The Tower Garden is Now Available

For those of you interested in a way to do hydroponic gardening, here is something you might want to look at. It is called the 'Tower Garden'. A lot of food can be produced on it and it takes very little space. Here is the url for it: SS Tower Garden

My lone lemon tree

My lemon tree has one big lemon on it almost ready to pick.💛

My Guava Plant

This picture is of my guava plant in full bloom.

My Red Wriggler Came Today

I prepared to set up my worm bin again. The last batch of worms I tried to grow died out. I cleaned the worm bin out by dumping the contents into the garden beds and washing the bin out with water. I ordered a coco brick and 1,000 red wriggles which came today. I took pictures of the coco brick soaking and of the worms when I dumped them onto the saturated coco brick bedding. I also fed them egg shells and tea bags. I will water them more later on.💦

Article on Why You Should Grow Your Own Food

Here is an article I found on the Internet that explains why a person should grow their own food. It is found here: Wellness Times-Growing Your Own Food

I'll post an excerpt from it as well.

Whether its the all-too-common outbreaks of salmonella in produce or the genetically modified foods infiltrating the supermarkets that have you questioning your food sources, know this: You’re not alone. In recent years, everyone from suburban moms to Manhattanites with no more gardening space than small balconies are taking food into their own hands and learning how to grow what they eat.

Ivette Soler, expert gardener and author of the recently released The Edible Front Yard observes, “People want to be in control of their food sources because Big Agra [the agricultural industry] seems to be making decisions that are not in our best interest. Genetically modified seeds, Roundup-resistant crops and the lack of clear data on how these things affect us make us want to take our food back.”

Some of the plants they recommend that you grow in your gardens are:

1. Artichoke

2. Tomatoes

3. Lettuces

4. Hot peppers

5. Eureka lemons

I have to admit that I don't know what to do with artichokes (except make a cheese sauce), but the author says that they are easy plants to grow. I could make tomato sauce with the tomatoes, or V-8 juice copy cat recipe. Lettuce always comes in handy for salads. My bird loves hot peppers and I use them sparingly. Would like to grow pepperocini peppers (the kind that comes with Papa John's pizzas). Lemons always come in handy, especially in iced tea!

Happy Gardening!

How to assemble your Tower Garden - Video

Scarlet Runner Beans - Pretty Red Flowers

Here are pictures of the Scarlet Runner beans in my garden. They are getting ready to bloom. The flowers are supposed to attract hummingbirds.

Compost- Black Gold

Did you know that you can make your own plant food? The method is called 'composting'. It consists of taking your fruit/vegetable scraps and adding brown material such as leaves and combining them in a pile. I like the phrase 'black gold' because that is what compost is like. When the ingredients are finished composting, the color of the compost is black or dark brown. You should not see much of the scraps left. All the micro-organisms live on this stuff while it is composting, and they do the work for you. Here is an excerpt from an article on composting from 'Dummies.com'

Making Compost - Black Gold for Your Organic Garden

The best and most refined of organic matters is compost, which is organic matter and/or manures that have decomposed until they resemble loamy soil. Thoroughly decomposed compost contains lots ofhumus — the beneficial, soil-improving material your plants need. Whether the original source was grass clippings, sawdust, animal manure, or vegetable scraps from your kitchen, all organic matter eventually becomes compost.

Making your own compost is probably the simplest way to ensure high quality compost and save some money. It's really not as complicated as you may think: The many commercial composting bins and containers on the market make it a mess-free and hassle-free process.

A well-constructed compost pile — built with the proper dimensions and maintained correctly — heats up fast; decomposes uniformly and quickly; kills many diseases, insects, and weed seeds; doesn't smell; and is easy to turn and maintain. Conversely, a pile just thrown together rarely heats up and, therefore, takes longer to decompose. This type of cold composting doesn't kill any diseases, insects, or weed seeds; may smell bad; and definitely looks messy.

Containing your compost pile makes it look neater, helps you maintain the correct moisture, and prevents animals from getting into it. You can build your own, as shown in Figure 1, or buy a commercial home composting unit. The advantages of a commercial composter include the availability of a wide range of attractive sizes and shapes and ease of use. Choose from box-shaped plastic and wooden bins and barrels or elevated and easy-to-turn tumblers, as shown in Figure 2. Store-bought bins are costly, however, and produce only small quantities of compost at a time, especially compared to a homemade bin that's built from scrap lumber or wire.

Here's what you need to know to build a good compost pile:

1. Choose a shady location, out of the way, but still within view so that you don't forget about the pile.

The soil under it should be well drained.

