Garden Log 5-15-19

All this rain and cold weather derailed my planting plans slightly. Today I’ve decided to keep my work inside or very light. I plan to try to start some seedlings from old seeds. I’m sure they won’t grow but it’s worth a try. I plan to go buy some new seed today if time permits.

I’ve tried getting young plants from the local hardware store but for some reason the tomatoes I’ve gotten locally never really grow for me so I’m planning a trip to King George soon.

In the mean time I did get out and turn the mulch/composting pile and added some water since it seemed dry in areas. After all this rain I’m not sure how that happened. I’m guessing I didn’t saturate the pile well enough when I started it.

With so many leaves and vines in my yard it’s hard to get all the leave raked. I went around the pile and began raking the rest of the old leaves into the pile. I was stopped by weeds so I grabbed a glove and tore them out putting them in the mix as well.

It’s hard to tell in the photo but I’ve managed to clear a patch of dirt about a foot around the pile. The pile is about 2 feet tall and 3 feet around. From my research it appears it is best to keep the pile tall rather than let the edges tapper off. The smaller the depth the less likely the debris will break down.

Below are links to a few videos that have slightly different advise on creating and caring for a compost pile. The key is not to get all hung up in details, just start somewhere. The one ingredient most people neglect to mention in their video’s is time. So the longer you wait the less likely you will actually get started.

So if composting is something you would like to try then grab some brown matter and green matter and just start.

Composting 101 — Making Compost in Composting Bins and Compost Piles

Composting – Make it happen: A guide to backyard composting

How To Start Your Own Compost

Note: I have no affiliation with any of these channels. They were just some of the videos I found educational.

A reminder where ever you put your compost pile make sure it is somewhere out of the way, this is what happens when a pile of leaves is left to sit.