Anything to make life a bit easier. Can't get down on my hands and knees to much, it takes an act of congress to get back up. And with congress the way it is now, I'd be there for a very long time. LOL ( sorry administration, just a joke, not a political statement).
I'd rather be out in the yard with my flowers, then in the house cleaning.
Spring Projects now Summer Projects!
lol Chris
I've made some good headway on this project, too. Really can't tell much from this pic but I figure I took out a good 50 small forsythia bushes and another 20 much smaller ones. Everything except the main plant is gone.
Holly, you guys are working your butts off this summer...how's Ric's hand?
Jen, I'm doing much better. The thumb is all but healed and there is a small patch on my finger that is looking better every day. Mobility may be an issue, but that finger was already messed up before the injury. Thanks for asking. Ric
Glad to hear it, Ric.
Spring---Summer--now sliding into Fall projects.....
rcn--with your permission--may I start a new continuation Thread as Labor Day approaches?
With that--Fall is surely here.....
Thanks--Gita
Please go to here and lets share out Fall Projects .
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1032854/
edited to add link.....
This message was edited Aug 30, 2009 7:56 PM
Ric and I have just about finished the new bed. It has been completely cleaned out and loads and loads of compost has been moved from the huge compost pile out back and into this bed. There are a good 10 or more loads of this compost in the new bed and then Ric put another 4 or so into the Veggie garden to be turned in later. The old pile has gotten much smaller.
Love compost, you just reminded me it is time where I start shifting my compost pile to the 2nd location, sort of turning the new goodies to the bottom of the pile. I do this every spring and fall. The good stuff is on the bottom and I use that to mulch my beds for the winter.
YEAH????
And maybe it is time I totally disassembled my"S.E.M." (Stupid Earth Machine) to get to all the compost that has been fermenting in there for 2 years. Amazing! It never seems to get full????? I throw things in there all year long. At least one large container of kitchen Veggie scraps a week.....
Those bugs and worms in there are sure doing their thing......I just cannot turn the compost over--not in THIS stupid contraption!
Maybe I should just get rid of it and build a presentable, neat, non-offending compost bin of some other sort.....It would have to be neat and contained--but something I could get to with my pitch fork and turn over now and then.....Hmmmmmmmmmmmm??????
HELP!!!!!! Gita
Gita is it too heavy to roll it? That way you'd get it all tumbled.
Gita, does HD get things on those wooden palates. They make great compost bins. You could camaflage it by placing potted plants around it where you want to hide it from view. But it is natural wood so not that hard to look at.
One of my Spring Projects that never got done was to remove, from the top, the not yet composted material (on a tarp) and dig out the rest for use in my beds. Maybe next Spring....That's a lot of work.
Yes--I probably could get some palates from HD, but that would still look too crappy for around here.
Also--and you may not see it in the picture I posted above, to the left of the SEM, the ground goes UP. I would have to dig into it. I just cannot see any of this here...
Might be a good project for you that have handy hubbies---I am not a builder of any kind......:o(
As for rolling it--NOPE! The base is bolted to the pad. And--as this sits fairly near my Red Maple--there will be tree roots into the bottom of this composter from the tree. I remember that from last time I emptied it. They just grew up through the cracks between the pavers that are the base.
Here's a bit more distant shot of where this SEM sits. Behind it is my tomato bed.
To the left--up that small slope--I only have about 4'-- and then it is my neighbor's property line.
jen, the Earth machine has no 'bottom' so you can't roll it. I have one also.
It is impossible to scoop from the bottom as they suggest with a little door.
Ohhhhh, okey dokey.
Sally--Thanks for an obvious comment---I did not remember that it is a bottomless pit.....
Took some more pictures today so you could see it more in "context"....
OK! This is a good one for all of you to see just how liomited the space is that I have around this composter. The bed to the left is for my tomatoes--maybe 5 is all that fits. Enough for me.
You can also see that STUPID little drawer-(door) that they show/advertise--showing how you can retrieve all that good compost out of your composter.
