Archive for the ‘Compost’ Category

Unattended Compost | Potato Take-over

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

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The first year I had the bigger compost bins, I turned stuff from one to the other about once a month.  Then, I got older, a job and found all sorts of other things to do.

We just kept dumping stuff in; it kept settling and we kept dumping.  We added wet paper, weeds, leaves, scraps, hay and let it settle.  I think there may be some real dirt at the bottom of the bin by now.  The second bin is full of leaves, chipped branches, hay, weeds and more.  One year some fabulous pumpkin vines grew all over the bin.  No pumpkins, but some great photo-ops.

This year, when the potatoes came up from some throw-aways, I really expected that there would be none.  The vines were huge and lush — the sort of thing that hints at all tops and no ‘taters.

They bloomed and this week, they ‘went down’.  I thought maybe before they completed degraded and disappeared, I would check to see if there are any little potatoes.  You can see from the picture, the plant had me fooled.

Simple white potatoes.  I think I will stick a couple back to put into the bin when the weather turns so they can freeze over the winter and maybe do this again.

They are marvelously CLEAN!!

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Egg Shells Step to the Front, Please.

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

We go through a lot of eggs. The shells are welcome in the nightcrawler bins up to a point. Then, I’m looking for other things to do with them.

Several years ago, I read about this formula. Gather enough eggshells to fill (without crushing) at quart jar or a gallon jar. Add water to the eggshell contents of the jar and leave for 24 hours. Then, drain the water and pour it onto plants.

This gave the plants an interesting little kick, but I had only used it on containers such as houseplants.

This summer, the neighborhood conversation about the locally sad condition of our watermelon growing efforts told us that our melon plants were crying out for calcium. Without more calcium than they were getting, the baby melons rotted and died a few days after setting on.

There are ways of adding calcium, but the eggshells immediately came to my mind. I had some saved up, so I put about two quarts of eggshell water on the base of the plant. That last, lonely little melon grew to be a fine treat.

Was my eggshell nectar partially responsible. We have no scientific way of knowing, but the melon plant and product improved remarkably after receiving the little calcium draught.

We’ve shared the melon with the grandchild who found it first. With the work of summer done, the vine still flourishes across the grassy area. A volunteer without nearby friends or ability to attract other vermin, the melon vine has grown beautifully, holding out for frost.

I have found that if a drenching with eggshell water is good once for a house plant, it does not follow that the plant will benefit from treatment more than once or twice a year. Too often can set a little mold fungus growing on the top of the plant ‘dirt’.

The majority of the egg shells are crushed and scattered about the garden and flowerbeds. Eventually, they will be worked into the soil to share their calcium content and act as air spacers in the dense, clay soil. A small amount is pulverized and scattered over the nightcrawler beds. There is opinion that the calcium of the eggshells, in crumbs or whole, benefits the nightcrawler fertility. The fine dust makes a good resource for grit in the gullets of the diligent little composters.

Egg shells are indeed at the front of mylist for gardening bits and wisdom.

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Mansfield, Missouri The Green Take-Over Revisited

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

The Green Take-Over has expanded. As written earlier, during a wonderfully wet Missouri Spring, we had about a gazillion pumpkin seeds sprout in the compost pile. The Easter Freeze was hard on them, even though I covered them with oak leaves.However, the big freeze didn’t totally kill them and they came back with a vengance. Because I have an empty trellis, part of this year’s green plan was to put pumpkin vines on it. I love the green leaves and bright, ginormous flowers. I didn’t care if we got pumpkins or not. The pumpkin germination had two centers. I used a grain shovel to lift compost and sprouts from one center, laid it in a wheelbarrow and moved it to the Trellis location where it was put on top of a mound of more leaves, garden dirt and fertilizer. There was some shock effect that sort of slowed it down.

The remaining center was left to its own devices. Devices which have been to creep over the compost bin toward the peach tree and another small abandoned bin in one direction. All over the nearly empty side of the big bin, out into the grass and head for the leaf pile. There are huge leaves and beautiful blossoms AND darling little pumpkins.

The vines at the trellis have submitted to some training. When the tendrils curl tightly, they are very strong, but trainable. I can loop one around the trellis bar and back to itself where it will hold and continue to grow, reaching ever outward and somewhat upward. This sweet little pumpkin is balanced on the boards of the fencePumpkins and Blossoms near Mansfield, Missouri.    

It’s ongoing vine is headed all over the trellis, but movement of the pumpkin won’t be necessary. Moving the vines usually results in the death of the pumpkin.

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