What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

I don't have enough freezer space so I can mine but a friend who does freeze hers says she does it whole with the skin on. She says the process breaks the flesh down into a purée and when she thaws them to use she grabs them by the stem end and the firm green sorta-stem part and the skin simply slip away.

You might want to try a few intact and see if you find it less tedious. I know one year when I was taking skins off before canning the acid got to my hands and they were just sore from handling all the skins.

Thanks for the warning, not something I would have thought of. Though I am the one who cut & canned a half a bushel of jalapenos with no gloves on. I enjoyed the zing every time I licked my fingers for weeks. My eyes didn't enjoy it so much.

 

[boggart]

Today I collected some vegetables (majority goes to neighbors and other family members), worked on the chicken coop, and added to my brand new compost pile!

Made out of a chopped poly-plastic tinhorn, total cost = $0.00
Water bottle for scale

This half of the old barn (40+ years old) is going to become the chicken coop.

Some fresh veggies (I know tomatoes are a fruit but I refuse to call them such )

 

[Sueby]

Very nice! Barn doesn't look 40+!

 

[IamRainey]

Some bounty! Looks great, boggart!

If you're composting for the first time you will just love seeing how all your garden and kitchen waste turns into the most wonderful soil ever.

I swapped out some of the zucchini for yellow crook-necks and acorn squash today. I put in some dill and lovage, planted some borage seed -- LOVE those electric blue blossoms -- and then seeded the bare spots with a mixture of flat leaf parsley and basil. Don't know how much of it will come up. I just scattered the seeds, watered them in and then firmed down the surface soil. If they come up they'll shade out weeds -- I hope -- and if they don't I already have some of each planted from 4" pots.

Have any of you ever grown lovage? It has a lovely celery flavor that you can add to just everything. I used to save the leaves of all my celery and then I discovered lovage.

Oh! And I popped in a six-pack of short dahlias for some color and put in some sunflower seeds for good measure too.

Hope I've got enough Summer left for these things to produce!

OH! I added my hardiness zone to my location. ...just as a reference. So much that other people can grow just won't hold up to our dry, DRY heat.

 

[perchie.girl]

Some bounty! Looks great, boggart!

If you're composting for the first time you will just love seeing how all your garden and kitchen waste turns into the most wonderful soil ever.

I swapped out some of the zucchini for yellow crook-necks and acorn squash today. I put in some dill and lovage, planted some borage seed -- LOVE those electric blue blossoms -- and then seeded the bare spots with a mixture of flat leaf parsley and basil. Don't know how much of it will come up. I just scattered the seeds, watered them in and then firmed down the surface soil. If they come up they'll shade out weeds -- I hope -- and if they don't I already have some of each planted from 4" pots.

Have any of you ever grown lovage? It has a lovely celery flavor that you can add to just everything. I used to save the leaves of all my celery and then I discovered lovage.

Oh! And I popped in a six-pack of short dahlias for some color and put in some sunflower seeds for good measure too.

Hope I've got enough Summer left for these things to produce!

OH! I added my hardiness zone to my location. ...just as a reference. So much that other people can grow just won't hold up to our dry, DRY heat.

I want to compost its Not anything I have ever done. I know the concept some.... Takes moisture and the occasional turn over right?

Can poo go in to the garden waste pile?

Believe me I am in a similar zone as you.... Just up high in the mountains and it gets cold Windy and and instead of rain snow. about seventy two hours worth... But mostly dry....

I cant afford to pour water into the ground because it doesnt have anything to slow it down on through to the aquefer... So Compost is going to be importatnt way to get organics into my Decomposed granite.

So to begin with I will be doing my gardening in what I call my Green house Room. All Concrete... Its also where I will start with Hydroponices and transition to Aquaponics
I might have to Open up some light in there... I had to have the roof repaired and the glass taken out... But there is a twelve foot opening to unempeded light and air on one wall. I can position all growing things along that wall.

before I redid the greenhouse it got to be 140 in there in the summer... Now it just stays ambient with shade temperatures. about ten degrees cooler than direct sun.

