Composting - It's so Down To Earth

Composting in progress.  Not done yet!

I have to admit that until I attended Earth Day last year, composting really wasn't on the top of my to do list. After visiting the St. Louis Composting Booth, I was intrigued with the idea.  I'm a staunch believer in reusing or recycling and this booth introduced the idea of taking my beliefs a bit further.

I attended a composting clinic, bought a compost bin and jumped right in.  I soon discovered that composting takes time and this wasn't going to be a project that I would see results for several months.  A few weeks in, I wondered why I was actually composting.  It seemed that my efforts would probably not yield me a lot of rich soil.  Sure, I would have some but not anything significant like I envisioned.

Instead of walking away from my project, I kept evaluating what I was doing and if it could be improved.  The answer of course was yes.  Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am always looking for ways to live simply, enjoy what I have and save money.  My way of improving my compost was to cancel yard waste pickup for 3 months.  (Confession - I put it off a month so I could clear out a ton of weeds and yard waste while I was preparing my first ever serious attempt at gardening.)  It helped me get my garden beds prepared with a little more urgency and gave me some extra time to absorb the decision to go cold turkey on the yard waste.

After borrowing compost books and reading up on the subject I began to get hooked and see the definite benefits of my new lifestyle.  No more throwing food into the garbage disposal so the wear and tear on the disposal would disappear.  No longer would I receive a yard waste bill.  After five months, the price of my compost bin would be paid for.  Food waste from slicing and dicing or cleaning out my refrigerators fruit and veggie drawers would now be looked at from a whole new angle.  You see......these items are what make compost soil "gold" and full of nutrients for any future garden.  Soon I realized I would be able to supply a good portion of my future garden soil by simply composting my grass, leaves, food and newspapers.  Need I say more?  Being focused helped me understand and "buy into composting one hundred percent.

Tomato vines after the mulching mower did its job.

I am now 8 months into my new hobby and realize that I am producing quite a bit of compost and will be buying very little garden soil for the upcoming spring and summer.  This whole process is very spiritual and rewarding.  When I pulled up my tomato plants, I mowed them and put them back into the compost! I did the same thing when I was cleaning up any garden bed that was healthy.

My compost bin from the store has a lid but composting can be easily accomplished without any pricey bins. I use a pitch fork to turn my compost which takes a bit more effort than the tumbler barrel composter but it works just the same.  I look at it as an upper body workout when turning the compost.  Generally having the compost pile not too far away from your back door promotes the best success rate for sticking with composting for newbies.  Mine is in the back corner of our yard and although it works for me it is understandable that some would ditch adding table scraps to the bin when it isn't close by or in the case of cold or rainy weather.

I look at everything so differently now and with amazement as the composting process takes place.  The true test to my efforts will be my garden results in 2013 I'm pretty confident that my efforts will pay off.  In fact, I'm already psyched about incorporating additional nutrient rich soil to my front yard in 2014!

Here is a list of all the items my compost contains to date.  I'm sure the list will grow even larger in the future.  Keep in mind a lot of this list represents the excess produced when slicing and dicing fruits and vegetables for a meal. List of Compostable Items Used

Can Type A people really Grow a Garden?

Now that I am into my gardening project, I can see perhaps why I have never been successful in the past.  I want results and I want them now!  I planted in March only to discover that my plants are so tiny and not exactly the size I thought they would be by the middle of May.   I let my doubts get the best of me and I bought a tomato plant, some broccoli, a cucumber and a cantaloupe plant for insurance in the event my garden fails. 

I’ve built my raised bed, made several trips to the composting place to obtain some great garden soil and put up a critter screen that has worked thus far.  I have planted my tiny plants along with the store bought ones and have been more than frustrated to find out that I most likely do not have enough room for them all.  It takes a lot of room to garden.   I still need to plant the cucumbers and cantaloupe in the ground with some more of my broccoli.  I think my radishes perished somewhere along the line. 

Who wouldn't be motivated with a crop like this?

