고구마 덩굴 (Sweet Potato Vine)

I'm looking to share sweet potato vines from our garden without hassle but before we compost them. Please reply to this post. It may take some time as I'm still learning how to use this Blogger. Peace.

Thank you, Starbucks!

Your Grounds for the Garden provide much needed food for our fungus through moldy, decaying nitrogen and carbon compound organisms. We've been using them in our compost tumbler with kitchen scraps to enhance the decomposition. At 120°F last week, I think we're on our way!

The mushroom in the photo below is an indicator of soil diversity to support the germination and growth of spores as available. The fungi in the tumbler are thick, white strands and less photogenic.

I'm a fan of this author. Perhaps you will be, too.

Teaming with Fungi He has a series of four books on microbes, nutrients and bacteria-all parts of the soil food web.

Peace

🕊️

John and Lee

Task Specialization

We separate the solids from the liquids at first for different parts of the composting process.

This is a strainer over a bucket. It lets the liquids go through and keeps the solids on top.

I pour the blue bucket into the collander this time and then put the solids back into the blue bucket. They will go downstairs into the worm bin. The liquids will go to the wood chip pile.

I'm having a bit of a challenge with fruit flies in our worm bin, but worms are the best way to compost kitchen scraps for us. Then, after the tumbler is finished with the larger stuff, the worms finish that off, too.

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...

Dirty Bugs

I am on the computer this morning to edit a video I recorded from dirt in our garden. The soil was taken near a drip line under the lemon tree next to the rabbit cage...

Community garden

Weekly visit. Harvested rest of carrots (planted, Nov. 2014). Watered front 16 beds plus east trees. Concerned about second from north. Soil held no water. Leaves yellow, thin. Vertical compost with fruit tree food at drip line?

Something fresh every day

This morning, carrots.

깻잎

Sprouted! Natural temperatures, conditions. Seems early. Volunteers!

Compost tumbler

Revitalization of our ancient, 14-year old tumbler is still in progress. Yesterday, a short trip to the hardware store for a pipe and some bolts to replace the rusted core.

Today, Lee and I were able to pick up a bag of "grounds for the garden" from our local Starbucks. We had fun breaking up the espresso clods into the tumbler. The leaves and steer manure are a week old but already look months old!

My temperatures are not over a hundred yet. It has been years since I made two-week compost. Next week, I'll put it all into my growing pile and start again. I've been using a leaf vacuum to shred the leaves but I think I need to increase my manure balance too.

P.S. the hose is for some water in a tub to de-gas. I'm sure the chlorine in the water set me back last batch.

No pineapple to worm bin

http://www.redwormcomposting.com/general-questions/are-pineapple-and-papaya-harmful-to-worms/

Babies!

Photo

깻잎

http://www.underwoodgardens.com/local-food-growing-your-own/how-to-store-your-seeds-for-next-year/

Korean Sesame Leaves ( 깻잎)

Our Perilla is growing strong, both in the perennial herb bed and independently in pots.  Cultivated from

seed, it receives muted sun under our 50% shade fabric for morning and noon hours.  Afternoons are in full shade due to the arrangement of the house and garden.
We use water that has had a chance for the chlorine to evaporate as well as water them directly from the hose.  Every couple of weeks, we add a bit of seaweed extract before we water.  The plants seem to appreciate it.
All our potted plants are grown in Mel's Square Foot Gardening Mix we got from Plant World.  It's a bit pricey, but at this stage of our lives, the simple and easy aspect of it is worth every penny.  The beds in the ground get a mix of home made compost, store bought compost and chicken or steer manure.

castor oil plant

summer growth. out for the fall. they usually freeze over the winter.