compost
Garden Progress
My garden has been planted for about a month now, and it has been making some nice progress. I actually got my first tomato from it a couple nights ago. Last time I wrote about it, I wasn’t entirely sure what all would be planted. I decided to plant a few different varieties of tomatoes, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, hot Hungarian wax peppers, orange bell peppers, Romaine lettuce, habanero peppers, super chiles, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, and sweet basil.
The tomato plants have grown a great deal over the past week and some of the fruit is starting to become more prominent. A few of the tomatoes have actually turned color already.
Almost all of the pepper plants have started fruiting as well. The cayenne and wax peppers are probably farthest along, and the super chiles seem to be really healthy.
The Romaine lettuce is a back and forth affair. One day it looks wilted and on death’s bed, the next it has nearly doubled in size. There is one plant in particular that has just taken off, and is head and shoulders above the rest.
I have used the sweet basil a number of times already and it keeps coming back with new leaves ready for use. I have made a tomato basil mix a few times thus far, but am looking forward to being able to use my own tomatoes in the mix.
I continue to add things to my compost bin. I am amazed at how well things are broken down in there. I heard a lot of noise from my friends about my worm finding, but the worms are helping out a lot. Every time I mix the compost, I see more and more worms doing their thing in there. I like knowing that my own kitchen waste is helping my new garden stay healthy.
Here are a few pictures from Saturday afternoon of the garden, and of my first tomato from Friday.
Garden Time!
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to have a vegetable garden. Everywhere I have lived in my adult life has been less than ideal for a garden. Until now. I have a perfect space in my backyard that was used successfully before me.
Since I moved in in February, I have been trying to plan this whole thing out. I decided that my first step would be building a compost bin. I put one together with four extra pallets from some friends in February. Since then I have been adding a lot of kitchen scraps (coffee grounds, scrap fruit and vegetables, and egg shells mostly), fallen leaves, and miscellaneous yard waste. Whenever it rains, I can be found outside gathering worms from my driveway and the street to add. Finally, I added a little organic bloodmeal for a nitrogen boost. The composting has been a success thus far. Once I get some plants in the ground I will add some of the compost to the garden for a nutrient rich soil mix.
The space was originally set up around 16′ x 12′. I cut that down to about 12′ x 12′ this morning but may expand it next year. I don’t want to start with something that is too big for my first growing season. The other four feet are pretty shaded, and I don’t feel like cutting back the branches from my neighbor’s tree quite yet. I should probably say ‘hi’ first anyway.
In my original sketches I had 12 different varieties of plants. I have since decided that it will be a lot smarter to start with about half that number. I am now planning on planting tomatoes, peppers (hot, sweet, and bell), cucumbers, and zucchini. I haven’t decided if I will plant green beans or eggplant yet, but I would say the beans have a better shot.
I welcome any tips anyone could share. As I mentioned, this will be my first attempt at growing any vegetables myself. I eat a lot of produce during the summer and fall, so I am really looking forward enjoying something I will labor over all season.
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jul | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |||