HomeGrownVegetables » Composting

Compost Fuel, Delapidated Gardens and Rain, Sweet Rain!!

jed78 — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:55:00 +0000

First off , let me apologize for the lack of posts, it’s been a wild run the last few months. I changed jobs back in October, and the everlasting drought made it difficult to have anything to write about…or time to write it. I hope that will change soon!

But with that said let’s get to it shall we?!

Compost Fuel

The guys at the courthouse were kind enough to let me take about 20 bags of leaves that they raked up, I jumped on the chance to bring them home for compost, and to work a bunch into the soil right now, that will give them time to break down and give a much needed shot of organic material back into the soil.

There were about 20 bags total , I shared with some other fella that wanted some!

I need to get the compost pile rolling again, It’s just a matter of some time to get it all together!

The Poor Cucumber Patch!

I have really let things get away from me in the cucumber patch, but like everything else, when I get a weekend free , It will look better. This one isn’t so bad , just overgrown.

All my trellis’s are still in place it just needs some TLC!

Look at the overgrown mess!

This is the before Pic!

Oh well, can’t wait for the Spring time greenness !

And finally, the rain! We have been lucky the last few months, rain has come back in a big way!

Just last week we got around three to five inches , depending on whose rain gauge you believe.

We have so much rain lately our pond is almost full again!!!

Damn Near Full!

Back Pasture that mighty wet!

Well there you have it, Thanks for sticking around, If you’re still there that is! Hope to see you as the weather gets better, should be a good year!

What The Heck Is Hugelkultur?

jed78 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:48:05 +0000

That’s what I said, then I started reading and whammo, this sounds interesting. I’ve heard of the layering of sawdust and wood chips as a mulch, breaks down , feeds the soil, you know the drill, but this is burying whole logs and large branches. This goes against everything I have ever heard about composting, small even pieces… what happened to that?

I am intrigued my friends, I’m going to read some more on this and I will get back to you, I mean really, all I have to do right now is read, the fall garden is pretty well a no-go unless some serious rain comes soon, so I guess we shall see, but i’m not going to get my hopes up!

Anyway, check these links out, they have some basic info, when I find more I will let you know, and sorry for the dry spell …lol!

Treehugger.com

Hubpages

Compost Pile Update

jed78 — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:52:52 +0000

A while back I wrote about how I work my compost, That was a while back so I thought I would update you all on how its looking. This isn’t the same pile , but the results are the same.

I use the slow method where it just sits for a year or so, some folks turn the pile every week or two, I might turn it every other month or so. The end result is the same, the dark rich compost, just a different time frame. I guess if I gad nothing but time, I might speed up the action. Well anyway , this is the look after a year of breakdown.

You may have also noticed I have a newer cage to put the compost pile in, Its a hog pane wrapped into a cylinder and secured with some think wire, works better than the other fence material we were using.

Compost Pile Before

More Veggie Seeds Planted

Also got a few more veggies direct seeded in the proper places, the next few photos will be very boring, but they are the “before” in the before and after shots, so just keep that in mind!

In the raised bed section, we have two types of radish, red beets, and some bush type cucumbers.

We also put in two types of vine cucumbers, a slicer and a pickling type, we plane to plant a new set every week to keep them coming, the pickles went over real good last year!

These cattle panel trellises work wonders, you can walk right under and pick a bucket load.

We also started tilling up the second big garden this year , we are gonna do alot of corn for the pigs and for us too. No pix of that yet, I was to busy fixing the tiller, I ran over a t-post and busted the shear bolt, had to make a trip to the tractor store.

Well stay tuned, thing are really workin now, lots more to come!

Fall Garden Festivities

jed78 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:35:50 +0000

Hello again,

Well the South Texas heat has finally stopped the relentless assault on us and the rains have returned… we even had a few temps down in the 60′s , you can’t beat that! So it’s been a busy few weeks around here, we have been horse sitting for a friend of my wife’s, we have moved cattle around to rotate pastures, and the garden work has picked back up.

