The Year Ahead

I've got some big plans for this year and I thought I'd share them. My garden last year was basically nonexistent (for multiple reasons), but I think (I hope) I've got things figured out this year. Last spring, I lost most of my seedlings when my tiny greenhouse was blown over in a storm...a tragedy that was multiplied by missing the harvest on most of the plants I did actually get in the ground. I did a lot of traveling last spring and summer...not conducive to having a garden! In fact, you can see the aftermath of one of my trips here:

Yikes...

One big success from last year was that I discovered a service called Chipdrop. They connect you with arborists working in your area. I had a mountain the size of two VW buses (!!!) of freshly chipped cherry chips dropped on my driveway in August. Those wood chips mulched every bed on our property several inches deep with a ton leftover. My sweet husband decided took the initiative to use the chips that were left to build me a new (gigantic) bed at the back of the yard. I'm slowly filling it with perennials of both the edible and ornamental variety.

Understanding my goal-oriented nature, I sat down a couple weeks ago and wrote out a few for this year. I've even already accomplished a few of them! Here they are:

• Enlarge existing raised beds to 4'x8' (I've already done this, but they were 4'x4'...pictures will be forthcoming!)
• Build an arch trellis between the two most northern beds for beans, butternut squash, etc.
• Plant blueberries. I tried this last year and both bushes died from drought during one of my trips. New bushes have been ordered, so I'm halfway there on this one.
• Plant a dwarf fruit tree that is self-pollinating in the new bed at the back of the yard. I've chosen to plant (and have already ordered) a pie cherry called a Northstar Dwarf. I'm hoping it will arrive this week!
• Plant an asparagus bed. This has already been done.
• Transplant Japanese Maple to new bed at the back of the yard. This is done!
• Move the rhubarb to a place where it is less likely to be stepped on.
• Keep good notes on the garden. I've started this, so I just have to keep it up!

And here's the biggie: May-December (and earlier/later if I can manage it), I want to purchase no produce from the grocery store. 

Now, between the garden and our CSA share, this should mostly be no problem. But the only fruit our CSA farm does is strawberries, and my fruit trees and bushes are a few years away from fruiting. I'll have rhubarb from my own garden, and have plans to purchase extra strawberries from the CSA farm for canning and freezing, but that leaves out a lot. My plan is to purchase fruit in bulk from farmers while it's in season. I'll do the same thing with corn since our CSA farm doesn't grown corn, and I would rather keep the garden space for other things.

This last goal in particular is going to take some work on my part. I'm going to be busy canning, pickling, freezing, and drying in order to have enough to last, hopefully, through the winter. However, I know the difference in nutrition and flavor will be my payoff. I might even have a reduced grocery bill!

A small bit of harvesting

Well, I got a handful of turnips from the garden today. Nothing really to write home about, but it is enough to make a batch of chicken soup, so I won't write it off as a total loss, but this goes back to my lack of balance in trying to get the garden started this year while still in school. I neglected to water the seeds regularly after I planted them, so many did not germinate.

On the other hand, I'm excited to report that I've gotten my first tomatoes from the garden! A couple ripe reds and a couple of green tomatoes that I had to pull early because they were dragging the vine down and touching the ground, which I understand can lead to disease. Here's a picture of my tomato bounty (so far).

Gardening After Graduation

School is out (I officially graduated with my masters degree...woohoo!) and I've actually gotten to do a fair amount of work in the garden this past week or so. The well-meaning schedule from my last post did help some, but I had no idea just how crazy my last semester would be. With a graduate recital, a lead role in the opera, a recital with the piano trio ensemble, papers, and auditions, I didn't have much time for gardening, and many of the seeds that I did start died from neglect.

In spite of that, my garden is actually doing quite well. I ended up purchasing some tomato starts since every one of my tomato seedlings died, as well as a few basil and Rosemary plants. Some seeds I sowed directly, and those have mostly thrived...due to a rainy spring, not to any attention I from me!

