.  Beyond the garden is the compost pile.

Or two.  The overgrown pile in the foreground can easily be remedied with a weed whacker and transferred/mixed in to the second pile.  No big deal, giving the dirt time to “ferment” and turn rich and organic.  I do love nature when it proves low maintenance, don’t you?

Now, for my next project….  Who will it be?

by gardenfrisk in Garden coaching - watch how easy you TOO can have your very own garden! Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

25 Jul 2012 4 Comments

Compost 101

What is compost?  It’s the mixture of decomposed remnants of organic matter (those with plants and animal origins) used to improve soil structure and provide nutrients. 

How do you create compost?   

Air + Water + Carbon + Nitrogen = Compost

Like most living things, the bacteria that decompose organic matter, and the other creatures that make up the compost ecosystem, need air.  These microbes also need the right amount of water; think “wrung out” sponge.  If too wet or too dry, optimum conditions for bacteria activity will not be met and decomposition will be slowed or halted.  This is the reason some folks “turn” their pile.  It improves air flow!

Me?  I’d rather put Mother Nature to work.  I’ve learned my compost pile works fine without a single turn from me.  (LA-zy!)  Basically, I pile plants, lawn clippings, kitchen scraps and the like and let nature takes its course.  The materials break down and become black gold in our garden.  Composted soil provides nutrition for vigorous plant growth, improves soil structure by creating aeration, increases the ability of soil to retain water, moderates soil pH, and encourages microorganisms whose activities contribute to the overall health of plants.  LOVE it!

What not to compost?  Diseased plants, weeds gone to seed, coal ashes, dog/cat manure, lawn clippings that may contain herbicides. 

Once you’ve established a location for your compost pile, it’s important to know how much carbon versus how much nitrogen to include.  Too much nitrogen and your pile will smell, because excess nitrogen converts to ammonia gas.  Too much carbon and the pile breaks down too slow, because microbes need nitrogen to increase their population.  The ideal is a 30:1 C/N ratio. 

 Carbon is used for energy by the microbes and comes in the form of leaves, straw, hay, sawdust, etc.  These are the “browns” of composting.  Microbes also need nitrogen for the proteins that makeup their tiny bodies.  Matter high in nitrogen are the “greens” of composting (though not always the color green) and consist of “fresh” plants, grass clippings, kitchen scraps, and the byproduct of animals such as manure and worm castings.

There are two types of composting:  hot and cold.  Hot composting is accomplished more quickly and best done within a bin.  Made up all at one time, it’s allowed to compost without further addition of material, although it does require frequent turning and proper moisture control.  Bacteria give off heat as they digest the material.  The enclosed pile will insulate the heat raising the internal temperature to 120 – 190 degrees.  This attracts more bacteria whose breakdown continues more rapidly. Hot compost is good because it kills pathogens and many weed seeds.

A cold pile (70 – 90 degrees) takes longer though it manages a steady stream of material additions; perfect for the family backyard pile (as in mine).  Simply begin your pile with the organic material of your choice, i.e. leaves, kitchen scraps, etc. and continually add to the top of the pile.  Within 6 – 24 months (depending on climate conditions) the material will break down—though turning the pile will speed up this process.  The bottom of the pile composts first (higher heat due to insulation).

When your compost is ready, you’ll know it.  Your material will be unrecognizable from its original form and look like gorgeous black dirt.  Like I said, around these parts we call it “black gold” for the garden!

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

04 Jun 2012 No Comments

Maintain Vigilance

One thing to keep in mind about gardening is maintenance.  Not only do things go “bump in the night,” they go chomp in the garden.

Tami’s lettuce have gone to flower, now taller than her okra, and the bugs are in hog heaven–sans the swine.  Ick.  At this point, Tami need only remove the plants and put them in the compost pile–her new compost pile!  Yep, she’s decided to join the organic ranks and start her own compost pile, beginning with the pile of oak leaves she recently raked up.  Smart.  Very smart.  Best of all, it’s mere feet from her garden.