After the Hornworm Incident last month, I had given up on the tomatoes, but there is one plant that still keeps chugging along. So we shall see how that goes. Mostly its been cleanup work, weeding , cutting back the dead stuff, you know how it goes. We have also been filling up the compost piles, lots of goodies for that endeavor, old hay grass clippings and what not, so now we have two pretty big piles ready for next spring, if everything works as it should!

Now The Garden Plan!

Down here where we live we really don’t get winter. oh yea I hear ya , it gets cool, 40′ s maybe a freeze in January, but over all its more like a hard Fall season…I was stationed in Colorado in The Army, now it gets cold there!! But that’s all the better for us , with the proper protection , you can garden dang near year round. Most of your cool season crops just love the mild weather here from October until usually late December, even some root veggies and onions can stay in ground until spring, That is if the cold rainy days don’t get to crazy and it all rots. So without further delay here’s what I’m planning for this fall season.

Cabbage – some red and some green
Carrots – can’t go wrong with carrots
Onions and Garlic – Two more favorites around here
Spinach and some Lettuce
Broccoli – gonna try this again, I never have any luck with good broccoli

And whatever else I have a few extra seeds for , so stay tuned for the next installment now that things have cooled off a bit!

Building A Compost Pile.

jed78 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:20:48 +0000

Since the high heat is in place here in South-East Texas there is not much in the garden that is thriving, other than watermelon and corn,see the last post! So today I thought I would get another compost pile going, it’s really easy the way I do it , so come check it out!

The first thing I did was to build a cage out of Red Brand Goat Fence, you can use what ever you have around your place, we just had some extra. I took a 10 foot piece and connected the ends to make a cylinder, it works perfect for contaning the pile. I put this cylinder in an out of the way place , its gonna be there a while, and start gathering my materials. Since I live on the farm out here materials are easy to come by. I use mostly old hay that has gotten wet, and bales that fell apart around the haystack, plus grass clippings from mowing around the house. We also have an abundance of chicken, cow and donkey manure around here so that is a key ingredient as well.

Old Hay

Let’s Assemble!

With the materials gathered up I first put down a layer of hay, 1 to 2 feet deep, then water it down with the water hose , it will compact down quite a bit.

1st Layer of Hay

The next layer is a layer of grass clippings, I used about 2 full bags from the mower for the grass layer it works out to about 5 to six inch layers.

Bag From The Mower Full Of Clippings.

Layer Of Grass Clippings

After the grass goes on I dump in about two five-gallon bucket fulls of chicken manure over the grass layer and then wet it down, it helps to keep the dust down as well as adds to the needed moisture in the pile.

Five gallon Bucket of Chicken Manure.

From there it just goes layer upon layer , just like lasagna! I put about five layers on this pile and will keep the water going on for a few more days, as you add water you will see the pile begin to compact down. After a few weeks you can turn the pile over a couple of times to get the air moving again, this will speed up your compost, or you can just let it set and it will still work, it will just take longer.

Almost Done

So there you have it, started compost pile ready to cook. You can continue to add kitchen waste, more grass clipping, fall leaves, whatever just make sure you keep the pile moist and it will do fine. Check back in a few weeks and I’ll update how this particular pile is going!

Thanks for stopping by!

I’m Big On Compost!!

jed78 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:25:30 +0000

I’m into the compost, well not literally, but I have 2 good size piles going right now. One has pretty well worked itself out , the other was started in October, so its not really rolling yet. The good thing about living in southeast Texas, most of the winter months are nice and mild. Its been a little cold this week , but we have had days in the sixties. So my compost can work longer than most, just a little slower sometimes.

Check this article on food waste in the compost pile, I do this too. I drink lots of coffee and I put all the coffee grounds I can get into the compost, along with other food waste like vegetable cuttings etc.

Composting Your Food Scraps, The Easy Way

Each year around May 1st, give or take a day or two depending on the weather, I begin my vegetable garden. I turn the soil over (by hand of course), mark the rows as to where certain vegetables will grow and so on. When it comes to picking my vegetables, or as farmers say, harvest them, people I give them to always give me great compliments. Long before I ever plant the seeds or begin to water and long before the weather turns to warm spring, I work the soil in my garden. When I say work, what I mean is contribute to increasing the nutrient content giving my vegetables an ideal growing environment.