I did manage to get the new in-ground garden tilled, and the soil amended with organic fertilizer and compost. Regardless of whether it's from my efforts or because of some native grow juice, the plants in the new garden are doing really well.

I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple of days (the current state of raininess doesn't lend itself to great pictures). I just got all of my beans and okra planted yesterday, so hopefully I'll be seeing some sprouts soon!

Tentative Garden Schedule

Happy New Year! I mentioned a few days ago that I was working on a schedule of garden tasks so I will be more likely to achieve said goals. I am nothing if not goal and deadline oriented.

Anyway, what follows is a TENTATIVE schedule of garden to-do's. Many of these (particularly the ones that involve some kind of construction or soil work) are weather dependent, but this at least gives some sort of structure to what might otherwise seem like an overwhelming task of getting the garden started for the year.

December 30:

*Construction - attach lattice to fence for trellis

January 1:

Plan  garden layout

Cutoff top of one barrel. Drill holes in sides and bottom to use as compost bin

January 2:

*Seed starting - lettuce, basil, perilla

Wash pots with bleach and water first

January 4:

Cut top out of other barrel, install spigot and figure out how to attach screen or landscape fabric over top to keep out leaves and bugs. Store in shed till warmer weather.

January 17-18:

*Seed starting - verbena, celery

February 7-8:

*Seed starting - scarlet poppy, jalapeño, bell peppers

February 21-22:

*Seed starting - tomatoes, cauliflower, Iceland poppy

March 7-8:

Till in-ground garden. Make sure to add compost and organic fertilizer!

March 9:

Amend soil in raised beds with compost and organic fertilizer 

March 11:

Attach gutter to back of shed with a downspout that will pour into the rain barrel.

Level ground under downspout and set up rain barrel on concrete blocks.

March 14-15:

*Seed starting - squash, 

*Direct sow - peas, turnips, spinach, Cleome, zinnia, cosmos, portacula, hyssop

March 28-29:

*Direct sow - Swiss chard, mustard greens, carrots,

April 4-5:

*Seed starting - 

*Direct Sow - bachelor's button, borage, beets

April 18-19:

*Direct sow- sunflower, hollyhocks, marigolds

May 2-3:

*Direct sow - pumpkin, cucumber

May 16-17:

*Direct sow - beans

One goal down: building a trellis

Ok, one garden goal down! I jotted down my list of goals in my last post, and I'm happy to say that I have completed one of them. As I was sketching out a schedule (which is still on the way), I decided I would be more likely to achieve the larger construction goals if I completed at least a few of them while I am on break from school. Because when the spring semester starts, things are gonna get CRAZY.

Building a trellis on the fence where my in-ground garden is going to be seemed like a good and simple goal to start with. Here's a picture of the area. It's the spot between the retaining wall and the fence where the leaves are spread out to smother the grass and weeds.

 I've been thinking about doing this for a while (since last year, actually), so I've had time to debate what kind of materials I wanted to use. I was thinking of using wire fencing and stapling it to the fence posts, but the hubs objected saying that it would probably look "hideous" (his word), and he would rather I use sheets of trellis. The price worked out to be about the same between the two methods, so we came home from the hardware store with five sheets of lattice.

I had the forethought to actually measure before we went to the store, so I knew my fence posts are 8' apart, and about 6' tall. Sheets of trellis turned out to be 8' long and 4' wide. Thus, I got five sheets of lattice and had two of them cut in half lengthwise at the store.

I had a couple of false starts. I originally thought to use some scrap wood blocks to hold the lattice away from the fence. I got my blocks cut and screwed onto the fence like so...

But since the fence posts already stick out from the fence, it caused the lattice to really bow and seem unstable. It also made it a lot harder to actually screw the lattice down because the two didn't always match up if I had the lattice level. With that failed attempt, I removed the wood blocks and simply screwed the lattice directly to the fence posts.

I didn't get the cut in half pieces up. The hubs was out and it would have taken two people to get the pieces of lattice up and screwed on. Also, I'm not sure how it will look since my fence is on a slope. Additionally, see how the lattice sticks out from the actual garden spot? It doesn't line up with the fence post (sad face), so maybe I will put a large pot there and plant something in it that vines. We shall see. I'll have to do some experimenting!