The okra are growing gangbusters and spitting out “cobs” all over the place.  One thing to keep in mind when you’re growing okra, is these guys are fast operators.  Once they begin producing, you’ll want to visit every day.  This will ensure you harvest your okra at its most tender because trust me, large cobs of okra are tough and NOT delicious.  Great for seed saving though!

Always a silver lining (if you know where to look).  Moving right a long… Tami has her first watermelon.  Isn’t it adorable?

Won’t be long before this little guy is burgeoning from the vine.  Note on watermelon harvest:  in Florida, these babies have a tendency to explode during hot summer days, so while you’re visiting each and every day, keep an eye on the melons.  Give em’ a tap and when you hear the nice dull “thump” sound, pull that rascal from the vine and haul it onto the picnic table.  Another good indicator is to check the curly tendrils.  Light green = not ready.  Brown and dry = thump it baby, thump it!

Another technique is to press your thumb nail into the skin.  If it makes an indentation, not ready.  No mark, you should be good to pull.  Tomatoes are a much easier fruit when it comes to harvest detection.  Red, they’re ripe.  Green they’re not–unless you’re a Southerner and like your tomatoes green.  Tami’s are looking mighty fine.

Her basil could use a little pinching.  I prefer to pinch the budding blossoms from mine before they reach 1/2 inch, then toss them into my lunch salad.  Mmmm…  Aromatic and delicious.  Did you know that basil eases digestion?  Wunderbar.  Nothing like making my roughage go down “easier.” :)

Have you seen the recipe for my favorite summer salad?  Strawberry and goat cheese and oh-so-delicious!  Add basil for an added delight.

And since we’re speaking of maintenance, these squash need some attention.  Fungus.  Very hard to rid the Florida garden squash of fungus, what with all our rain and humidity, but we must. 

This plant wants to survive and produce more squash.  It simply needs a helping hand.  So Tami will remove the diseased leaves and allow the center healthy green ones to thrive.   Remember, your plants want to produce and sustain you.  They just need a little help sometimes!

by gardenfrisk in Garden coaching - watch how easy you TOO can have your very own garden! Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

19 Apr 2012 No Comments

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day!

This Sunday I will be joining my friends over at WindHorse Wellness Center in Eustis, Florida to celebrate Earth Day.  Festivities will range from yoga to folk dancing, solar cooking to growing your groceries plus a whole lot more.  Fun begins at 9:00am.  For a full schedule of events, click here: Events schedule Celebration Earth 2012.

As for me, you know I’ll be entertaining the kids with some take home sprout cups and pine cone bird feeders ~~ always the popular attraction and fun for the whole family!  Be sure to stop by and say hello and while you’re there, grab a sample of my rosemary lemonade.  Not only is this a new twist on an old favorite, but it’s delicious!

And if you’re not in the area?  No worries.  We can celebrate together in spirit.  How about using the day to start a compost pile?  Create a worm bin?  Make your own pine cone bird feeders at home—you can do all this and more to pay homage to this beautiful planet on which we live.  If we each take a moment to think about ways we can reduce our negative impact on the earth, we’ll all live in a happier world. :)   I LOVE happy!

So what are you waiting for?  Get hopping and be happy ~ it’s spring!

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , , ,

13 Jan 2012 No Comments

Starting Our New Garden

The kids are breaking new ground and breaking a sweat (hopefully no bones!) as they move the garden—essentially creating a new one. :) It’s the hardest part—physically speaking—but you’d never know it from these kids!

They went at the task with zeal and squeals, with upper elementary supervising the young kindergartners.  Tools in use are a tricky thing at this age, but so long as you have PLENTY of adult supervision, the task can be managed.

Safely managed and productive to boot!  Why, next week, when the middle school students roll their sleeves up, this area will be cleared and ready for planting.  First on the agenda? Potatoes.  (Last year’s crop was gorgeous, wouldn’t you agree?) This semester we’re going to grow our own French fries AND ketchup, too (think:  tomatoes).  How cool is that?  And these will be the healthy kind of French fries and totally parent-approved.