Believe it or not it is easy to do, takes only a few minutes of your time and in that short time you are doing a world of difference to your garden and the environment. What I simply do is compost my food waste. I am sure you have heard of composting where you take leaves, grass etc., and put them all together and every so often you turn the pile over to create great compost.

Well you can also compost your food waste (well all except bones of course). Food waste and scraps are a great way to add nutrients to your soil. In a nutshell here is how it works. You collect your food waste, dig a deep hole in your vegetable garden, place your food scraps in the hole and then cover. Now wash, rinse and repeat what I just wrote, over and over again, year after year.

What happens when you do this is worms will find those food scraps and eat them. Their waste, known as castings, are filled with nutrients that your plants require. When you turn the soil over in the spring you are actually bringing those castings close to the top where the vegetable’s roots will be.

The best way I find to collect food waste is in an airtight Tupperware bowl. I add my scraps to this bowl and then when the bowl is filled, I bury it in my garden. I then mark that spot with a stick so I do not dig it up within 3 months (gives the worms plenty of time to do their thing). That is it. Composting doesn’t get any easier than that.

If you were looking for a way to have a better garden (vegetable or flower) without doing a whole lot of work, then this is it. You make your soil more nutrient rich, you do not use any chemical fertilizers and you reduce the amount of waste you add to your landfill all in one swoop.

Now go and bury that garbage and enjoy!

By: Bruce A Tucker

Chipper/Shredder, Do You Own One?

jed78 — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:45:15 +0000

Chipper Shredder

I was thinking of this idea last year, I think I may just go ahead with it. My compost pile takes a while to break down with whole leaves left in there, they form an almost waterproof matt so nothing gets thru. Smaller particles are better, at least I have heard that.

Avid Gardener, Meet the Chipper Shredder

(Tue Sep 25th, 2007, by Nadia Osman)

When you’re outside puttering around in your garden, you probably feel tranquil, serene, at one with Mother Nature. It’s just you and your plants, getting along fantastically together. The last thing you want is for that peaceful silence to be obliterated by an intimidating gardening contraption like the chipper shredder. But fear not, those scared easily by loud noises and heavy machinery: chippers are not like their predecessors, and they’re only getting better.

The chipper shredder is interesting in that it’s one of the most versatile gardening tools around. Sure, you may scoff at the idea of having a machine assist with something that’s so essentially natural. Yet after weeks of turning over that compost heap or letting those bags of leaves pile up, it’s best to turn to a little extra help. For those that compost with gusto, a chipper shredder may already be sitting in your backyard somewhere, happily assisting with converting leaves into mulch and spitting out wood chips for ground cover. For the lazy composter, it may not even have occurred to you to enlist a hunk of metal to help make mulch. For those that don’t even compost, the chipper shredder is still handy; with its chopping and dicing abilities (like an oversized piece of kitchenware seen on late night infomercials) will speed up the process of eliminating dead brush and tree limbs from the yard.

Old chippers were often clunky, deafening, and dangerous. New chippers tend to be lightweight, safer, and much quieter. The newer electric models are also less likely to emit strange, toxic odors like the older gas powered models, and they’re healthier for the environment. They work well for long periods of time, given that you don’t shove copious amounts of tree excess in all at once. The more powerful the shredder, the more it can handle; for backyard home work, smaller chippers are your best bet. Furthermore, larger chippers are great for clearing acres of dead tree brush and trunks. For those with compost piles or ordinary yard debris, the smaller chippers work very well for creating mulch. Distribute your chipper’s finished product over your flower bed, and you can be witness to a worm colony growing rapidly in your compost pile. The best part is feeling proud knowing that you didn’t really have to do much-your chipper shredder did all the work for you.

Leftover plant stalks? Stick ‘em in the shredder. Trimming from your shrubs? Throw ‘em in the chipper. Brittle, dry leaves? Why, just chuck those suckers on in. Get all the mulch you need for composting while saving yourself time and effort by using a chipper shredder. Now all you have to do is putter in your garden and enjoy the silence of happy, healthy plants.

About the Author

Find the perfect wood chipper or lawn sweeper, at Composters.com.