Making the compost heap a houseplant-free zone

Hi everybody,
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I just wanted to drop a line regarding the compost pile... I've had a back-and-forth going with someone moving two houseplants from the trash to the compost, I put it back in the trash, etc. Can we please be sure to keep houseplants out?? As far as I know there are no organic houseplants, and even if we get them at crunchy garden stores, they've probably been sprayed. The fertilizer we used in my greenhouse is bright blue, just to give you an idea. Anyway, this way we can keep our organic vegetable farm organic. Thanks. I hope you are all cozied up with a leftover turkey sandwich.

Little Bulbie Babies

[do you think we can get our garlic bulbs to wear straw hats?]


Hey neighbros,

I am so excited, today I finally got my garlic order via the postal service. I love supporting this place in PA (D. Landreth! The oldest seed co. since 1780something or other) but it took over a month, and I think they think I'm scamming them. Anyway...

T and I plan on planting bulbs on Saturday. Anyone have garlic they want to plant? Anyone want to join us? We will be there if you need us. If you want to plant garlic in a certain area but haven't bought it yet, please let me know which spot I should avoid planting, and I will reserve it for your bounty. I got all hardneck varieties, so get ready for mad garlic scapes. mmmmm

xo
a

Garden Noam Chomsky

Straw v. Hay

[the hay is green, the straw is yellow]

Hey y'all...

So I finally looked up the difference between straw and hay. Straw is, according to Eliot Coleman in 'Four Season Harvest', "the best brown ingredient of all [in compost]. Straw is the stem that holds up the amber waves of grain in crops such as wheat, oats, barley, and rye. After the heads containing the grains are harvested, the straw is baled as a byproduct." He goes on to say that the failure of compost is usually due to the lack of a proper brown ingredient.

I forget where I found this part about hay. I think it was some guy's farm page: "Hay bales are a food source. That is the first and perhaps most important difference. Hay is actually a plant that is cut when it is alive and full of grain. The purpose of the hay is to feed animals. Straw, on the other hand, is simply the stalks of standing plants that contain no grain."

Barbara Damrosch says in 'The Garden Primer': "Try to get a second, or better yet, a third cutting [of hay] that will contain fewer seeds." I guess hay (being alive) has a chance to sprout, but this shouldn't be a problem. It is the traditional mulch to lay on top of gardens, and it should be fine in compost. Plus, I love me an experiment! There will be so much heat in that pile that I'd be amazed if seed sprouts can survive. And if it's a rough, poor winter we can always eat it. :) I hope this was helpful.

calling all residents!

Billielee and Tiff are going to have a nice little fire this evening and we would like it if any or all of you stopped by for a little or a long time. We are heading out about 5:30pm since it is plenty dark by then. Happy November!

Friday Flippin

Hey all. Billielee, Tiernan and I are going to be flippin the compost tomorrow afternoon (4ish?) if anyone would like to help out.

I think the location looks great! Also people should grab the seed packets I left in the white bucket if they want them. The temp is starting to fluctuate so they shouldn't stay in the shed. Also what is the garlic plan?

Potential Greenhouse Footprint

Hi neighbors,
I hope you all had a nice (not too rainy) weekend. T and I were doing some rudimentary measurements/talking about a small greenhouse setup, and we put small brown poles in the ground to mark a potential size/spot. They are on the flip side of the small shed, down yonder from the picnic table by the field. We have yet to ask Big Bear about any of this, it's still very much in the talking-to-you-guys stage. If you get a sec this week, please check out the footprint and let me know what you think! We were thinking a 10' x 20' would work best/be worthwhile, and the space we saw is the most evenly graded, has sunniest exposure, and hopefully isn't a detriment to anyone's view. Feedback welcomed. See you soon x

p.s. a cord of wood

One other thing... T, Joe, and myself are on the wood hunt. It was put on pause this week for the first round of midterms, but we'll make it happen. Soon. Very soon. Keep you posted.

