Over the years of growing food gardens, we have learned so much from one year to the next. 40 some years ago, @farm-mom and I cleared a small plot of land in our back yard for our first foray in growing vegetables. As with all beginners, we had a lot to learn, and harvest time spelled that out very clearly.
The one thing that we were very sure of from the very beginning was that there would be no herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers, used in the process.
Over the years, our garden has grown along with our knowledge.
Since retiring, what started out as a hobby has now become a passion of ours.
Our goal these days is to put into storage enough produce to take us from one harvest to the next. In order for that to happen, we realized we needed to increase the volume of produce without having to establish a lot of new plots.
Compost has proven to be a real winner in helping us increase how much bounty we get from our gardens.
Since most seasoned vegetable gardeners already know, the following explanation is really for the beginners, which at one time we all are.
Compost is mixed into the soil.
Compost is made up of decomposed, organic materials that help to add nutrients to the soil.
whereas
Mulch is spread on top of the soil
Mulch is used to limit weed growth, preventing erosion, retain the moisture in the soil, and maintain soil temps.
Mulch can be inorganic or organic materials that, have yet to
decompose.
Here are just some of the items that can be added to your compost pile.
Fruit scraps
Vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds
Eggshells (though they can take a while to break down)
Grass and plant clippings
Dry leaves
Finely chopped wood and bark chips
Shredded newspaper
Straw
Sawdust from untreated wood
Here are some items that should never be added to the pile.
Anything containing meat, oil, fat, or grease
Diseased plant materials
Dog or cat feces
Weeds that go to seed
Dairy products
You may be wondering, why the picture of a truck bed liner? I'll show you in a minute. Thanks for your patience!
The decaying of the organic material in your compost pile can take 12 to 18 months before it's totally decomposed.
This process requires some attention.
- Water the pile, without saturating it.
- Monitor the temperature, this can be done by simply digging into the pile with your hand. The pile should feel warm.
- Provide oxygen to the pile by turning the pile over.
This past growing season I decided to see if I could speed up the decaying process.
My thoughts were to help it along by shredding the partially decayed organic material, which I had collected nine months prior, with the lawnmower.
Shredding the material would ensure that the compost pile would be thoroughly aerated. It would also ensure that all of the decayed green vegetation, and other organic matter was spread throughout the partially decomposed leaves.
As I blended the two piles together, shredding and then tilling the mixture, I started to realize this was going to work really well.
When I was finished, I gave this idea a big thumbs up. I can't wait to add this nutrient rich compost to the soil.
It looks pretty good, don't you think?
+
With everything all tidied up, the last thing I needed to do was to dump the compost out of the bed liner. Marrying the compost to the ground should bring the earth worms up from the deep.
NOW WE'RE TAKLING, EARTHWORMS IN THE PILE.
That deserves a few emojis,😁😁😂😄😘😍😎😋
Real quick before you go, I've mentioned mulch and how it is used.
Hay is a great mulch, but having learned from experience, put some in storage for at least a year, preferable two years before using it.
Remember, mulch can be used to help eliminate weeds and it does a great job.
The hay you see here has been kept out of the weather for 2 seasons now, and all of the seeds in the hay should no longer be viable.
I don't know if anyone out there uses hay as a mulch, as I have been doing for years.
This past season I used the shredding method on the hay.
When mulching around the young seedlings it only took about 1/4 of the hobbitational time as it did in the past.
Getting around those delicate plants can be a real b--ch, not no more.
What's the one thing that both mulch and compost have in common?
They both take their time getting ready to use.
The answer here is to stay at least a year out in front of when you will use these #renewable #resources.
Supplying some labor for the neighbor up the road, @farm-mom's cousin, allows me to stay out in front of the game.
Good day @edprivat, the other day you asked a cool question.
First, let me tell you why the ? was cool. It told me you read the blog and when someone reads the whole thing, dope. "What is it that you barter with", I believe were your words. In this case it was helping get about 1,400 bails of hay in the barn in return for about 120 bails.
Have a great day everyone, and remember it all starts with the DIRT
@thebigsweed , I just saw that you've followed me; what happened? Did I piss you off? I would have sworn we were following each other, @farm-mom too!
In other news, I got my new electric Mantis tiller yesterday, and put it to use today, not tilling up for a garden yet, this was to begin a drainage channel to hopefully allow water to drain away rather than accumulate under my music studio building.
