How Does My Garden Grow?

[Sadie G]

Thanks for the links Kian! I started reading, but will go back in tonight and read more. I'm interested in the full list of things that can be added.

Margie, thats so interesting about Star Trek using that in an episode! That would make sense to have one side for added items and the other side for cooking.

I did some research last night too. I studied more on the line of comments from people who have been composting for years, learning their trial and errors and what worked for them the best.

I'll just add a few things that I read and not go into the detail since Kian found such a good link to reference.

The difference between a tumbler for composting and a compost pile is: A tumbler uses heat and bacteria, and a compost pile employs worms, slugs and insects (along with heat).

One person suggested for a compost pile to put a large piece of landscape fabric over the pile. It still lets it breathe, but the black helps to "cook" it. Several people after that person said they tried it and it worked, you just need to make sure its secured.

The balance between the "greens" and the "browns" in a compost pile should be - green 60% and brown 40%.

You can make a "brown" by spreading out grass clippings in the sun for a few days. (I liked this tip!)

Several people did post they did not have any luck with their bins turning everything into actual compost. They added some worms to the bin and it turned!

A biggie for both types was worms, worms worms!! I had already figured that one, I know worms are great for the flower beds and gardens so that just makes sense! I always get very excited when I see lots of worms in my gardens

Oh, I almost forgot. I kept reading over and over, to turn the compost often. Just how often is often????? Well finally someone said they turn theirs every 2 - 3 weeks. Also the internal temp should get to about 140 degrees to really "cook" it into compost.

[snifferspommom]

Awesome tips, Linda! We had an overview of composting in soils class. Now you need a worm farm! Perhaps that's another species to add to your mini farm, Kian!! Worms truly are one of the most beneficial organisms in your soil. I'll have to collect all the worms that come out after it rains. They come out in masses! I feel so bad for them when the sun comes out and they all dry out and die on the road and driveway.

You can use cardboard for browns, too. Pretty much any organic material can go into a compost pile, except for cooked meat and dairy products. I need to get me one of those kitchen containers to put scraps in now. Between recycling and composting, we'll hardly have any garbage now!

This is the one that I just got

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It's on a track which is how you turn it, and there is holes for aeration on the ends.

[kian]

Alina that is nice! I have been out in the pasture digging around and found worms Linda thanks for the info, I like the worm idea. The tips are so helpful, I'm excited to try this. I have a bucket now by the door to throw in my items and OH brings a newspaper home every night. Can that count as brown?

Marge that is too funny! The compost space bomb

[Sadie G]

Alina, I really like that! Its much bigger than I pictured it to be.

I always feel sorry for the worms who come out in the rain and then get stuck when it dries up too! I will be collecting them in a bucket to put in the compost pile now

Kian, you can use the newspaper as a brown but it will have to be shredded. Here is a link I found that list what can be used as a brown. I know there has to be more than what's on this list, I think this is just basics. I know coffee grounds and the filter are definite browns that can be used.

http://www.compost-info-guide.com/browns.htm

I started my green collection and my brown collection tonight! I'm excited about this too
Never in a million years would I have thought that I would get so excited about composting

I'm excited about the veggie garden period! I've wanted one for several years!

I'm off to read Kian's links on the first page!!

[Sadie G]

I copied and pasted that list of 163 items in excel
Now I can whittle it down to a manageable list for what we have and use around here!

I was reading an article on the site Kian posted and it contradicted one of the things that I had posted, the 60% green to 40% brown. So I went looking a more articles and they all agreed. I think the person who posted that had it backwards.
Everywhere I have read says you should have a little more brown than green because the brown is what has the most nitrogen. So I think it should have been 60% brown & 40% green. That makes more sense when you think about it!

[kian]

Thanks Linda that makes more sense as today I was trying to figure the ratio and how I was going to do this. I too need to whittle that list to what applies, most of us don't have dead starfish around. I'm going to have OH bring home the coffee grounds from work, this whole concept should lessen our garbage which will be nice since he takes it to work.

Now I will check out your link!

[kian]

Help, any ideas what this is. It has a delightful smell, not minty but similar. It's fun discovering a new yard that I did not plant.



Peonies??

[Sadie G]

I'm not sure what the first one is, but the second one is definitely peonies! I can't wait to see what color they will be.

If you have a hard time with the peony stems falling down from the weight of the blooms you can get a wire cage for them next year. The weight of the flower and one good rain and they are all over the ground. I keep the wire cage there all year and in the spring I keep tucking the branches as they grow. That solves the weight problem, and you don't even see the cage once the plant bushes out.

I hope Alina looks at that first flower and knows what it is. I'm curious too. Its beautiful, I love that color!
Can you get a closeup of the flower itself? I tried looking online, but couldn't find anything that looked like the flower and the leaves. Anything that I found that was close had totally different leaves.