BAH--Humbug!!!! Unless you are an acrobat--with 5' long arms--and can lay on your stomach and reach inside the bottom of this composter--ALL you can retrieve is only from the front 1/4 of the whole thing.
Of course--it is all compacted--since I have not emptied it in 2 years--so you have to scrape and dig and scrape and dig to get any of that black "gold" out of there.
Also--on this picture, you can see that the foreground has an upward slope--and then I am in my neighbor's territory. IF I decided to convert this composter to a more eco-friendly, 4-sided, boards and supports, compost bin--I really would not have all that much room to play with.
And, YES! That is my Rose Souvelons Brug blooming it's head off today--right next to the SEM. .
OK! On to the idea of maybe erecting a compost bin at the back of my back yard. NOT saying i will do this--but lets explore this option---OK?
Here is a picture I took out of my bedroom bedroom window--showing an overview of my WHOLE (HA!) back yard. YES! That is where my property ends.....Not all that much to garden in.....
That line of evergreens at the back are, kind of, a privacy screen. Of course--by now--they are too high and too straggly. Would have wanted these to be no more than 8' tall...Oh, well.....
My new neighbor behind me had this 12'x20' Garage delivered. It sits right behind my evergreens. To keep things out of HIS sight--he keeps all his big trash cans there--and, in the Summer, the deflated swimming pool for his grandkids. Also--all his firewood stacked right up to my bed. UGH!
These things may be out of sight for HIM--but I get to see them every day.
The concrete storm drain, just behind my shed, is County Property. That is where I think the rats came last Winter to dine on my bird seed I sprinkled on my patio floor for the Doves--and other ground-feeders....
Anyway--if you look--I have all these black trash bags under the evergreens. They are all filled with shredded leaves from last Fall. In a year or so--I dig all these in my beds....NOT easy! All of my beds in the back are filled with Maple roots. BUT--It is a nice amendment--even if it is only inches deep.
Here is another view--now ground level--of the back of my yard--and the shed.
The landscape timbers along the back have now been sitting there for almost 2 years.
The bird-feeder laying there (it is all broken) has to be glued back together (with Gorilla Glue) before the bird-feeding season is upon us. Another unfinished project.........:o(
I need to replace many of my bed-edgings.....YEAH! One of these days! Bought them on sale at HD.
DAH! They have these on sale at least 3 times a year. I buy them--and then they sit there and start rotting......
SO! IF I was to consider this area for a new composting place--those would all have to go--somewhere else. Better yet--they should all be used up to replace all the bed-edgings that I purchased them for.....
Gita, Here's the one I have. What I like about it is that the slats in the front lift out and make it easy to shovel stuff out or turn the bottom.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?category=292&subcategory=302&item=9347&ct=hg&source=w1105_cm_cedarcomposter
I lined the bottom of it with hardware cloth.
Here is the most awesome tool to turn it with. Takes away the backache and works better than turning it with a fork or shovel.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?scommand=search&search=compost%2btool&item=9132&category=292&subcategory=302
stormy--Thanks. I bookmarked this site...for future reference.....
Gita
Meant to send this yesterday--but my "C" disconnected again and I did not have time to mess with it.
My Son-in-Law is coming today with a new computer he built for me. All this crap with viruses and disconnecting will, hopefully, be so much past history. Everything will also be much faster....
I had taken the below picture--so I will now send it. Don't want to overdo this whole Composter thing....
**************************************************
Here is an even more distant look at where it sits. This is the East side of my house.
The birch tree got cut down last Spring. It just died of old age.
The stone edge you see on bottom left is my neighbor's bed along her house. Our property line goes about half way down the middle of the grassy area you can see.
My Patio roof extends from the house roof above the bushes. That's my "Living Room" outside...:o)
Developments are hard to do as you please.....a bin of palates would look terribly out of place.
A better place would be somewhere along the back of my yard up against the tall, old evergreens....
Maybe a long, skinny compost bin? Have to think on that.....And will have to pay someone to build it....
