I almost didn't see the box tucked behind the flower pot by the front door. Who knows, it may have been there for a couple of days. But I did finally see it. Inside was my new-to-me copy of The Complete Book of Composting by J. I. Rodale and staff (Fourth Printing, 1967). Coming in at 1,000 pages plus (if you count the index), it's a hefty tome. I look forward to the secrets of composting which will surely be revealed to me as I ponder the wonders within this book. The first few sentences … [Read more...] about “In the soft, warm bosom of a decaying compost heap…”
compost
Compost by the sea
Beach after storms tossed seaweed onto the shore I watched as the old man picked up seaweed along the beach. He moved gingerly, picking up the seaweed with long tongs, the kind generally used to pick up trash. As he put the seaweed in one of his two five-gallon buckets, I looked up and down the shoreline. Surely he wasn't trying to clear the beach of all the seaweed? I was curious and so I politely asked him what he was going to do with the seaweed. "It's for my compost pile." Of … [Read more...] about Compost by the sea
The Story of Compost
I feel obligated to tell the story of compost in my garden because too often new gardeners read about how to make compost and decide it is too complicated, too advanced for their level of gardening. Yes, dear new gardener, it is so advanced that we have mounds and mounts of plant material stacking up all over because people have forgotten how to make compost. My apologies for that bit of sarcasm. We know that is not true. The process of composting happens, even if you don't … [Read more...] about The Story of Compost
The Compost-Heap by Ruth Pitter – A poem
Miss Twigg: The Compost-Heap I am surrounded by stacks of old gardening books trying to figure out which of hundreds of tidbits and treasures from these old books to include in a one hour presentation I'm putting together. The question I am pondering is whose pithy little quote about composting to include, as shouldn't every presentation about gardening mention the benefits of composting? Should I pull some tidbit from Pay Dirt: Farming and Gardening with Composts by J. I. Rodale … [Read more...] about The Compost-Heap by Ruth Pitter – A poem
The garden continues
Out in the vegetable garden, the harvest continues on a near daily basis. I'm currently picking tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, and for the first time this morning, edamame. Edamame as in soybeans. While the harvest is wonderful, there are a few missing players. My green beans were a flop. They were starting to form just as I left town for a week and temperatures during the day were in the high 90's. They are small, starchy, and even the rabbits refuse to eat … [Read more...] about The garden continues
More Thoughts On Composting
Can more be said on the subject of compost? Apparently yes, more can be said on this subject.Someone requested that I show you all what my homemade compost sieve looks like.I made it myself from scraps of 1” x 6” lumber, sized to fit over my wheelbarrow, using half inch hardware cloth for the screen part. I’ve been using it for five or more seasons with nary a sag in the sieve. (“Nary a sag in the sieve”… I’ll have to admit that I like that phrase and am tempted to yes, hold on… turn it in to an … [Read more...] about More Thoughts On Composting