I think I may, if the rains hold off, get to plant some veggies this year. Instead of one large raised garden I decided to do separate smaller ones. That way I can grow my garden as my needs grow . Also I don't have to buy everything all at once for a larger space. I want something easy to work around and doing smaller 4 x 8 spaces will work great. I was going to do one large one and have walkways of mulch sectioning it off into 4 spaces. After talking to my OH we decided using railroad ties as the border would be the sturdiest and they aren't cheap. The more I thought about it, it made more sense to do separate spaces and I will just rotate crops each year . Now that a plan is in place I am even more excited!

I'm starting the compost pile in a new spot this weekend! I think I have enough gathered to get a good start. There are still some fall leaves in one of the side flower beds that I can use too!

[snifferspommom]

I have no idea what that first flower is. Need a close-up. Just re-read that it was kind of minty...Catnip maybe?

I adore peonies!! I had them at our condo in NY. I used to stick my nose in the flowers. I was going to have some here but I'm not sure if I want to expand the veggie garden. Ours is along the side of the house, 4x8 or so. I put the compost tumbler on one side of it and already have it half filled with garden waste that I've been collecting!! We'll see how it turns out!

It was a beautiful day for weeding and that's what I did! Pulled a few worms out and tried to put them back. I did capture one and put it in the compost bin!!

[Phyrie]

The best worms for composting are red wigglers. Paul calls them sh*t worms. You can buy them by the pound from garden centres and bait shops. Or you order them from the internet, believe it or not! Vermicomposting is very popular, and creates the best compost. Here's a pic of some:(scroll quickly to avoid looking at worms!)
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We always have a couple of rabbits in the barn for manure to put in the compost bins. They don't get garden clippings to eat, just high grade pellets and some past their prime veggies from the kitchen. That way you never plant weeds or other undesireable plants in your compost. Keep that in mind when you're choosing what to put in your bins. If you are throwing in food scraps (as you should be!) be aware that melons, squashes, and tomatoes will self-sow in your compost, even after you put it in your garden! Now, for me that a happy surprise, but if you are using your compost in a formal garden, you don't want things growing where you didn't plant it! LOL!

The first plant looks like an ajuga, which is in the mint family:

Ajuga_reptans_LC0138.jpg (21.83 KB) Viewed 1129 times

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajuga

Edited to add "hide your eyes" space...

[DixieDoodle]

Has anyone had much success with growing vegetables in large containers? I live in an apartment and I want to try to grown tomatoes and maybe something else? I was thinking beans?

[snifferspommom]

Oh for sure tomatoes can be grown in containers! Sometimes they do better than in the ground because the soil in the ground could have pests and diseases whereas potting mix is disease free! You can use anything for a container as long as it has drainage and you'll need some sort of support structure for the tomatoes and beans. Potatoes can even be grown in a big container!! I have a friend who is thinking about putting her veggies in a galvanized water trough.

Nice worms, Phyrie! Worms rule don't they? They pretty much make the soil what it is. More excellent compost advice too!

Finally! Daffodils!! Took these with the macro setting. The flowerheads were droopy so I shoved my camera under them and hoped for the best! I think they turned out pretty cool!


Not the best but I love our bokeh house!


My favorite garden ornaments! That's bee balm in the background.

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

I was just about to post, and you said exactly the same thing I was typing, Alina!! I was thinking of trying beans in a pot with a frame to train it up so the beans have room to grow. I love fresh beans out of the garden...mmmm....

Beautiful daffs, Alina! And your ornaments are adorable!

worms are invaluable...Mother Nature knows how to keep that delicate balance! But now that we know RJM has a worm issue...we might want to put warnings of worm photos like we do for Deb and rodents...and me with arachnids.

[RubyJeansMom]

worms are invaluable...Mother Nature knows how to keep that delicate balance! But now that we know RJM has a worm issue...we might want to put warnings of worm photos like we do for Deb and rodents...and me with arachnids.

LOL Margie, I scrolled down really, really fast.
I do know worms are wonderful for the garden, they just need to leave me alone!

We actually had an old wooden row boat at my parents cottage, that was called "the worm bed". My mom filled it with dirt and any time one of the kids found worms (not me), they would put them in the boat. She covered it with old leaves and threw coffee grounds and egshells in almost every day. It was basically to grow worms for fishing, but I now realized that must have been really good compost.

[Margie-Rex's Mom]

In reading RJM's post, it reminded me of something important for us here. Please be very careful of putting coffee grounds in compost, if you dog has a habit of getting into the compost. Coffee grounds are extremely harmful to dogs. A friend's dog almost died last summer when he got into the compost and ate the grounds, as they were on top and the only thing Rio got into before Claire caught him. One additional peril of an open compost pile.