How about joining us!  If you’ve ever wanted to start your own garden, now’s the time to follow along as we go step-by-step through the process of beginning an in ground garden.  Our first step was to choose a sunny location.  You may have noticed we were tilling and removing the surface grass in partial shade, but in Florida, this is actually welcome.  By 3:00pm our plants can use the break from the blazing heat!  But if you live in a more moderate climate, stick with full sun.  You and your plants will be better served.  And don’t forget the water source!  Be sure you have a reliable one nearby.

Second thing to do is remove the grass or whatever ground cover you may have and then till the soil.  Now is a great time because most of the grass is dead or dormant.  “Got snow?”  Well then hit the ground running when it melts away this spring!

Depending on your soil quality, you may want to amend it with organic matter and/or composted cow manure.  We intend to do both, because potatoes like cow poop and our soil is WAY sandy. Besides, we’ve been “growing” all that dirt.  Now is its chance to **shine** in the spotlight!

So how about it?  Grab your gloves and follow along!

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: , , , , , ,

09 Sep 2011 No Comments

Planting Corn and Harvesting Peanuts

This week was a BUSY week.  Once the elementary students cleared a bed of peanuts, the kindergarteners planted a fresh row of corn.  Can you say perfect crop rotation?  It’s one of the key tenets of organic gardening.  And our school garden is totally organic.  Why?

Because we’re smart.  And healthy.  (Staying on Mother Nature’s good side doesn’t hurt, either. :) ) As usual, we begin our lesson in the garden with a tour.  Sure we want to assess our garden’s progress but mostly we want to see how big our sprouts have grown! 

Nothing more exciting than a group of kids identifying the exact pumpkin they planted, or the precise bean, sunflower or tomato…  Well, you get my drift.  Community garden is a concept we’re still working to master.  Not to worry.  Our second favorite thing to do is share.  Especially oohs and aahs.  Just look at these beautiful sunflowers we planted!  Aren’t they gorgeous?

Our beans are making great progress, too.  Within no time these little guys will be climbing up, up and away!

And speaking of little guys, look who we found while harvesting peanuts.  Isn’t he precious?

 Unfortunately his peanut jungle is no longer.  Once these kids began to dig it became sunshine and chaos and cleared in no time.  But we had no choice.  The peanuts were ready.  C’mon kids–did you hear?  The peanuts are ready!

Well yeehaw and grab your pitchfork (or kitchen fork–tends to be safer) and get those peanuts up and out of the ground!  They’re everywhere!  Simply pry them from the ground using your fork to loosen peanuts from the soil and then pull gently.

Look ma, fresh peanuts!  Isn’t it cool how they grow? These were totally underground!

Uh oh, this one didn’t grow.  Do you think I can put it back?

Probably not, but it is neat to see how the peanut sprouts underground, isn’t it?  Kinda like seeing Mother Nature in action!  Besides, we have plans for this bed of dirt.  We’re growing corn and this will make the perfect spot.  Why?  Beans/peanuts leave lots of nitrogen in the soil and corn LOVES nitrogen.  Helps to make its leaves green!

But first we need to “cure” our peanuts which means allow them to dry.  So grab your plant and head over to the benches where we’ll set them out for a few days of oven-baked sunshine!

Our little ones did the work of pulling the peanuts from the roots.  And they did a fantastic job.  Didn’t miss a one!  Which is a good thing, because we have big plans for these peanuts.  We’re going to sample and taste.  Hmmmm-good!

And don’t forget to feed the compost pile with the leftover plants!  It’s hungry and like boys and girls, it needs to EAT if its going to grow big and strong and make good healthy dirt. 

Now that our bed of peanuts has been cleared, the last weed pulled, it’s time to plant the corn.  With a quick lesson these kids were ready for action.  Remember, no more than one kernel per hole, kids!

