(1) Since last May, I have been studiously composting all my kitchen and garden waste (every single scrap of it - including the half-eaten fruits that my family saved for later but I was too eager to add to my compost pile). It was a process of learning by trial-and-error but ultimately I think I have the hang of this composting business and I am glad I gave in to my instincts to go organic. Several plants, including my fuschias and hydrangeas are thanking me for it. I defnitely see my plants healthier, happier and shinier.
Winter is finally winding down and temperatures are playing tag between 50s and 60s. There's spring in the air!
The iceplants under the maple tree adding striking color to my front yard.
The herb corner bringing the spear mint and sage back to life
.... to name a few.
(2)Growing strawberries under the towering italian cypresses in a small 8'x1' raised bed. The bed is completely made up of compost (mostly decomposed pine needles) with just a thin layer of soil on top. I want to try this more as an experiment. The strawberries are already in bloom and some have little strawberries in them.
I never expected this bounty from this little patch so my enthusiasm to grow tomatoes in that same patch for this spring is enormous. I've planted basil inbetween to protect the tomatoes from diseases (since I am not doing crop rotation) and have planted bush beans in the end. I must wait and see how it turns out this year but already I see very healthy growth there.I love spring.
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There's something about Spring which makes you want to experiment and get into Earth Mother mode, isn't there? :D
ReplyDeleteI love those blooms of the iceplant (I've never heard of them before so was a little amused to see something so fiery-looking called 'iceplant'!). They look a little bit like gerberas, don't they?
Your experiment with tomatoes sounds so interesting!There's nothing to beat home-grown organic tomatoes.
Sunita, Yes, the name iceplant sounds like an oxymoron since that plant has nothing to do with ice. It blooms during a few weeks in april and used mostly as ground cover here. It is pretty invasive but I fell in love with it since when it does bloom for few weeks, it is a riot of color. It does look a lot like Gerbera daisies but has fragile petals unlike the other. I can hardly wait for my tomatoes to grow so I can make some ketchup this year!
ReplyDeletethese are really good pictures of the garden. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope to post more pictures of my flowers and veggies this spring.
ReplyDeleteI love iceplants! They're all blooming right now along the freeway (down here in so Cal). Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteYour old technique about composting is most natural... I did open composting, by piling up organic matter such as grass cuttings, pruned parts, leftover veggie etc, and then let nature do the rest. When decomposition is almost complete, the site is worked out and converted into a gardening bed.
ReplyDelete~bangchik
Putrajaya Malaysia
Hi Putrajaya, thanks for stopping by my blog. Atually I use a bin to compost the pile. There were two issues I faced while using a compost pile for my strawberries - (1) because my compost pile is mostly pine needles, it takes longer to decompose and I end up turning it very often to encourage faster decomposition. (2) the bed gave rise to a whole host of weeds. It was easier to pull them out of the compost pile than from the ground though.
ReplyDeleteHa - recognised myself there! - you grab half-eaten fruit - I've been known to go through the fridge & grab vegetables that I probably could've & would've eaten, in my enthusiam for composting!
ReplyDeleteShiny New Allotment Holder, when the composting fever runs high, I can barely refrain myself from composting fresh groceries just purchased from the stores :)
ReplyDeleteah Spring, those first blooms make our hearts sing. Good luck with those tomatoes near the house, I think they will do really well, and you will just have to reach out the door to pick some. Thanks for signing up to follow my blog. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteDue to space limitation, I am doing composting using big flower pots. One day, I'd like to try making garbage enzyme. I have cape honeysuckle in my garden too. I really like how my cursor becomes a butterfly when I am visiting your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, Autumn Belle. I hope to have real butterflies flitting through my garden pretty soon :) Garbage enzyme? Would like to know more about that. I attended my city's Compost Workshop where they talked about worm composting, hot and cold composting. I have one hot pile and two cold piles that I am tending to right now and would like to decompose the cold piles much faster.
ReplyDeleteyou can grow alot of things in south san francisco, even some of my sub tropicals here in hawaii...i'm sure you'll be getting alot of tomatoes real soon and great job of composting there :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Noel. With so many people wishing my tomatoes the best, they better match their last year's performance :)
ReplyDeleteAt this present time I collect all my compost material in 2 large bins and every fortnight a lorry comes and collects it - its community composting that I take part in - we can then go to the depot and pick up asmuch free compost as we want.
ReplyDeleteI hope your tomatoes are as good as last years.