Will take a few more pictures and post them here.....So you can see everything "in context"...
The green shrub in the front is my "Wintersweet"....this is a couple of years ago--2007, I think.
Gita
Looking East along the back of my house--and the patio.
There are two picnic tables. One against the house and the other one where the folded chair is. Those are my working areas.
Just behind the A?C unit is the back entrance into the house--4 steps down.
For what it's worth, just to play around. Always easier for me to play with other peoples stuff than my own.
In the 'birch' picture, picture this. The birch and circular bed are gone, instead from this view you see that area partly enclosed two right angled lattice panels or fence panels. Not too tall, four feet would do it. One faces the street and the other parralels the property line. Slightly off the ground cuz you'll be planting there of course. From the yard side its open and hides whatever- compost, fabby potting shed that Ric comes and builds just cuz he's so great, and loves to build things... tee hee... Then under the panels you have a narrow bed to plant your vines in which climb all over the panels.
Gita, Your home and garden are always so neat and well kept. You are also right about livinging in a development. I have some pretty unkempt areas that I would never have if we lived in a development. Not that I don't have neighbors that see the mess but out here it's a bit more acceptable.
Sally, LOL Having a Ric around the house is pretty nice. LOL
Sally---
And when is YOUR husband coming over to build all this for me?????
Of course--YOU are a handy soul too......I just don't have the self-confidence.....:o(
G.
tee hee!!! I hardly ask my guy to do things for me much less loan him out..although you could feed him quite well and that he would like.
Holly I am also glad I have 'outback' places where I can be a slob!
Every time I see photos of Gita's property I am intimidated by how well maintained and tidy it is.
Most of mine is fine, It's just my work area directly behind the house is always a mess. But my mess in right in my line of sight out my lower den door, not at the edge of my property for the benefit of my neighbor's view.
I am the Queen of messy beds, by this time of year the big tall weeds that I did not get to pull out cause they were hiding among the mass of flowering plants are taking the spot light.
I moved the compost container this Wednesday beside the garage and filled it back up with the "uncomposted" top of the old pile and the cleaned out stuff from my 2 front beds. What was under the "uncomposted" is rich and dark. That will be sifted and used for dressing the beds this fall and next spring.
Gita, if you are composting leaves in the black plastic bags why not add your kitchen scraps to the bags. Collect you kitchen scraps in a covered pail and empty it once a week in rotation in 2 or 3 bags, the leaves would probably break down faster. Oaks take longer then maple, but you never said you have oak leaves that I can remember.
I add my leaves and kitchen scraps together and they break down over winter in my open compost bin.
Lady,
Good thought! The leaves and veggie scraps probably would compost better.....
Of course--there is always a "BUT".....Those leaves get bagged when i rake up and shred my leaves--so it is not an over-the-time project. I do pour a little water in the bags to help the dry leaves compost.
The Oak trees are 2 houses over. I am sure some of the leaves blow my way. The second house over has a chain link fence all around it (she has dogs) so that stops many of the leaves from blowing.
IF I had an open compost pile--I am sure it would be easier to just dump everything on it. Really wishing I did by now. I suppose when this S>E>M> gives up the ghost--then i will have to find a plan B.
The amount of fruit and melons and veggies I consume fills my scraps container at least once a week. I use one of those shoe-box sized, clear plastic containers with a lid that you can buy salads in at BJ's,Sams, etc.
Have to be more careful about closing it---b/c the gnats and fruit flies are everywhere and they had been laying eggs all over--as there were all these little larva everywhere. I keep one of those sticky pads hanging and when I disturb them--I just wave it around and catch a bunch. Mostly--that is where I keep my picked tomatoes....That is like a magnet to them--especially if one has a split or a rotten spot.
Stormy----PLEASE don't say you are intimidated......I am just an organized person and keep things in an organized way. Also--remember--the beds I have--and WHERE I have them were formed about 35 yrs. ago. Can't change any of it.....Back then I had endless energy and stamina. NEW homeowner---NEW hardener---Not any more....
