The Garden Life's blog

Learning Process

Our garden this year became somewhat of a failure due to lack of rain and a neighbor's tree blocking all of the sun, however the tomatoes are doing their thing and we've already gotten one Sun Gold tomato -- these are cherry tomatoes, so nothing to write home about!! -- and the rest are rapidly ripening.
Of the bounty we did get so far this year, the biggest success was between strawberries and potatoes. The biggest disappointment? Painted Pony beans!! I don't know what we did wrong, but I suspect it had something to do with Jake digging things up... We did manage to salvage five seeds of a pretty fat bean to use for fall planting, so not all is lost.
And on one last really cool note, as I was trying to beef up the soil around the roots of my broccoli, I noticed a strange plant poking out of a pot. As I pulled it out thinking it was a weed, I realized it was growing from a pecan! We are growing a pecan tree, completely by accident. Pictures to come next time, hopefully this weekend.

Rain, Rain Go Away

New garden boxes built? Check.

Direct sow seeds sown? Check.

Indoor sow seeds started? Check.

I'd love to get outside and work around the garden some, take some pictures, share some of the planty love with you but the rain won't stop. Maybe tomorrow?

No chickens, but eggs!

I have finally learned to make a fried egg in my stainless steel pans. Would you like to know how I accomplished this:

 

????
(Yolks broken post-plating)

Follow these five simple steps and you won't experience the grief of a broken yolk again!

1. With a paper towel and a little vegetable oil, lightly coat the inside of the pan

2. Heat your coated pan over medium-high until it is hot but not smoking

3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely

4. Heat about 1/8 inch of your fat (butter, vegetable/olive oil, shortening, lard) in the pan

(Please, in the name of all that is lovely in this world use butter. Or olive oil.) Get it nice and warm (when a few light drops of water sizzle, not pop, you are good to go), then

5. Gently add the eggs to the pan and cook to desired doneness -- basted, over easy, medium or hard

That's it! No sticking!

Spring is right around the corner

The hubster and I have been busy readying the garden and planning the chicken coop for the spring. We are starting our seeds now due to the later frost -- it's been freezing in Florida... absurd!

The day-old Buff Orpington chicks will be at the feed mart on March 5th. My calendars are marked! This coming weekend I should have a post on the progress of the coop and one of our gardening experiments: Square Foot Gardening. This should be interesting. 

Strawberry Transplantation 2010 has come & gone. If anyone wants some runners to plant, let me know... you could have berries this summer!

Garden 101: Compost

…and we’re back!

Last time on Garden 101, we covered the basics of what makes up compost, that nutritious, delicious soil addition that will grow your plants like spinach grows the muscles on Popeye’s otherwise scrawny arms. This time around, we will discuss where exactly you’re supposed to put all that stuff, which conditions work best to get your compost cookin’ and what to do when all is said and done and you have piles of gorgeous garden supplement.

Compost Containers
Confession time:  My compost is an open pile right next to my garden. That’s right. I am a slacker. All I did was rake my leaves up into a big pile because really, I cannot see bagging them all up and letting the city take them away to do who knows what with. This is the most resource minimal and simple way to hold your decomposing food bits. It’s also the most open way, so it’s easy for critters and weeds to get into your lovely dirt.

If that doesn’t seem like your style, I implore you to try your hand at a DIY container. This can be made with wood, fencing, plastic storage bins, a trash can, pallets… anything that can be made into a container. A pretty common idea I’ve seen is wire fencing made into a circular bin by wrapping it around two or three posts firmly lodged into the ground. No matter what you choose to make your bin out of, here are a few must-have features:
- drainage. Water is great for your compost, but you don’t want soup!
- ready access to the goods. There will be a time in the life of your little pile that you will want to mix things up. More on this later. But at some point you will probably want to get your dirt out as well, so the access port comes in handy.
- a good sunny location. This will keep things nice and warm so your bugs and bacteria don’t relocate.

Don’t get me wrong, there are great options on the market if you aren’t the DIY type. I actually saw one of these options over the weekend. It was a plastic bin, similar to a trash can with a hinged lid. For just a second, I was jealous… this thing had a little flappy door on the bottom to shovel your ready compost out of! That jealous promptly ended when I spied the $50 price tag (on sale!). Hmm, I’ll stick with my open pile. It was free.

Location, Location, Location
The next consideration is where you will keep this hotmess while it does it’s thing. I suggest keeping it either close to your door (if you don’t mind the possibility of a smell) or close to your garden. Do not make the same mistake I did and decide that the side of the yard farthest from your door is the best spot. It’s not. The garden location works well for many reasons; it provides a sunny location to keep your pile warm, it’s conveniently located next to the end user (your garden) and you will be able to water it without much extra effort.