My lettuce that I planted in a barrel is stellar.  In fact, I am more than proud that I accomplished such a task.  I will however tell you that I am learning so much from my experience.  In an effort not to eat all of it in 4 days, I held off harvesting it.  Now I am finding that the large size leaves are getting bitter.  I am waiting to see if any of the cut lettuce grows back.  I am also planting some new lettuce in various spots (space is limited).  Upon reading up on lettuce, I discovered that if you eat a lot of lettuce you should plant 3 sq. ft. of lettuce for every person in your house.  Wow, do I have a lot to learn!  I have decided to build another bed this summer to devote to lettuce, spinach, chard and kale that I will hopefully plant in the fall.  Stay tuned for another post next year!  I think I’ll plant in rows and alternate planting dates.  I think that is the only way to go.  As with anything, I will have to learn by doing.

The plants you see are store bought. 

If you look extra hard you may be able to see my home grown tomato plants.   I wonder how long it will take for them to look a respectable size.  

Too many leek seeds planted.  

Thinning out leek plants doesn't give me the feeling that they will survive.

 When thinking about the slow growth in my garden, my gut reaction is that I just need Miracle Grow and a strict feeding schedule.  After reflecting on it and being told that my soil is top notch and doesn’t need any additives, I was forced to evaluate what is actually holding my garden back.  The answer…….ME!  Being a little over zealous and planting several seeds in one pod was insurance that something would eventually grow.  Well it did but when I transferred the germinated seeds to the box garden, I failed to thin out the seedlings and transfer them to the new soil.  I just put the pods with 4 – 8 sprouts into the ground and started watering them.  This week, I began to soak the ground, dig up the seedlings, separate them and replant them in my nutrient rich garden soil.  It’s only May and with time and attention, these plants will surely grow.  I may have too many tomato plants but I do have a plan to transfer some to another bed as they get bigger.  Being Type A, I of course have overplanted but I at least have a plan! I’m sure I’ll be donating these plants to a worthy home within the next month.  For now, I think they are ok.  I’ll just keep the more stellar plants. 

On left is the broccoli from seed.  On the right, from the store.

My neighbor has just finished planting his garden for the summer.  All his plants are super hardy, several months old and his has the look of a serious gardener.  In reality, his garden is so much more in line with my expectations of my own garden at this time.  Mine looks more like a mud box. My Type A personality is trying to squash my efforts but I have vowed to put on my blinders and enjoy the process that I started. Common sense tells me I will get results if I am patient.  What I have discovered is that I really do like working outdoors planning, planting and creating. I love envisioning the end result and I am willing to take the time this year discover and embrace the process no matter what the outcome.  I plan to grow my knowledge of gardening instead of just trying to get fast results.  If all goes well, I will be the envy of all vegetable gardeners in a few years.  For now, I need to keep it small and doable.  The thrill of the bumper lettuce crop is all I need to reflect on when in need of validation that I can truly succeed if I put my mind to it.  I believe that a Type A person can be successful in gardening and learn so much about life at the same time.  The frustration I have experienced from wanting everything right and picture perfect has really been a blessing in disguise.  My garden, although very young is humbling and teaching me to cultivate, grow and harvest in ways beyond words.  

The Time is Right, The Time is Now

Every year I vow I’m going to start a vegetable garden.  If the truth be known, my past victories have been quite limited.  My large pots on the porch seem to flourish with herbs and flowers, however, anything I have planted in the ground never seems to do very well.   You see, to have a successful garden I have discovered it takes planning. Of course I always come to this discovery when my neighbors are harvesting various vegetables on a daily basis and I can barely produce 5 or 6 a year!   This year I’m determined to change history.  It’s March, and my future flourishing garden is in progress. 

I’m on top of cloud nine because this year I have actually started plants on my windowsill to transplant into my garden when the time is optimal according to the seed packets and I am envisioning a garden that Martha Stewart would be proud of.   I have already learned that I probably should have planted the seeds at staggered times so I can enjoy my harvest on an ongoing basis instead of all at one time.  No one wants to 8 heads of broccoli on the same day.  If I hadn’t started the seeds, I probably wouldn’t have figured this out.  The good news is I still have plenty of time to implement this new discovery.   

People who have vegetable gardens make it seem so easy.  I on the other hand realize there is more to it than meets the eye.