Archive for the ‘In the Garden’ Category
5 Simple Steps to Making Your Own Dirt
Composting is the art of turning organic matter and waste into a rich soil amendment called humus. Backyard composting is easy to learn and is full of benefits for you and the environment. Plus, most needed ingredients are right at your finger tips. Organic matter and wastes that can be composted include fruit and vegetable peelings (kitchen scraps), grass clipping, leaves, and small diameter tree trimmings. Some things you should not include in your backyard compost include meat and dairy products, weeds or weed seeds. These materials can attract vermin and pests, and can spread weeds throughout your yard.
The Five Key Steps…
Compost Bin Size and Volume: Ideally the bin should be between 3’x3’x3’ and 5’x5’x5’. A bin that is too small cannot produce enough heat to cook the ingredients. If the bin is too large, it won’t get enough air in the center of the pile, allowing the pile to breathe. It is also easier to manage two or three medium bins than one large one.
Feed Your Compost: A perfect mix of compost materials consists of ½ brown matter (carbon-based material) like leaves and ½ green matter (nitrogen-based material) like kitchen scraps. Waste material should be mixed by weight, i.e. 5-pounds brown to 5-pounds green.
Let Your Bin Breathe: The organisms that live inside your compost pile need air to survive. Mix or turn the pile three to five times per season using a pitchfork, garden hoe or shovel. Proper aeration can make a big difference. You will know if your bin is not getting enough oxygen because it will begin to smell of ammonia.
Microbes Need H2O: The organisms also need water to survive, but not too much or they will drown. The ideal moisture level of your compost bin should be like a wrung out sponge.
Surface Area: Cutup or shred organic materials before placing them into the bin. This increases the surface area and speeds up decomposition. You can also store your kitchen scraps in the freezer to speed up decomposition, as the materials will break down at the cell level when frozen.
Compost bins can be found through most city waste management programs or can be built out of simple materials like wooden pallets or wire panels. But, no matter what method you use, the important thing is getting these nutrient rich materials back into your soil so it can be healthy and vibrant for growing fruits, vegetable and flowers.
For compost bin ideas and plans check out this University of Wisconsin Extension link
photo credit: nicer than air
Growing Persimmons
Persimmons are the quintessential fall fruit. Known to the Ancient Greeks as “fruit of the Gods”, these tomato or heart-shaped fruits are high in glucose, a well-balanced and a good source of vitamin C. They can be eaten fresh, dried, raw or cooked. But watch out for varieties that have a more astringent taste. To learn more about growing persimmons click the Vegetable Gardener link here.
For more information, try this link from Virginia Tech here (pdf).
While you’re waiting to grow your own persimmons, buy a few from a local Farmer’s Market or grower and bake some of grandma’s persimmon cookies.
Persimmon Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup persimmon pulp
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional: 1 cup chopped nuts, raisins or candied fruit
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg. Dissolve baking soda in persimmon pulp and add to mixture. Sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt, then add to the mixture. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes, then drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
photo credit: pixel_d0ts
Pomegranates - A fun, festive fruit
Pomegranate shrubs are one of the easiest fruits to grow, since they are usually not affected by many pests or diseases. The fruits are full of antioxidants and thought to have many health benefits.
If you live in the right climate area for growing pomegranates plan to add one (or two) to your suburban homestead garden plan. The delicious fruits can be used for juice, syrups, salad toppings and jams, or eat the seeds fresh, right out of the fruit.
This is one fruit that you’ll love growing. To learn more about the growing needs of pomegranates click here.
photo credit: norwichnuts
Grow Fresh Greens Throughout the Winter
Just starting out on your journey to a more self-reliant life? Live in a home with very limited growing space? Or, looking for a fall and winter garden closer to the backdoor? How about trying a salad box?
Read more about these compact, easy to make mini gardens that will produce a bounty of salad greens and root vegetables throughout the cooler fall and winter months.
If carpentry isn’t your forte try using plastic storage boxes or recycled wooden boxes. For extra creativity any container will suffice (wagon, wheelbarrow, old bath tub) as long as it has drainage holes in the bottom and is large enough for the amount of greens you want to grow.
I use an old livestock watering trough with holes punched in the bottom. (For areas with harsher climates try adding hoops and greenhouse plastic to make mini hot houses.)
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photo credit: Foto Iervolino
The Garden Boom has Begun
As the recession drags on, many Americans are getting “down-and-dirty” - literally - by cultivating vegetables in their own backyards. The double-digit increases in home gardening are also showing impressive savings for family food budgets…
“People’s home grocery budget got absolutely shredded and now we’ve seen just this dramatic increase in the demand for our vegetable seeds. We’re selling out,” said George Ball, CEO of Burpee Seeds, the largest mail-order seed company in the U.S. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Gardening advocates, who have long struggled to get America grubby, have dubbed the newly planted tracts “recession gardens” and hope to shape the interest into a movement similar to the victory gardens of World War II.
But for many Americans, the appeal of backyard gardening isn’t in its history - it’s in the savings.
The National Gardening Association estimates that a well-maintained vegetable garden yields a $500 average return per year. A study by Burpee Seeds claims that $50 spent on gardening supplies can multiply into $1,250 worth of produce annually.
Doiron spent nine months weighing and recording each vegetable he pulled from his 1,600-square-foot garden outside Portland, Maine. After counting the final winter leaves of Belgian endive, he found he had saved about $2,150 by growing produce for his family of five instead of buying it.
Adriana Martinez, an accountant who reduced her grocery bill to $40 a week by gardening, said there’s peace of mind in knowing where her food comes from. And she said the effort has fostered a sense of community through a neighborhood veggie co-op.
“We’re helping to feed each other and what better time than now?” Martinez said.
Read More on ways to save potentially thousands of dollars by growing your own.
photo credit: HDC Photography