3 day weekend, what?

Hi everybody,
It's a three-day weekend for all the school kids! I am so excited, I could throw up. Once this rain stops, I hope to be in the garden. Sunday, Monday, anyone care to join me? I also hope to have some cider. mmm

x
a

lettuce seeds

I got a bunch of fun lettuce and basil seeds for anyone who wants them. I'll put them in the tool bucket outside the laundry room. Everyone help yourselves to them. B

Compost Direction

So, I have some compost questions. Can/should we put non-recyclable paper in compost like egg cartons? Also matt you mentioned bones but no meat, is there anything else we can add that's not veg scraps. Can oils go in? example: leftover salad with dressing. Can grains go in? I'm used to food service composting and almost everything can go in and I always thought home ones could only get veg scraps, so I need direction. BTW I love the compost!!!

Not garden related...

Hey all. Just a question I thought I'd through out there in case somebody has some knowledge to share.

I have a couple of kombucha mushrooms that I've been housing for a while. Unfortunately with all the transitions in my life, I forgot about them in the cabinet. They're a few months old, have eaten most of the liquid they were feeding off of and have become a fruit-fly haven, but the mushroom itself seems to have grown healthily (and multiplied quite a few times!). Does anybody have enough familiarity with these guys to know if its still a viable mushroom (please, please, please!) or it should be discarded into the compost?

two new garden purchases

Hey neighbros, Here is the garlic and pitchfork we ordered! I love the idea of this blog, Tiffany. I am a visuals junkie. Here is more info than you may ever want to know. German Extra-Hardy (Allium sativum)

Our easiest garlic to grow. Among the most winter-hardy garlic varieties. Very large bulbs with 4-5 large cloves. The outside skin is very white and the skin covering the cloves is dark red. The New York farmer who grows this stock for Johnny’s says, "Out of over 200 sources of garlic that I have had in my trials over the past 15 years, I believe that this is the finest garlic that I have had on the farm." A vigorous-growing garlic with long roots, which gives it the ability to winter over without heaving out of the ground. Flavor is very good and stores well. 1 Unit = 1 Head

Seeds, Wood and Such

Hello New Friends,
We put the garden tools we have as you walk into the laundry shack. Also, I'm going to buy the lettuce and basil packets from work. I don't have any experience with starts or growing lettuce in a greenhouse or cold frame, so maybe these could be a group project. I figure "get the seeds and they will come". Friday - we maybe around a bit but we have a friend comming from the west coast so I'm not sure where the garden fits for us that day.
Thank you all for so much fun and we are looking forward to the future with everyone!
PS Tiffany and I have been bring wood up from my dad's for the fires, we only have one more small load and it will be very wet punk wood. So food for thought: chipping in for a 1/2 cord of wood?

Friday pm

I am down for a Friday fire! Anyone want to do a little garden clean out/planning thing on Friday early evening? T's sister will be in town, but I think I could dig a bit after class. I'll be home at 5:30ish if anyone's interested.
I like the idea of sharing space, but I would also love the green light from everyone asap for an individual plot, too.
I'm off to order the pitchfork! And some garlic bulbs...

xo
a

Pics!

Thanks everyone for a such a great time and thanks Alissa for setting up the blog! Ashley and I would prefer to share as much as the garden as possible. Either way, we should meet sometime soon to discuss where we could plant what and when, where we could put the greenhouse, etc. We're available any night but Tuesday. We're also game to revamp the compost sometime soon.

Looking good!

Super-dee-do! Thanks, Alissa, this site is great! I'm loving this community development project!

Cal's all on board for being the Friday night Fire patrol. See some of (all of?) y'all then!

The blog begins

Hello everyone,
Thanks for a great BBQ/hangout. Marit, Joe, Ashley, Matt, and Emily, you want to pick specific spots sometime this week? I hope this blog works ok, let me know if you have any problems! x