Let’s Get Cookin’
Once you’ve picked a container, found the best resting place for your compost bin and got your stash of greens and browns, you are ready to go! A nice layer of browns on the bottom (shredded newspaper mixed with brown leaves and such is great beginning matter) followed by a thinner layer of finely chopped greens and a healthy layer of browns to cover it all up should do just fine. Water it down and WALK AWAY FROM THE PILE. Let it do its thing. Give it a week. During this time you can collect some greens in a covered bowl or bucket in the house or on your porch or in the fridge (key word here: covered). If you absolutely cannot do that, you can walk them out to your pile but be sure to always cover with more browns.  After a week, peek in there and check out the action… It probably still looks the same, but things are getting settled in and your pile is starting to come to life. At this point, you will want to give it a little turn. Grab your shovel or pitch fork and dig in! Mix everything up like a big, decomposing salad. Once you have mixed everything together, if you notice a lot of green bits floating on the top, you can cover it with some brown to keep the flies and other creatures at bay. Do this every week and your pile will thank you for it – so will your pecs! If things seem dry, water it down again. If your pile is covered, you may need to water once or twice a week… Luckily my laziness pays off and I don’t have to water mine very much, the rain handles that for me.

Breathe in… breathe out…
I know this is a lot of information. I’m long winded, what can I say? All of this thinking and reading will pay off though! Give it some time and you will have the beginning of something wonderful. I didn’t forget the container/balcony/apartment gardeners out there! I’ll be covering composting options that don’t require a yard next time!

Garden 101: Compost

The very first step to a great garden is great soil. Next time you reach for that expensive bag of garden soil at the store, think again and save your cash! Nutrient rich dirt is easy, practically free, and as close as your back yard… or balcony… or even under the kitchen sink. 

Compost is an excellent way to supplement your garden or start it from scratch. There is no need to buy fancy equipment because composting is nature’s way of recycling and can be done easily with some basic supplies. The whole idea is to make a sort of “garbage lasagna”, with layers of “greens” sandwiched between layers of “browns”.  When mixed in the right proportions, your friendly neighborhood microorganisms will set up shop in your pile and break everything down into a rich, earthy soil.

 

Greens & Browns

Greens can be anything from left over fruit or veggie scraps to egg shells to grass clippings, and even spent coffee grounds. These provide nitrogen to your pile, which helps the next generation of plants grow in your garden. The quickest way to accumulate this greenery is by keeping a bowl or bucket in your kitchen and while you are cooking, add to it! A good rule of thumb to remembering what can go in your green bowl is “if it’s harvested that way, it’s okay”, meaning the most minimally processed materials are best.

Good: fruits & vegetables (including stalks, peels and seeds), beans, egg shells, tea & coffee grounds, bread (in small doses), grass and plant clippings, hair

Not so great: Twinkies, processed food, oils, meat, bones, animal fats, feces, personal hygiene products (no dirty diapers, folks!), anything that comes from a laboratory and not the ground

 

Browns consist of dead, usually dry & brown matter, which includes leaves, straw and wood. The browns provide the carbon that will heat your pile and encourage all of the little guys to start partying. While newspaper and paper are okay, you want to keep these to a minimum. They won’t ruin the party, but they do make it somewhat awkward by not breaking down as readily.

Good: dead leaves, sawdust and wood chips (from untreated wood), straw
Not so great: coated paper, chemically treated wood (or anything, for that matter), plastic or other unnatural materials (including metal, wax and latex)

 

Bugs

We all know that it’s never fun to have the creepy crawlies hanging around, but in composting a variety of insects, bacteria and other microorganisms really get things cookin’. You may notice the same insect characters showing up regularly to nosh on your scraps; this is a GREAT thing! If you see a lot of life in your pile, that means you are doing things right. The bugs eat the scraps, break it down in their bodily processes and poop out quality soil. You want to do everything you can to keep those guys around!

 

Next time on Garden 101, we will go over the best tools to use and assembly & containment of your compost pile. If you have any questions, leave a comment & we may include it in a Composting Q & A session!

Necessities

Winter, as miserable & cold as it is, is necessary for a pleasant garden life. Without the chill, the pests would reign freely. Without the leaves falling from the trees, the compost pile would be significantly smaller. It cleans the slate to begin the Spring anew, on fresh soil.

Introduction posts are the same; a necessary evil, if you will. So, I will keep this short & sweet. I live in north Florida (zone 8B for those keeping track) which means I can grow all sorts of interesting plants and wear flip flops most of the year. I dream big... sometimes too big, but I try to keep my feet planted on the ground.

My hope is that this will be a place for you to join me in craft, garden, cooking and home adventures, and a place for me to lay down some roots.