Never yet heard of DG! Beds HAD edges--that's that!
Actually, I like the "casual look" to a Garden like many of you have. No edgings--little islands of plantings--a shade garden here and there--a bench to sit down in---LOVE it! BUT (again), that takes a much larger property than I have OR a more creative mind than I have......design wise....
My WHOLE property is only 65'w x100' d. Everything sits on that....AND those 2, 40+yr. old Maples in the back yard are the big kill-joys!
Confession----By now--as I am well into being a senior--I wish I did not do all this gardening--save seeds--take cuttings and propagate everything. Lug things in and out as the Seasons come and go....Too much work!
I long for a less compulsive life....yet, I think we all can agree, it is NOT that easy to change this gardening obsession....
Holly--
Here is a picture of some cracked open Datura pods (2007).....The outer covering is just pulp---it falls apart in your hand if you try to pull the seed pod off by hand. When they crack open--use scissors or a knife to cut it off from the plant. Don't they look like the two lobes of a brain????
Gita
Thanks for that picture Gita there are a couple of big ones that look like that already. I was waiting for them to brown up and start splitting like my white ones do.
Gita, I searched the net and found somes plans for the compost bin. Just to give everyone the idea.
http://www4.uwm.edu//shwec/publications/cabinet/factsheets/WoodenPalletCompostBin.pdf
As far as the fruit flies, I take a small container, put some cider viniger or wine, don't need much, strech some cling-saran wrap over the bowl and pook a few small holes it in. The flies crawl in but can't figure a way out. I catch a lot that way.
Holly, I have that Datura too, but mine did not get as big and nice as yours. I have 2 seed pods ripening now.
So, Gita what should we look for as a sign they are ready to pick?
Lady---
Thanks for the advice about catching the gnats and also the link re composters. I will save that for future consideration.
Re the datura seed pods----It is a bit early yet--but by mid-late October--they will be ripening/splitting. I would still check now and then before that--just in case.
You look for a pod that has developed a split--a crack--an opening. Likle the one on bottom right on that plate I posted above. Do not hesitate when you see this--as a couple of things can happen.
1--The pod can split open suddenly and many of the seeds will fall to the ground
OR
2--Earwigs get in there and start feasting on the seeds...
And again---do not try to pull the pods loose from the stem by hand. Cut them off with scisors or your pruner.
You can see how some of the pods on that plate are completely broken up. That's what can happen when you pull by hand.
I remember that all those were one day's harvest.....
Pick the seeds out on a plate to dry--then wash your hands VERY well.
Datura seeds take their sweet time to germinate--up to 4 weeks is not unusual.
Start them earlier than your other seeds next Spring.....
Gita
Last year I cut my pods but did not pick the seed off the core right away. Big mold party! from the moisture left in the core and 'rind'
After reading Square foot Gardening, my husband built me raised beds. This week we added cold frames to extend our growing season.
jfleming, Those are really neat. Can you show a closeup of the inside of one so we can see the greenhouse construction? I think I'm going to be asking DSO to build me a few of those for Christmas!!
Do you have anything growing in them now?
NICE!!!!
I'll take more pictures as soon as the cold frames are finished. Today they are being insulated around the edges and caulked. I've grown lots of vegetables in the boxes this season. Hopefully, this will work for growing cool season vegetables this winter. Right now, the boxes are empty. Seeds will be planted this week!
This message was edited Oct 14, 2009 11:04 AM
Thanks, JFleming. Insulation! Now I'm doublely impressed. Your pooch almost fades into the photo. Here's where he can meet other MidAtlantic furry friends. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/956348/
I agree very nice I have thought about having Ric build a few cold frames but that is pretty far down on the list. I have an old book on garden construction that has some real interesting projects I think I will be looking it over again this winter. I had been to a fall seminar last year and the speaker was an award winning grower of forced bulbs among other things and he did all most all his growing in cold frames. I was pretty impressed by the amount of plants he produced from a rather small area. I'm looking forward to more pics, too. Holly