Last spring, when I was working on trying to put in my summer garden, I was shocked at how much money I spent on "good" soil and fertilizers. The cost of bedding plants also stunned me. By the time it was all said and done, I had spent probably a couple of hundred dollars for the pleasure of worrying, watering, and spending all my free time freezing or pickling.
I decided I needed to make some changes. My first idea was to start a compost pile (we always had one when I was growing up) so I wouldn't have to buy fertilizer. It even occurred to me that sad, worn-out soil could become rich again if I mixed it with enough seasoned compost.
Secondly, I decided to try and start my own plants from seed. I attempted this with my winter garden and the plants did beautifully, but the seed-starters seemed to be only a single-use item and broke into many pieces in the process.
I used foam cups for my small plants to establish them before transplanting to the garden. I poked holes in them around the sides and at the bottom for draining and filled them about 1/2 full with soil. When I took out my plants to move them into the garden, I saved the styrofoam cups for another crop.
Throughout this winter, I've been saving small yogurt cups. I have about 10 that I thought would make great seed-starters. Last night, I melted holes in the plastic and I'm all ready to fill them with soil and start my seeds for my spring/summer garden. It should all save me a ton of money this year and it has been simple and fun.
Not so the compost pile. I bought a large 1/4 wooden barrel and put it off the end of the deck where it was easily accessible, even in the dark, but hidden from view by the garbage cans. After talking with a few other people, I realized that most folks use their grass clippings for their compost. A friend of mine, whom I talked with about this, showed up one day with some pallet sides that stack perfectly to form a wooden compost protection. I began accumulating grass clipping and lawn trash in this, but not enough to really DO anything - it's been winter, we haven't been cutting our grass.
Meanwhile, I have become very faithful about saving all my fruit and vegetable peels and not throwing away eggshells, teabags, or over-ripe anything. After removing the outer leaves of a cabbage, they go in compost. Those orange peels - don't forget to compost. The onion skins . . . compost. And so on. However, mid-summer, we couldn't get rid of the fruit flies buzzing around the bowl where I accumulated my "stuff" during the day before tossing it over the railing before bed.
Don was fit to be tied. He went on a rampage against fruit flies, even threatening to do away with my kitchen counter fruit bowl that keeps the children interested in the good stuff occasionally. I finally went out and found a big-enough plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. It now holds my compost until I have time to toss it.
A secondary problem has been reaching a fully-composted status. When I'm constantly adding new stuff, I never finish the process. Last night, my father mentioned that he had seen a kettle being thrown out on the street behind his house. It was one of those huge, handled metal pots that you use in commercial kitchens. I immediately sent the boys out to retrieve it. Sure enough, it's even larger than my compost barrel and, with the handles, much easier to move about.
I decided it was time to turn my compost. I began with my trusty compost stick (set aside specifically for this purpose), but discovered it was so thick that I couldn't really move it with the stick. Next, I pulled out a shovel whose handle was broken off. I dug it into the barrel, pushing with my foot until it hit the bottom, then turned it carefully. What I found below delighted and thrilled me - rich, thick black compost, teeming with (wait for it, wait for it . . . ) EARTHWORMS!!! Big ones, little tiny baby ones, all wriggling and moving amongst the black compost.
I went straight up to Dad's. How'd they get there, I asked him. He laughed and Mama chuckled.
"Oh, the worms will find a way if it's good soil," she said.
"You realize, Hon," Papa began, "that you have GREAT compost if you have earthworms, right?"
Yep. I realized; thus the excitement. And, now, with the metal pot, I can alternate which one I use, allowing the "stuff" in one to finish composting as I add to the new pile.
I'm really excited. I can't wait to begin to mix my compost into my garden. I keep thinking of all the money I'll save and how thrilled I am with the work of my hands.
MY GARDEN, MY COMPOST, MY SEED-STARTERS, MY BEDDING PLANTS. Boy, does it EVER have a nice ring to it.
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