Hey Jerry no there was some weird glitch in the system that voided @thebigsweed follow list . You must know by now you are one of our friends. Shit , don’t throw us out just yet😃❤️👌
I rarely if ever vote 100% on a reply/comment Robin @farm-mom , you and @thebigsweed are two of my favorite folks around here, and THAT IS SAYING A LOT(caps intentional)
I'm glad we're still connected then.
Tell Himself I said hi
Ya know, you also are one of our favorite peeps on the blockchain.
Let's stay connected, it surely is nice to know ya.😉
What's up my friend. This follow list of mine just totally disappeared 😥😥
Yesterday I started to remake my list, that is the reason you saw the follow notification.
The whole thing is a bummer as I feel that people who received the follow notification, like yourself, will be thinking along the same line as you. what the f--k, I thought thebigsweed was already following me.
I was following around 90 people before this glitch and I think I have restored about 46.
Hopefully no one will be too offended.
Sorry for the foul up, you are the best.
Well, I'm glad we got that all sorted out @thebigsweed .
Now you make me want to go see if my follow list is still up to par, though to be frank, I do not know how many I am following.
There was a time I would go down the list, click on each one (especially if I hadn't heard nor seen anything from them in a while) and if their profile hadn't been used, no posts etc in months or even years, I would unfollow them.
Haven't done that in a while, not since the Hive was born anyway
Love the GIF, freaking perfect for the situation.
This follow list bullshit is still going on as I reply.
Just wanted to log on again before the wife and I stepped out and see if there were any notifications I wanted to get back to. I open up the blockchain and there it is, 84 FOLLOWING.
Ok, great, click on it to view, the freaking freezes, log off, log in, the freaking thing now says 46 following.
At least the 46 that I refollowed yesterday were still there and active.
Go figure. Talk soon, to much nonsense while I'm on vacation, checking out for a while.
Thank you for your post for this QOTW on gardening! You can check the tie up post on the link below...
Would you like to choose a question for the upcoming QOTW? If you would then please comment in the tie up post below:
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@ecotrain/ecotrain-question-of-the-week-tie-up-post-5-5-my-food-gardening-tips
HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
Getting envious of that compost!
I've featured this post in the Lotus Garden newsletter, which will be published tomorrow.
You've been curated by @minismallholding for Natural Medicine's homesteading newsletter, supporting gardeners, permaculturalists, foragers, environmentalists and other earth centred relationships with the earth.
CommunityIIDiscord
Having my content highlighted in the Lotus Garden newsletter is always a thrill, thank you very much.
Good morning #minismallholding. I know how valuable time is for everyone and taking some of your time to curate this post is greatly appreciated!
Yesterday there was a glitch in #hive and when I went to my follow list it showed that I'm was no longer following anyone. I'm not sure what happened and was hoping that by this morning it would have been corrected, but it was not. With that said, you may have received a notification that I started following you as I'm trying to reestablish my follow list.
This is some what of a bummer as I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea, especially people like yourself!
Thanks for your continued support.
Great great great post. I am stealing all your ideas if you don't mind buddy!
Thanks for the great reply. Whenever I see something that I think may work for me, I try and duplicate it.
It's a compliment to have someone copy what you do.
I hope it works out for you.
Hahah as we say in music, it is not copying, it's just "borrowing" haha.
I've used hay as mulch since 1993. I hate straw.
I NEVER break up the hay if I can help it. It works far better for far longer as whole leaves laid flat. Sometimes, in cleaning out hay lofts, all we get is loose hay. It has to be piled about 8 - 12" deep to serve as weed suppression, and never lasts as long as whole leaves would.
The thing about hay is you have to ALWAYS keep a good coverage or the weeds will take over immediately.
We use the shredded hay only around delicate new plants.
Over potatoes, garlic, and all of the squashes we also leave the hay matted, for sure.
Ahhhh, yes, I use loose hay around the bases of little plants, as thickly as is feasible.
Thank you for your post for this QOTW on gardening! You can check the tie up post on the link below...
Would you like to choose a question for the upcoming QOTW? If you would then please comment in the tie up post below:
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@ecotrain/ecotrain-question-of-the-week-tie-up-post-5-5-my-food-gardening-tips
HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!