Trying to Catch Up!

From mid-April to Memorial Day, it has been a race to get things in the ground.  Fantastic weather this spring put us ahead of the game.  Unfortunately, well-timed rains also helped the weeds, and that has been the biggest struggle this summer. 

We have installed two rain barrels, with two more coming.  The good thing is we have not needed to water very often the whole month of June.  So the rainbarrels are full and Mother Nature has been taking care of the watering while we keep trying to keep up with the weeds.

Every day we get a minimum of one garbage can full of weeds, and most days we get two or three.  We compost the weeds to help make a very nutritious snack for our plants.  Right now we have a 2-bay compost system set up, and the third bay should be going up this week.  It's a very scientific process, and we are fortunate enough to have a volunteer take care of this.  Joel comes approximately every third day and turns the pile, analyzing what is needed - either "browns" like dried leaves, or "greens" like the weeds.

We can never get enough compost material, so we have enlisted our CSA members, our friends and neighbors, and have even resorted to snatching bags of leaves off the curb.  We have started a compost share to help keep things out of our landfills, and to help improve our soil.

Look Closely - but this is our compost bin made from pallets.

Compost Share

Good compost is black gold to gardeners, and we have been making our own. Approximately every 30 days we should have a new batch completed. The struggle we’ve been having is our personal kitchen waste cannot keep up with the demand. This is where you come in:

Fill up an ice cream bucket/coffee can, etc. with food scraps, and then bring your full bucket of compostables at the pick-up site when you pick up your share and we'll have an empty bucket waiting for you. This is good for you and your food, and good for the environment.

Acceptable:

• All fruit and vegetable peelings and pits

• Non greasy food scraps or leftovers

• Rice, pasta, bread, cereal etc.

• Coffee grounds with filter, tea bags

• Hair and nails (animal or human)

• Egg and nut shells

• Cut or dried flowers, wreaths

• Houseplants and potting soil

•Dryer lint

•Vacuum cleaner bag contents

Not acceptable:

• Meat, chicken and fish

• Greasy food scraps

• Fat and oil

• Dairy items: cheese, butter

• Dog or cat feces, kitty litter

• Coal or charcoal

• Coconuts

• Diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants and soil

Above:  The first ripe radishes

Above:  The first radishes for the CSA Shares

Above:  Rain barrels & cardboard & straw bale mulch