The Blue Bucket Cycle

We keep a three-gallon bucket by our sink for kitchen scraps and non-soapy water.

The worm bin component of the water / compost operation

Problems in the worm bin in the spring include fruit flies. Here we are cleaning out a couple of trays to start over.

 https://youtu.be/8HsSr8zXch4

Grandma Kirk and Grandma Shaver on the portch of the big house at Lake Tahoe, California. (date, before the deck remodel, before Grandma Kirk died at 98, born 1898, so that would make it before the year 2000, but it was way before that. Before dad died in 1987? I hadn't yet gone to Pasadena. It was still when we were spending a few weeks of the summer out of town. The 1970's? possibly. [This was written without my glasses. Please forgive any typos.] Peace.

How We've Used Coffee Grounds

Compost ingredient Worm castings fill, absorbant Worm bin filler, carbon buffer, worm food Ant and bug repellent, suppressant Top dressing Compost food, renourishment Air freshener Exercise excuse (sifting the disks to break them up, walking to pick them up, carrying them back) Thank you, Starbucks

Volunteer mangos

Tomato Self Defense

Buckets

I know our friend does not like plastic in the garden. I'm not keen about plastic IN the garden soil but high density polyethylene (HDPE, Recycle #2) for transport and short term storage is hard to beat. Sorry. I'm still open to improvement. OK. Assembling five buckets (not "bouquets") of potting soil (3) and compost (2), three of which were store bought and two are homemade (one of each). We agreed upon tags on the outside of the buckets so I'm inside the house looking for the photo of our first garden as a tag for the homemade ingredients...