I've seen some really creative trellis designs, some meant to be decorative, and some purely functional. How did you go about making your trellis?

Garden notes and plans for this year

Hi everyone! I've been pretty quiet the past year or so (graduate school is a jealous mistress), but I thought I would share a few thoughts I had from last year's garden as well as some plans/goals I have for this year.

I have to say that last year's garden was pretty disappointing, and it was my own fault. I failed to amend my soil in my raised beds from the year before, and realized too late that there were not enough nutrients in the soil to support healthy plant growth. Also, most of my seed starts failed because I did not water them consistently. I blame this partially on my school schedule (leave about 7am, return after dark), but really, I could have watered the seedlings in the dark when I got home each night. Also, once I did get plants in the ground, I was gone for two weeks mid-July (for a good reason! I was singing opera!) and my non-gardening husband didn't really keep track of watering. The whole fiasco made me wonder...does anyone else have years where their schedule blows up in their faces and their gardens suffer for it, or am I the only one?

I got a few green beans, a few carrots, no tomatoes, no squashes. I did get plenty of jalapenos and LOTS of onions. Go figure.

This year, I am determined, will be different.

I have been reading some interesting books on gardening and composting and am starting my plan early. I'm also making the beginnings of a task schedule to keep myself motivated, and to have the tasks of planting, building, etc. divided into what I hope will be small enough bits to tackle between my school work. That said, the following is a list of plans/goals for my garden this year, in no particular order:

• Amend the soil in the raised beds with good compost (from my compost pile, and additional purchased compost as needed) and a good organic fertilizer. Whether I purchase this fertilizer in a ready-to-use form, or mix it myself is yet to be determined.
• Till and amend the soil between the retaining wall and the fence for an in-ground garden.
• Attach some sort of trellis to the fence for taller plants in the in-ground garden.
• Add an additional compost bin. I've only got one right now, and I would like to let the materials that are in there break down without adding more for a while. Ideally, I'd add two more, but I'm not sure the hubby will let me get away with that!
• Attach a gutter to the back of the shed and set up my rain barrels.
• Start seedlings on time and water them regularly!

There are some big goals on this list, but I think that if I make a schedule and start early (particularly with building the structures, which don't require that it be warm outside), I can accomplish all of these things. I'll be back in a few days with a schedule once I get it worked out!

State of the Vegetable Garden, May 2013

Whew! I know I haven't written about gardening lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been toiling away! So here's a post to catch you all up. Warning: it's long!

The seeds I had leftover from last year, and the ones that I ordered have all been started, and I've got some of the seedlings planted in the garden boxes. Sadly, not all of them yet though!

Just in the past couple days, the garden has seen great improvement! I spent a good bit of the day planting herbs (sage and basil) in pots to put around the retaining wall

The rhubarb was already there, but I have plans to make strawberry rhubarb pie next weekend!

And my ever-helpful buddy Patrick came over to help me build another garden box, so now I have three, and we have plans to build another one on Monday! We were going to build both yesterday, but ran out of light by the time we got the first one finished.

Oh! and may I introduce my newest garden helper? Meet Betsy Lou.

She is a sweet, young (only a year and a half) rescue. I have been fostering dogs for an East Nashville rescue called East C.A.N. and was fostering Betsy for them, but the hubs and I talked, and we decided she's home :-) Seger loves having a little sister (even if she is MUCH bigger than him...she's 70 lbs!!) and the two of them spend lots of time in the backyard running and playing.

Ok....back to gardening....I harvested my first crop of peas yesterday. Those are going gangbusters. They've actually grown taller than the trellis.

 You can see where I've planted some lettuce. It's not very big yet, and it looks like it maybe got dog smashed....*sigh*

These are the lemon tree tomatoes (not all of them....there are more planted elsewhere, and still to be planted!). 

