Summer Breeze.....Makes me feel fine!

Hello folks!

Consider yourself fortunate that you can't hear me singing the title to this post. You might never be able to feel the same about that song. HEHE!

Even though we are technically still in the spring season, summer is in full swing here in northeast Florida. We had a high temperature of 91 degrees this week. We had an unusually long winter here this year, although it was fairly mild. Some of my plants that are usually killed to the ground, survived and are still blooming.

My garden is going full steam ahead. This is how it looks now.

Tomatoes are growing like gang busters!

 This is a Riesentrube Cherry tomato. The Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog states that it can have flower clusters that produce 30 - 40 fruits. I think this cluster has at least 40 flower buds, maybe more! It should have 1" fruits.

This is a Matt's Wild Cherry. It should have 1/2" fruits.

Dwarf Marigolds are growing well.

As are the Yard Long Beans...

...and the cucumbers.

The Hill Country Heirloom Red Okra is starting to show its color.

The Cassava has really filled out since it was planted.

 I look forward to trying to use the roots ( if I can learn how to use it ).

This is a variegated Confederate Jasmine that grows by my back porch. It is past full bloom, but still smells wonderful when I come out the back door.

Finally, here are some photos of some more blooming plants around my yard.

Blue Plumbago. So true blue! These were a gift from my mother some years back. 

Cigar plant ( I think).

This is some type of Iris ( not sure of the species ).

 They have bloomed 3 times this spring. I love the blast of white color in my yard!

It really pops!

Oh, I almost forgot.This is the Potatoes I harvested from my compost pile.

I stuck my dirty finger into the photo just to give it some scale. I consider this a perk of composting. I didn't have to plant these! I didn't have to water these! I didn't have to fertilize these! They are a gift from my compost pile!

  COOL!

Now that my plants are finally growing and blooming, I feel peace in my soul. Its a good feeling! But now the real work begins.... weeding, weeding,and more weeding. That's what gardening is all about.... keeping it all looking good!

So...... Until next time...... HAPPY GARDENING!

More on composting

Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch have been gardening gurus for many years. I have learned from their gardening wisdom for over 30 years.

Here is a good video from them on composting and more. Although it has some age to it, true gardening wisdom never becomes out dated.

 

In the video it shows them layering brown and green materials. Recent research has show that mixing the materials is better for faster composting. Also, I find that some of the soil amendments like greensand may not be easy to find in some areas. They may have to be shipped which can get expensive. If you have easy access to these products that is great. But I try to use amendments that I can find locally. Actually, my gardening is slowly changing to using only free resources except for lime, which is pretty much required with our acidic soil.

 

 

 

Soooo......Until next time.......HAPPY GARDENING!

Practice What You Preach !!! (Revisited)

Sunday I visited a local Starbucks for the first time. I asked if they had any used coffee grounds. The young lady said "Sure" and gave me two water proof bags of grounds.

Right on the label it read...GROUNDS FOR YOUR GARDEN...FREE... along with instructions for how to use the grounds as a nitrogen fertilizer or in your compost pile. And a "Thank You" for taking the grounds! I was quite impressed! I suggest going to Starbucks for coffee and grounds, if there is one in your area. They cater to the organic gardener and are eco-friendly. WAY TO GO STARBUCKS!!

I left with 17 pounds of grounds!

So I spent the afternoon building a compost pile. Using the leaves I found the day before, I emptied the bags one at a time, spread them on the ground and pulled out the larger sticks.

Then used my bagging mower to shred them.
 I suggest using a dust mask when doing this.

 

Then spread them out in my compost bin and sprinkled on the grounds with the coffee filters.

Then I sprayed it down good with water. I added a little soil from the garden after every other layer to introduce micro-organisms to break down the leaves. I repeated this process till I used up all the grounds. This job took about 2 hours, but I ended up with a pile that's 4 feet by 4 feet by 3.5 feet high.

 

I plan on building some more smaller piles in 3 feet diameter cylinders made with chicken wire. I don't want to get into a jam and not have enough compost for my beds,ever again.

By the way, I was able to pick up 7 more bags of leaves from my neighbor up the street from me. That is a total of 21 bags so far and I'm sure I'll be getting more.


Soooo......Until next time....... HAPPY GARDENING!

 

 

 

 

 

Pallet Compost Bin

 

 

 

 I have a three sided bin like this, but I just used concrete blocks on the outside at the back corners to hold the sides up. Simple way to make a tall pile.
 I found my pallets in a dumpster at a construction site where a house was being built. Good scrap lumber can be found in these dumpsters, too. I just asked the guys working there if I could pick thru their scraps. I'm trying to salvage enough materials to build a chicken coop.