2. Make a bin.

Create a wire cylinder that's 3- to 4-feet in diameter or build a three-sided box (similar to the one in Figure 1), that's 4 to 5-feet high and wide.

3. Add brown materials.

Add a 6-inch layer of "brown" organic matter — such as hay, straw, old leaves, and sawdust — to the bottom of the container.

4. Add green materials.

Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of "green" organic matter, such as green grass clippings, manure, table scraps, or even high-nitrogen fertilizer, such as cottonseed meal, on top of the brown layer.

5. Repeat these layers, watering each one as you go, until the pile is 4 to 5-feet tall and fills the bin.

A smaller pile won't heat up well and a larger pile can be difficult to manage.

6. Within two days, mix the layers together thoroughly.

Particle size should be varied, smaller particles hasten decomposition.

7. Cover the pile with a tarp to keep rain away and preserve moisture.

If the pile gets too soggy or too dry, it won't heat up.

Not all organic matter is good for the compost pile. Following is a look at what to add to a pile, what not to add, and in what ratios to add it:

• What to add to the pile or composter: What you put in the compost pile is up to you — just remember that it needs to be from an organic material. Here's a short list of possibilities:

• Hay, straw, pine needles

• Leaves

• Kitchen scraps (egg shells, old bread, vegetable and fruit scraps)

• Animal manure, except for dog, cat, pig, or human

• Old vegetables, flowers, or trimmings from trees and shrubs

• Sawdust

• Wood chips

• Weeds

• Shredded black and white newspaper. (In the past, color printing used heavy metals in the ink. Most color printing now uses soy-based inks, but it's better to avoid them in the garden altogether to be on the safe side.)

• What not to add: Some items don't belong in your compost pile. While hot compost piles can kill off many diseases, weed seeds, and insects, it's not a sure thing, and some of these unpleasant guests may survive to invade your garden again. Certain materials can also invite unwanted wildlife to the pile or spread human diseases. Avoid adding the following to your compost bin:

• Kitchen scraps like meats, oils, fish, dairy products, and bones. They attract unwanted animals, such as rats and raccoons, to the pile.

• Weeds that have gone to seed or that spread by their roots, such as quackgrass

• Diseased or insect-infested vegetable or flower plants

• Herbicide-treated grass clippings or weeds

• Dog, cat, or pig feces.

• Let's talk ratios: In composting corners, you often hear about the C/N ratio or carbon to nitrogen ratio. Basically, all organic matter can be divided into carbon-rich (brown stuff) and nitrogen-rich (green stuff) materials. Using the right mixture of brown to green stuff when building a compost pile encourages the pile to heat up and decompose efficiently. Although nearly any combination of organic materials eventually decomposes, for the fastest and most efficient compost pile in town, strike the correct balance (C/N ratio) between the two types of material — usually 25 to 1 (that is, 25 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen).

Table 1 shows which common compost materials are high in carbon and which materials are high in nitrogen. Notice that the softer materials, such as fresh grass clippings, tend to be higher in nitrogen than hard materials, such as sawdust. Mix these together to form a pile with an average C/N ratio of 25-to-1 to 30-to-1, and you'll be well on your way to beautiful compost. Use the following ratios as guidelines. Actual ratios vary depending on the sources of the materials and other factors. And speaking of sources — be sure that your compost materials haven't been contaminated with pesticides or other chemicals.

Dummies.com- Composting

Scarlet Runner Beans Growing in my Garden

This garden bed has Scarlet Runner beans growing in it. I think I grew them a little too late last  year, but they should have a red flower on them. The beans are edible, but will have to be removed from the plant when small, because they will be stringy if left on the plant too long. (I've had my share of stringy beans. No more!). Hopefully, we will see some hummingbirds. They are so cute and tiny.

                                 

The Tower Garden - New Concept

Here is a new product that is coming out next month. Here you can grow a lot of food in a small space. It is called the 'Tower Garden'. It is an aeroponic form of gardening. Similar to hydoponics, Aeroponics are vegetables grown with not only water, but also oxygen. Here is a picture of the 'Tower Garden' without any plants growing on it:

Here is what the company says about their product: The Tower Garden® Growing System comes with everything you need to start growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits at home—including our specially formulated plant food and gourmet seeds. This aeroponic 5-feet-tall vertical garden allows you to grow up to 20 plants in less time than it takes in soil.


Here is the link to the 'Tower Garden' : Tower Garden
If interested, please contact me. The product will be in stock at the end of the month.