These (to the left) are trionfo violetto beans. Even their stalks are purple! I can't wait to see what they look like as they get a little bigger.

These (to the right) are a variety of onion sent home with me by Patrick. I guess they grow onions at the top of the plant as well as growing them as a root. My mom says they might be Egyptian walking onions....anyone know for sure?

Bonus shot of the garden box layout. I think the fourth one is going to end up on the far end of the line. Eventually I'd like to have a total of eight, but we'll see what happens!

The blueberry bush has gotten a lot bigger, and is already putting on berries. Hopefully I'll have a good crop this year.

In the retaining wall bed, I planted various herbs and flowers that are coming up. There's dill....

....and sage....

...and nasturtiums....

....and I think these might be asiatic lilies. Not sure yet. I kept pulling them last year because I thought they were weeds, but I'm pretty sure someone actually put these here on purpose haha.

 The tea rose is putting on buds. The ones in front have already finished their first round of blooms and are getting ready for a second. Doesn't this one look like it's ready to burst open?

Oh, and I keep waiting and waiting for the garlic to be ready to pull. I thought it was supposed to be ready in the spring, but I also know you aren't supposed to pull it till the leaves die, so I guess I'll keep waiting....

I dug up this spot just this morning to plant the faerie watermelon, and a few sunflowers. I have a lot more digging to do to plant all those sunflower seeds though!

 My lemon balm has come back with a vengeance! I'm seeing more cocktails in my future....maybe a jelly? Anyone have any ideas??

This mint was, I think, accidentally passed along to me by my voice teacher and his wife. They gave me a bunch of flowers to put in my flower beds out front, but I'm not sure if this was supposed to be in there or not! It looks a little sad right now....probably because it's a clump of dirt sitting on dry leaves (need to fix that), but knowing how hardy mint is, I think it'll be alright until I can get my hands on some more potting soil.

Oh, and here are the first of my container tomatoes. I need to prop it up with something....hmmmm....

Kudos to you if you seriously just read all that. How is your garden looking? Did you plant anything super neato/unusual this year?

First Seeds Have Been Planted

Woohoo! The first seeds of the year have officially been planted. It's pretty early still, but the gorgeous weather we've been having (over 60 today!) has been making me yearn for spring. So I got outside and planted round one of my mustard green seeds. Plus I started some broccoli seeds (those are currently residing on top of my fridge). Once they germinate, I can move them to the cold frame outside.

Have you been planting any seeds?

Seed Order 2013

Since doing my seed inventory last week, I decided I could fill in some holes to round out my garden this year. Here's the run-down of what I ordered.

1. Caballero Pepper - I've been wanting to try some chiles, and this is a variety of poblano.
2. Ancho 101 Pepper - more chilis...maybe I went a little overboard? This one is supposed to be sweeter.
3.  Watermelon (faerie hybrid) - This is a yellow-skinned, small watermelon meant for smaller gardens....hopefully that will hold true and I won't have a yard full of watermelon vines!!
4. Tomato (Lemon tree) - from the pictures, these actually do look like lemons. Supposedly they have a lemony flavor as well.
5. Tomato (Maskotka hybrid) - This one is a cherry tomato that is supposed to grow well in containers. These will go on the back deck.
6. Dwarf White Sugar Peas - a bush habit pea similar to the ones I grew last year
7. Pole Beans (Tionfo Violetto) - these guys are purple! I'm really interested to see how they taste.
8. Cayenne Pepper - because my husband REALLY likes spicy food.
9. Beet (Touchstone Gold hybrid) - a yellow beet.
10. Echinacea (Purpurea, Pow Wow Wildberry) - These I will sow in the next week or so (indoors) and hopefully will have some coneflowers in my near future!
11. Sage
12. Lavender (Munstead) - This one is an experiment. I've heard that lavender is difficult to grow from seed, so we'll see how this goes.
13. Feverfew - this herb is supposed to have medicinal properties regarding pain relief and fever reducing. It is also supposed to drive pests away when planted around roses. Guess where these are getting planted?
14. Zinnia mix - I didn't plant these last year, but two years ago, the flower beds were nearly taken over by the 6 foot tall zinnias! I had cut flowers all summer long, and the more I cut, the more they grew.
15. Marigold (Tiger Eye)

What are you planning to plant this year?