I guess I am going to have to read up on composting as well. The room has drains so if I make a mistake its no biggie. Its just that water is so precious here I have to make use of every drop from every stage....

deb

 

[IamRainey]

Lousy soil of the adobe clay variety is what got me started composting. The lovely humus is what keeps me very much involved with it.

Can I link you to another post where we're discussing the basics of composting? Then if you have any questions I'll be happy to get specific.

As for poo, it's one of the no-no's. Not human poo or dog or cat poo. No poo from meat-eating animals. That's the rule. But being a rebel, naturally I do it. There's a community of people who compost and use what they call humanure. But what you need to know is that it needs to be composted for at least a year. And the higher the temperature you can compost it at, the better. For that reason I have very large piles -- 4'x6'x4'. The mass helps get serious decomposing going and serious heat generated by it.

Urine, OTOH, is very high in nitrogen ("green") and does a pile wonders. And the manure of grass-eating animals like horses and cows is also terrific for heating your pile up and stimulating all the biological responses.

OMG!!! I've just met you people and I'm blabbing all my deeply held secrets!!!

 

[perchie.girl]

Lousy soil of the adobe clay variety is what got me started composting. The lovely humus is what keeps me very much involved with it.

Can I link you to another post where we're discussing the basics of composting? Then if you have any questions I'll be happy to get specific.

Where i live now is Grey Clay... If you dig a hole for a tree you are essentailly planting it in a Clay pot. YOu have to digg the hole twice as big and add soil in for the tree.... Horrible stuff.

I would love a link to composting basics.... thank you

deb

 

[IamRainey]

Did you find the blue link in the post above?

And, as a word of encouragement, my "soil" took a pickaxe to work through when we moved here 20 years ago. Today I can dig down with my fingers for 12"-18" in the beds. The lawn is still concrete with green patches but the veggie and flower beds are now fantastic from years of compost and the mulch from all the tree trimming that's taken place over the years.

Compost is better for your soil than anything and it doesn't cost anything once you're set up.

 

[perchie.girl]

Did you find the blue link in the post above?

And, as a word of encouragement, my "soil" took a pickaxe to work through when we moved here 20 years ago. Today I can dig down with my fingers for 12"-18" in the beds. The lawn is still concrete with green patches but the veggie and flower beds are now fantastic from years of compost and the mulch from all the tree trimming that's taken place over the years.

Yes I got the blue link... very good.. I may not be able to do composting but I will give it a good try...

deb

 

[boggart]

I want to compost its Not anything I have ever done. I know the concept some.... Takes moisture and the occasional turn over right?

Can poo go in to the garden waste pile?

Believe me I am in a similar zone as you.... Just up high in the mountains and it gets cold Windy and and instead of rain snow. about seventy two hours worth... But mostly dry....

I cant afford to pour water into the ground because it doesnt have anything to slow it down on through to the aquefer... So Compost is going to be importatnt way to get organics into my Decomposed granite.

So to begin with I will be doing my gardening in what I call my Green house Room. All Concrete... Its also where I will start with Hydroponices and transition to Aquaponics
I might have to Open up some light in there... I had to have the roof repaired and the glass taken out... But there is a twelve foot opening to unempeded light and air on one wall. I can position all growing things along that wall.

before I redid the greenhouse it got to be 140 in there in the summer... Now it just stays ambient with shade temperatures. about ten degrees cooler than direct sun.

I guess I am going to have to read up on composting as well. The room has drains so if I make a mistake its no biggie. Its just that water is so precious here I have to make use of every drop from every stage....

deb

Any herbivore waste can go into your compost pile! The main thing is to have enough “browns” to go with your “greens.”
Browns are things like paper, coffee filters, plain cardboard, dead plant matter, etc.
Greens are things like plant trimmings, leftover fruits and veggies, coffee grounds, tea leaves, etc.
The dryness of browns balances out the moisture of greens, which creates a good compost.
If your compost is stinking (a good compost should only smell like dirt!) it’s because there are meat products (no no) or too much moisture. The moisture problem can be fixed by adding more browns! Basically if there’s a problem with your compost, add more browns!

And like IamRainey said, urine is amazing for your compost. But! I am taking medications that would have a negative impact on my compost and so I am unable to take that extra step and pee on mine