And away they went.  Like I said, it was a busy week.  We harvested, weeded, composted, crop rotated and planted–and just about in that order!  But best of all we learned something and had fun doing so.

 

 

 

 

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: , , , , , , , ,

08 Aug 2011 5 Comments

Composting on Vacation

I think I’ve come up with a new invention.  I call it the Travel Composter.  Not sure if it will take off or not–maybe needs a catchier title–but I think it’s a great idea nonetheless.  It occurred to me over the past summer (past, as in, my kids went back to school today — yay!). Yes, well it occurred to me that everyone should have a Travel Composter.  Easy, odorless, compact and storable (or packable) this item is a must for eco-minded people.  Think of the guilt it would relieve!

And I am so all about relieving guilt.  No room in my life for the emotion, at all.  But this past summer, I felt it–to the core.  Gut-wrenching, heart-aching guilt.  Can you imagine? There I was, clearing the dinner dishes while on vacation and–as is my habit–automatically went for the kitchen composter to deposit my food scraps.  Ouch.  A kitchen composter that wasn’t there. 

Well of course it wasnt.  It was at home.  I was on vacation.  Staring at the plate of leftovers, my first instinct was to return them to nature.  My gaze drifted outdoors.  I’m in a rural setting.  No one will notice.  Maybe the wildlife will enjoy them. 

On second thought, maybe not.  If gone uneaten, they might cause an unsightly mess or worse–a stench.  Then of course there’s my husband.  If he saw me toss the scraps outdoors he would not be happy.  Nor would he let me keep them until we returned home.  Already tried that and it didn’t go over well. 

Trust me.  It’s never good when your husband spies you stashing away leftovers in a Ziploc bag.  ”What do you think you’re doing with that?”

Wasn’t it obvious?  “Um…taking the leftovers home for the compost pile?”

“No, you’re not.”

“What?  Why not?”

“I’ll not have my car smell like garbage number one and number two, you’re not saving the planet by taking them home.  They’re biodegradable.”

Hmph.  Doesn’t he appreciate the fact that I’m environmentally conscious?  That this will serve a higher and better purpose as organic fertilizer than it will as building supply for the local dump?

Not when it stinks up his car, he doesn’t.  Though he does have a point.  Is it worth ruining the interior of an automobile for items that will biodegrade anyway, no matter where you deposit them?  But what about the bottles, jars and cans we had to throw away?  The place where we stayed had no recycle bins, no options for guests to do the right thing. 

I have to admit, I was bothered.  It wasn’t right.  It’s too easy to accommodate individuals such as myself.  We only ask for a separate container.  A bin, a bag, heck–I’ll drive my trash to the corner if you’ll point me in the right direction!

But alas, there was no such offer.  Which is sad.  While I don’t like anyone being forced to comply with recycle standards and practices (I’m a Libertarian at heart), I would like to see them offer the same.  It would keep the skip in my step, the smile on my face, not to mention the guilt out of my heart.

On a brighter note, there are some companies out there doing the job I wish I could have done.  One of the largest in the Southeast happens to be GreenCo.  This company works the greater Atlanta area by taking food waste from not only restaurants and hotels, but grocery stores, colleges, hospitals–all sorts of places!–and hauls it to their area facilities.  Once there, they turn it into organic fertilizer which they sell to retailers who in turn, sell to the public.  Talk about full circle–the public who made the waste can then re-use the waste.  Ingenious!

Isn’t it nice to know someone out there cares?  Sure does relieve the guilt I feel about not doing so myself.  Perhaps I should restrict my future travel in Atlanta to these green-minded organizations.  At least I’ll feel like I’m giving back, literally.

How about you? Are you doing your part to recycle? Do you know of any companies who are?  If so, let us hear about them!

p.s.  Go ahead and feel free to take my idea for the Travel Composter, too.  Really, I don’t mind a bit.  Just get out there and make a difference (and earn a mint in the process! :) )

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: , , , , , , , ,

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