A Pre-Order Seed Inventory

With the January arrival of seed catalogs, I've been hard at work planning this year's garden! I have ordered some seeds, but I wanted to make sure to use what I already had on hand to keep costs down, but also just to not be wasteful. So...without further ado, here is my list of what I already have on hand.

1. Sunflowers - I've got a 1/4 lb of these suckers....I'm thinking of just digging a (shallow) trench along the back fence, tossing them in the ground and seeing what happens. That said, I've still got a LOT of sunflower seeds....anyone in Nashville need some???
2. Lettuce (Summer Mix) - this is a cut-and-come again loose leaf variety that I've had good luck with in the past, but have some left over from last year.
3. Tomato (Costoluto Genovese) - leftover from last year. I was a little disappointed in the yields, but I also didn't get them in the ground until July, so that MAY have had something to do with it.
4. Basil (Mrs. Burns lemon) - I was unsuccessful in getting these to sprout last year, but I may try again, just because I have the seeds. I can always buy a started basil plant if it's unsuccessful.
5. Jalapeno - again, leftover from last year. These didn't get as big as my monster jalapeno two years ago, but they still had decent yields, despite the fact that these also didn't make it into the ground until July.
6. Red leaved Perilla - leftover from last year, though I have to admit, I never actually used any of it in my cooking!
7. Dill
8. Green Bean (Blue Lake 274, bush type and Bush Blue Lake 156)
9. Broccoli (Packman Hybrid) - at last check, this was actually still producing!
10. Turnip (White Lady hybrid)
11. Onion (Parade) - this is a green onion that was just starting to sprout in the garden when it got dog-trampled....boo.
12. Columbines - I had meant to plant these last year, but then we bought a house and moved, so they are now in my refrigerator chilling since I neglected to plant them in the fall (fail)
13. Cleome - these are pass-along seeds from my voice teacher's wife.
14. Nasturtium 
15. Hibiscus, red and white - these seeds were saved from some growing along Nashville's greenway
16. Mustard Greens - never managed to get these planted in the fall....again....fail.
17. I also think I have some yellow squash seeds around somewhere....There were lots of things that just got tossed in boxes during the move....I'm still finding things!
18. Caroline Reaper - THESE are special. My mother is friends with a man named Eddie Currie, who breeds hot peppers in SC. He owns Pucker Butt Pepper Company (you can check them out here). Eddie now holds the Guinness World Record for the hottest pepper in the world, and this lucky girl has some seeds! My hubby loves spicy food, and these are supposed to have a nice fruity flavor to go with the heat. I'm really excited to get these babies growing!

Bringing in the Bounty

Before I get into the title topic, I thought I'd share this picture, taken about 7 o'clock this morning. I love foggy mornings!

So onto the topic at hand....this is what I pulled out of the garden this morning.

Yes....that colander is as wide as my kitchen sink. There actually are also some jalapenos and bell peppers under all those green beans. Oh, and then there was the turnip that's the size of my hand.

Granted, I have small hands, but that's a pretty big turnip!

So, anyone have some good recipes that use lots of green beans? I've actually already frozen about a half gallon of them so far!

More Fall Plantings

The rest of my fall planting order has arrived! Woo hoo! Here's what I've got:

Moon River Peony
California Hard Neck Garlic
Naturalizing Daffodils
Apricot Beauty Tulips

With that, and the fall season, comes some to-do's:

1. Find spots for and plant my new goodies!
2. Plant bulbs given to me by my voice teacher and his wife (I have a giant tray full of bulbs! Mostly daffodil...they think)
3. Plant more green onions, lettuce and mustard greens
4. Clean out pots. I have some iris and daylilies in containers from the apartment that I have been waiting to plant in the ground. Others are just past their prime and are looking scraggly or need to be brought inside before it gets too cold.
5. Stir compost and add leaves as they fall and are raked up

What does your fall clean-up/to-do list look like?

