Cleaning the Pond

The pond was a mess.  After the long winter and recent 80 mph winds, it was full of pine needles, pieces of paper and a bunch of plastic plant pots.  I had not deep-cleaned it for about 5 years, so the bottom was covered with smelly black gunk and reed roots.

I pumped out as much water as possible, took off my jeans and plunged into the muck up to my knees.  After doing basic cleaning, a heroic battle ensued with the hydra roots of the water lilly.  From a tiny pot, it had grown to a 3 ft square slimy mass weighing 50 lb or more.  Sword in hand, I chopped it down to a mere 30 lb solid block and refilled with clean clear water.


The pictures are from fall and early spring last year.

Gray-water Irrigation System

The snow has finally melted and the frosts are intermittent, so it is time to redo the greenhouse watering system.

Water from the roof, showers and the clothes washer is collected in a 200 gallon tank.  I have diverter valves on the drain pipes in the crawl space that I turn on in the Spring and off in the Winter.

From the tank, the gray-water is filtered and travels underground to each of the 3 greenhouses via a 1" plastic pipe.  Each greenhouse has a shutoff to isolated the 1/2" distribution pipe that channels the water to the t-tape (flat drip tape) that runs the length of each greehouse bed.

This weekend, I cleaned out the supply pipes by attaching them to a pressurized hose, checked the filter system and started laying new t-tape.  I was excited because i had found some t-tape with 4 inch spaced emitters made especially for greenhouses. 

Unfortunately, once I had cut the the tape to the right lengths, set them up nicely and turned on the water, I found the company, Rain-Flo Irrigation had sent me t-tape with 12" spaced emitters.   They refused to credit me for the unused portion, so I am stuck with them.

Such is dealing with companies with poor customer service!  I will get the right stuff and try again when I have time.

Digging in the Garden

I was away over the last week and could not get into the garden.  So this last weekend was a bit of a marathon. 

I found that some strange roots (possibly aspen) had invaded some greenhouse beds and created a interlaced network about 9" below the surface.  Out came the Big fork (10" tines while the Little fork has 5" tines) and I had an energetic time getting most of the roots out.

Although I espouse minimal dig methods which only disturb the top 4 inches of the soil, I actually love to dig!  I was raised on double-digging that goes down 18" but that is not a good idea in my sandy soil.  So I create new beds (like the potatoes) or renovate the old ones as an excuse to get some real exercise.  I have my eye on a new patch for next week!

Preparing for Spring with Microbes

Not a very interesting weekend in the garden - mostly clean-up after the snow and getting ready for the burst of growth that will happen as soon as it stops freezing at night.

I sowed more cover crops (peas and barley), planted out the leeks and transplanted lots of Swiss chard seedlings that had set themselves.  The variety is my favorite - Verte a Carde Blanche - very sweet with a wide white stem and slightly crumpled deep green leaves.  We use the leaves and stem as almost separate vegetables.

I ran a bunch of Fall leaves through the shredder ready for another compost pile.  The old pile had cooled down so I turned it over, added a couple of handfuls of rock dust, some M3 and a good dose of Bountea.  The extra nitrogen and microbes really worked - in a couple of days it was steaming hot again.

It is always best to add all amendments, particularly rock dust, to either the Bountea or your compost pile. That way everything gets processed by the microbes.  Microbes are king of the garden. The picture is of microbes in compost tea.

Green Manure for Tomatoes

This is the right time to begin thinking about your tomato beds.  I am not  exactly sure where all the varieties will fit but I know they like lots of food.  I had 15 minutes to spare today, so I sowed some green manure in a couple of places.

I gave the 2 beds (each 4' x 6') a shallow forking and raked them smooth.  This year I am experimenting with Field Peas and Spelt.  I usually use clover and barley but I wanted a change.  The big seeds are easily sprinkled over the soil.  I gently raked them in and covered with a light dusting of leaves.  That's it.

The seeds should germinate quickly with the peas climbing up the spelt stems as they grow.  In May/June, I will fork them under and plant the tomatoes.

The First Compost Pile of the Season

Saturday was a beautiful Spring day. In a burst of sun-induced energy, Orianne and I plunged into the garden. We stripped off the row covers to see what was alive, dug up the last leeks, cleared away the leaf mulch from the cover crops, tuned over a couple of small beds and made a bin of compost. 

We tend to collect a number of 5-gallon buckets of kitchen waste before I get round to composting them.  The buckets sit on our deck, slowly disintegrating into a stinky rotten mush.  This smelly decomposition is caused by anaerobic microbes that like a sodden acidic environment.  While this muck is not directly good for plants, it is high in nitrogen (the smell is ammonia, NH3) and makes excellent compost when mixed with garden waste.

I got the chipper shredder fired up - it is the secret to making quick compost.  I dumped alternating amounts of wet kitchen waste and dry leaves into the shredder hopper.  The ground mixture spewed straight into the 3' x 3' compost bay.  I turned the mixture, soaked it with plenty of water and covered the pile with a plastic sheet, a layer of carpet and an old comforter.  The next day it was heating nicely.

I managed to get stinking waste all over myself, so I smelled pretty bad afterward -- one of the many joys of composting.  

Any composting tips you would like to share?  Comments?