Making a Compost bin and flower bed

According to the Farmer's almanac, the next couple of days are barren periods, so I have been cutting back brush, cleaning and doing general garden prepping tasks.

Yesterday, I put together a compost bin out of pallets. This is a small structure but it will be good for keeping the compost aerated.

The soil underneath the previous compost pile looks very rich. As you can see, the soil is nearly black, full of nutrients.

Additionally, I tilled the garden in the front yard. Last year I had squash and corn growing here, and this year I will be sowing flower and herb seed. I have always wanted a big herb and wildflower garden here, so I am doing just that! Today I tilled here and hoed rows, and covered the area with clear plastic. All I have left to do now is sow the seeds but I'm waiting till tuesday morning. According to the almanac, tuesday till Thursday is the best days for planting so I'm going to stick this schedule.

I'll be planting here herbs such as Dill, hyssop, fennel, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, and summer savory. Then I have 4 boxes of wildflower seed mixes and one EZ strawbale full of 40,000 wildflower seeds. If I don't have flowers and herbs growing here this summer, then I did something wrong, because I'm sowing so many seeds to the point at least SOME will have to grow!

Don't think I have forgotten the tomatoes and peppers! I have them germinating and seeding trays indoors under grow lights. The last couple of days have been warm and sunny on the porch, so I have put the trays outdoors until the shade falls on the porch. To save on electric, I have put the trays on my dresser next to a warm, sunny window as well. The peppers have not made their move, neither have the beefsteak or Blavk Krims but the Red Cherry tomatoes have germinated and they will hopefully be transplanted out by May!

Compost Benefits (May 13th garden update)

Since 2011, I have been composting my food scraps. Every year at the beginning of Spring, I use the compost for a raised bed. In fact I have raised beds dedicated to 15+ strawberry plants. The raised beds contain 1 year of compost in each. Compost is organic, Vegan, free soil containing much more vitamins and minerals than conventional soil from Lawn & Garden stores. 

I have written other blog posts on the benefits of Compost here "Compost food scraps...and get food back for free" and "What you need to know about Compost". I will also add, if you wouldn't put animal derived foods in your Compost or toxic chemicals/materials, then we should also avoid these products in our diet (heavy metals, toxic chemicals, acid forming foods).

The most beneficial aspect of Compost is the free food it produces. For example, 100+ Tomatoes fruiting within the strawberry beds (As you can see in the pictures below).

Free food to be transplanted

Tomatoes in the strawberry bed

Strawberry ripening

Compost makes strawberries taste like candy

Pine needles are used as free mulch

I am fortunate to have come across cheap Tomato plants at Ace hardware. This allowed James and I to transplant up to  60 Tomato plants into the garden yesterday, as you can see below.
Tomorrow I will transplant the Tomatoes from the Strawberry beds (in pictures above) into Styrofoam cups. After several weeks the Tomatoes will grow large enough to transplant into the garden. I am able to grow half the Tomatoes for free, and half of them purchased-- all-in-all, a successful Tomato garden, and I will still be eating free, tasty, High Quality, nutritious food.
Below are photos of the Strawberries currently fruiting in the raised beds.

60 Tomato plants (Big Belgium, Celebrity, Rutgers, & Roma varieties)

Other tasks I have done today: directly sow 10 rows of Corn; two rows of Black-eyed peas, and one row of Lima beans. I will have several more bean varieties to plant. I also have another variety of Corn to plant. I will present pictures tomorrow or another day of the Corn and bean garden (which is placed across the road from my Grandparents). I may also transplant watermelon plants in a small portion of the Corn & bean garden.

At the beginning of May, flowers and trees are in bloom. One of my favorite trees, The Locust, is blooming out at this time of year. It is one of the most fragrant trees around my neighborhood. I have a picture of its blooms below. Also in the following picture is a Frog pond and tad pole transitioning into a Frog. We have several Frogs around the pond, and many Frogs around my Grandparent's property. It is a pleasure to coexist with other life...

Locust tree

Frog pond with many tadpoles

Transitioning into a Frog

Mentioned above, the Frog pond is intended for creating a Frog habitat. Frogs will eat the mosquitoes and other bugs around the gardens to prevent bugs from snacking on plants or me!

As always, continue to follow Vegans Living Off the Land for future Garden updates, and simply scroll down the page or click "older posts" for previous Garden updates. These updates are meant to be used as a guide, what vegetables should I grow at the beginning of April; or what vegetables need to be started indoors, etc. Explore this blog for your gardening concerns and answers!

Compost your food scraps...and get food back for free

Last month, when I shoveled out my year-old compost (to spread on the garden), old food scraps started growing from the seeds that I had threw out. I was so excited that I already had tomatoes and cantaloupe growing without any effort.

I am not sure the quality of the cantaloupe and tomatoes considering they're GMO, store-bought, imported cantaloupe seeds. Although the cantaloupe and tomatoes that grew from my compost are from non-organic seeds, they look quite healthy; and they may turn out very well considering they come from the best nutritional source.

What you need to know about Compost (& doing it for free)

Compost is a crucial aspect in gardening because it is FREE, ORGANIC, HIGH QUALITY material, that fertilizes your soil so you can enforce nutrition and strength to your plants. According to "Why Composting is Important" from Environment.gov website, up to 30% of the material we add to the landfill is organic materials that could be composted at home (i.e. dust, paper, and food scraps) for gardening. In other words, YOU should be composting to reduce the amount of waste you're adding to landfills, while you could be using that compost to grow food, for free, for you and your family. Using your own compost to grow your OWN food is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and your family.