Fall Plantings

Whew! It's been a busy month! The hubs is getting ready to deploy, so it's been a whirlwind of traveling to see family, hosting family who are visiting us, and various other social events. They haven't left much time for thinking (or sleeping), much less blogging! Hopefully things will quiet down here soon. Oh well....onward.

I mentioned some time ago (back in August) that I had planted my fall crops. Well, some have been more successful than others, but here is the latest update.

My lettuce and green onions got trampled by a visiting dog when they were still seedlings, so they died. Boo. I have plans to put a few more seeds in the ground this week, but wanted to wait until all off the visiting dogs were gone before I did so.

On the flip side, my green beans are doing fantastic. In fact, they have nearly taken up the entire raised bed where the onions and lettuce was, so maybe it's a good thing they died.

And they're also starting to put out beans. Maybe I'll even have enough to can this year!

Also, my turnips seem to be doing quite well. Anyone know how to tell when a turnip is ready to be harvested?? One of them is even showing its white root above ground. I'm looking forward to some tasty turnip greens this fall.

 

The broccoli and cauliflower are coming up nicely.

Broccoli

Cauliflower

 

The peas I'm not so sure about. They got much bigger much faster in the spring. Maybe it's the difference between fall and spring plantings?

So what have you all been up to lately? Anyone do some good fall planting?

Re-Establishing Flower beds

It's been a little chaotic around here the past couple weeks, but in between the chaos (and the heat....and the mosquitoes that try to eat my face every time I step out the door), I have been hard at work trying to re-establish the flower beds in front of the house. So far, I've got one down (thankfully, the larger of the two), one to go.

If you will recall, the left flower bed looked something like this when we moved in (after I added some gifted plants)

Giant mass of weeds. Yikes. I have to admit, I was really dreading pulling all of them, so I started looking for other ways to get rid of them.

I read somewhere that you could use newspaper as a temporary, cheaper, biodegradable weed cloth under mulch, so I decided to give it a try.

I did pull the worst of the weeds, just so it was easier to lay the newspaper down, and laid down a couple layers of newspaper, soaking them with water as I went so they didn't fly off in any unexpected breezes. Once I got a reasonable-sized area covered, I used pine bark mulch (the cheap stuff....not Scotts brand or anything...that would have gotten expensive in a hurry!!) to cover the newspaper so my neighbors wouldn't talk bad about me haha.

Here's an in-process picture.

When I ran out of newspaper, I decided to take a break. That break turned into a two-week break. Oops. That was about the time the mosquitoes got really bad and started trying to eat us every time we stepped out the door.


This morning I resolved to get back on it. I tried to go to Kroger (which is supposed to open round the clock) to by more newspaper, but they were closed for some reason or another, so on to Home Depot I went for more mulch and to see if they had some kind of paper that might be serviceable. Man, am I glad. Here's what I found.

I'm hoping this stuff will actually work better than newspaper, since it's thicker. Plus, I can use the leftovers on other projects instead of just tossing/recycling whatever is left.

Scissors and giant roll of paper in hand, I got down to business, again, soaking the paper as I went to avoid shifting.

This paper went much faster than newspaper since I didn't have to put down multiple layers or deal with flimsiness.

Then, I mulched, and stood back to admire my handiwork.

The plants that are already here should grow together some. I also have an order in for things like tulip and daffodil bulbs...and a peony!

So now that I've gotten to show off a little, now comes the part where I hang my head in shame and promise to fix this....like tomorrow...

Again. Yikes. Oh, and see E.T. peeking out the basement window? That would be my husband's sense of humor at work.

Any major gardening projects you've been tackling? Any you are dreading/putting off?

A lovely surprise...think pink

It's been a busy couple of weeks with my teaching schedule starting to pick up for the fall and some out of town guests (of the human and furry variety). In all the craziness and chaos though, I was walking out to my car the other night and saw a flash of pink in the right flower bed I hadn't noticed before.

