Compost - The Real Black Gold

I was looking thru my pictures on this blog, and saw the big composter behind my little girls sitting in red clover. Since that stuff behind them is not mine, I decided now was a good time to talk compost. Recently, my husband was asking a friend if they compost, and he said no there was too much involved in getting the right stuff to make it work.

This is a common misconception behind composting. There are numerous books out there which can tell you how to compost, so I won't go in to much detail. I am just here to tell you it can be as easy or complicated as you desire. The most important thing is to just do it.

We save all food that originally grew in a garden. Fruits, veggies, and all their peels. We add coffee grounds and some paper that is easy to break down. Do not add any animal parts - meat, milk or proteins. Egg shells are the exception.

One of the kids takes it out to the compost pile each day. We have two piles. One is cooking and the other is on going. The key to compost is heat. So we get one pile really high and let it bake. Then we start a new one.

There are many more things to add to the pile, and for all of those who have not given up on this topic, we will cover them tomorrow.

So put your compost bowl out and start adding to eat. You will be cutting down on your trash and adding something good to the garden.

Seeds in short supply?

It seems that everyone will be planting a garden this spring, or at least many more are pondering where their food will come from. I ordered seeds last week, and the company has on its website a notice that demand is already on the rise. So pull out your catalogs and start planning.

Remember, the number one mistake the first year is dreaming too big. A few successful plants is far more exciting than many unsuccessful ones!

Are You Harvesting The Fall

What are you doing for your garden today? Yes in the middle of November your garden cannot be forgotten. It is Fall and that is your reminder. Falling leaves everywhere. All over your town or city, people are raking up your greatest source of "brown" for your compost. Until I started this agrarian journey, all I knew about leaves is that they turn pretty colors and then fall off the trees. We had spent many homeschooling nature walks finding beautiful colors, making rubbings and discussing photosynthesis.

Now leaves mean beautiful things to me. While men are out raking and groaning, I come driving up asking for their leaves. Just the other day, I saw this man out raking and bagging leaves. How nice of him to do that for me!!! When I asked if I could take the leaves, he enthusiastically said,"Yes!" He was glad to be rid of them, and I am glad to have them.



Why does woman want leaves you ask? For compost of course! I will explain more about that this week. For now, get out there and collect those leaves. Just remember someone else is doing the hard part for you!

Seeds

I know there are still great things I am suppose to be growing in the fall, but being "green" I think I will wait until next year for the advanced stuff. Still we are making our seed list and this year I believe we will not order from a catalog company, but more of a family farm with heirloom seeds. It seems that with heirloom plants, the seeds that come from them will actually produce food. Amazing. Isn't that what God intended seeds to do anyway?

Seeds really are amazing. From one seed we can produce several watermelons with several hundred seeds in them. Now I just must figure out how to save seeds from year to year. We are trying to save flower seeds this year. Rachel is the flower girl and she has been diligent to harvest, dry and store flower seeds. Watch out if she comes to your garden. The other day at her grandparents, she was dead-heading all their black eye susans!!

By the way for the true novice, there is nothing better than zinnias and sunflowers your first year. They grow like crazy and their bright colors brighten your first garden attempts.

Welcome to a country diary of a green gardening girl

This is a nature journal of a mom. I love homemaking more than I ever would have dreamed. As I have fallen more in love with my job, I have learned that we have lost sight of the food part of our role as moms. I am trying to figure out how to reclaim this important but fading art of gardening . My first title was organic garden girl, and I pictured myself in the garden with my sun-freckled children helping me while eating pesticide free veggies fresh picked from my garden.

However, freckles are usually a sign of too much sun and the government seems to have lots of rules for the word "organic". Then I pictured myself being called in by the organic police telling me that sevin dust was a no-no and it was all down hill after that.

So I decided on green. It is a very popular "organic" color, and it is a word for a novice, which I am in a big way.

I thought there are lots of us out there who just don't know that much about food from seeds to canning and grain fed beef to free range chickens. I hope to trace my journey and hopefully learn a lot along the way. Or just laugh a lot.

Come follow me as my family and I learn and grow. Aren't you glad you don't have to be in on that learning part?

Green Gardening Girl

Gardening Dreams