On further inspection, here's what I found...

A calla lily! And it looks like there are more on the way. A nice present from the previous owner. Here's a closer look.

Oh, and speaking of flashes of pink, the roses have been blooming too.

Fall Seed Planting

Now that I've got my garden boxes built, it's time for fall plantings! Following the planting calendar for my area (zone 6), I got my fall planting in the ground just a few days ago. Here's my planting list for this go-round:

1. Looseleaf lettuce. This is a cut-and-come-again salad mix, so I should be able to get several rounds of harvest from this. I also held back some seeds so I can do successive plantings. The next one will be in about two weeks.
2. Green beans (Blue Lake 274, Bush Type). These are left over from the ones I planted back in the spring. Only problem in the spring was that I planted them too early, and they froze. Shame on me for not following the directions on the seed packet!
3. Peas. These are the same bush habit Sugar Lace peas I planted in the spring as well. I actually had good luck with these this spring....hopefully I'll get some more delicious sweet peas!
4. Cauliflower. This Cheddar Hybrid is actually orange! Park Seed says it has 25 times the beta carotene of regular cauliflower. This is an experiment, so we'll see how it goes, and whether I will choose to plant it again.
5. Broccoli Packman Hybrid
6. Turnips White Lady Hybrid
7. Onions Parade. These are actually green onions.

I've also got some garlic on order as well as a packet of mustard green seeds I need to dig up. I think they got buried in my seed basket during the move, and over-looked when I started pulling things out for planting.

For flowers, I have a packet of columbine seeds, some tulip and daffodil bulbs, and a peony (which I have not received yet, but should in the next month or so).

Anyone else got big plans for their fall garden?

Now Accepting Volunteers

I have my very first volunteer!....Volunteer plant, that is.

I have a tomato that has randomly sprouted from one of my flower pots. It even has tiny tomatoes on it! Take a look.

 

Have you ever had volunteer plants in your garden? Were they welcome, or did you feel like they ruined your "master garden plan"? What kinds of plants have you had volunteer themselves?

New Addition: A Compost Bin

I've had compost bins on the brain lately. Maybe to the point of obsession.

I've been researching possible construction plans, debating the cost differences of building vs. buying and generally trying to gauge just how lazy I wanted to be about this whole composting thing. You see, I really like the idea of those fancy composters with a crank handle on the outside that allows you to turn the whole bin rather than having to actually stir the compost itself.

Here's the kicker though.....I'm cheap. My mom frequently laughs and says I "really know how to make a George Washington squeal." And those fancy composters are expensive!

I looked at several plans for building compost bins. Googling "DIY compost bin" comes up with plans for everything from a re-purposed trash can to some seriously elaborate carpentry that is way beyond my skills and means.

This is where fate comes in.

I was trolling through Home Depot (yes....I have been there nearly every day since we moved for one reason or another. It's getting to the point where the employees recognize me when I come through the door) when I saw this lovely little guy for $49 and decided to give him a home.

 I reasoned that it would probably cost me nearly that much to build a wood compost bin that would eventually rot away. It's also significantly more attractive than the garbage can method (there's really no place for me to tuck it away out of sight). It's also something that I could move if need be (since we are planning on eventually putting a shed in the backyard).

Since I got it home and set up (it just snaps together), I've been gradually filling it with food waste (no meats or fats...those can attract pests, though they do eventually break down) and yard trimmings. I had a few tomatoes and peppers that didn't make it since it took me so long to get them into the ground. Those went in there too. I figure I can keep gradually adding to the pile and hopefully in the spring, I'll have some good compost to add to my beds and to use as potting soil!

By the way, here are a few of the links that I found helpful in my reasearch:

• http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Compost-Bin
• http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2composting 
• http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-build-a-compost-bin/index.html
• http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-unwaste-station-a-cool-diy-145463

Do you compost? Did you decide to buy or DIY? And if you had to do it all over again, would you do the same?