Composting Has Begun!

Ok so I’m delinquent in posting life just gets so busy that I plain forget! 
The Worm Factory arrived and I eagerly unpacked all of it and started assembling.  I wanted everything to be ready for my wriggly friends when they arrived so I’d been saving some kitchen scrap goodness out of the compost pail for them.

Originally I’d set it up in the laundry room but decided that in the corner in the sunroom would be better.  For one it’s out of the way, but I figured the brighter natural lighting would encourage my new friends to burrow down.  I used compost, shredded paper, blank newspaper and the ‘core’ that came with the Worm Factory to set everything up.  I buried some pears and coffee grounds in the corner and waited for the worms to arrive.
They were shipped in a box and I learned that they lose 70% of their weight in transit!  So the first order of business is a drink of water.  They were then poured into the factory and left to do their wormy stuff.

I’ve been checking in every couple of days to see how the food supplies are and make sure it’s not overly wet. Which as of this morning I believe it is so I’ve sat the lid off to the side to let it dry a bit.

Not quite sure what these two were up to, but I can certainly ‘hope’ that they were doing what it looks like they were doing! That would mean that the living conditions are to their liking and that would make me very happy!

The specks off to the right I ‘think’ are worm mites.  They won’t hurt the worms unless the numbers get too high, this is why I think it might be too wet.  The book I’m reading Worms Eat My Garbage, says when you see them you can take the cover off for a few days because they like it really wet.  So that’s why I did that!  There is a whole world in that factory now all kinds of organisms working together with the worms to turn my kitchen scraps into compost and I think it’s so fascinating!

Worms are eating my garbage and I’m happy to feed them!

Happy Composting!

In Which We Address Daffodils..

A friend recently waxed that daffodils were the ugliest flower on Facebook and he was immediately reprimanded for having made such a statement.  I being of sound mind did not comment on the comment as I am, as you know fond of all flowers and really don’t know that I’ve ever seen an ‘ugly’ one.  Strange, odd, unusual and even garish but never ugly.  After reading his comments I went out into the garden to stroll and look at my collection of daffodils to see why he thought them ugly.
 

 
Daffodils are heralds of Spring that burst from the ground and explode in an array of blooms and colors.  They are tough and ask for little in the way of care requiring but a sprinkle of bulb food every season.  They are impervious to deer and rabbits which in my location is a bonus beyond measure and they return faithfully each year with no pruning, prodding or fussing needed.  For me, daffodils are many things but ugly isn’t one of them…

Compost Happens..Project 2

So I filled you in on one of the big projects yes there are others in the planning stage.  I however have a much smaller (and easier) project that will be arriving in the next few weeks that I’m very excited about!  I’ve always wanted to do Vermicomposting, which is a fancy way to say, Worm Composting!  I love compost but gosh do I have the worst time with it my compost piles just never seen to get enough heat generated in them to really work.  They do eventually break down but it takes a long time.  Well here’s where those wonderful worms come in!  See I compost all my kitchen scraps and now that we are doing the CSA (Farm Share Program) and eating more fruits and vegetables I have even more kitchen scraps and guess what the worms like to eat!  So I placed my order today for my Worm Factory 3 Tier Composter

And…
My big old box of Red Worms!  I can’t wait to get these guys and get this all set up.  Instead of dumping my kitchen scraps into the compost bin outside I’m going to be feeding these little guys all that goodness and in return, they are going to make some nutrient rich compost for me!  When I have everything I’ll take pictures of the set up and share, because I know you are all just dying to see this!
Happy Composting!

A Million Miles A Moment… Project 1

It’s that time of year at least for me when the plans, ideas and design dreams abound.  I’ve got more going on in my mind about things I want to do, need to do and dream of doing than there are hours in the day.
The pond is going to be the first big scale project this season it’s in need of some TLC for sure.
The rocks here and around each of the sides of the skimmer section have sunk, they are after all just dry stacked.  The goal is to take them ALL away, get some larger stones and gravel make a good sturdy base and start over, back filling the right way.  I also want to turn the front section,
Here into a nice alpine style planting area.  It gets a lot of sun and I think a selection of alpines will soften the look of the rocks, maybe make it look a bit more natural.  I’ve been reading up on the stacking of rocks to make planting pockets, so I’ve got a better idea of how to make this really work…I think.
Now over here,
I’m putting in a nice bog garden.  I’ll be moving back the rocks from all along this side, including those at the edge of the pond.  I’m going to dig out this area several inches and put a piece of liner with a few drainage holes in it.  Then filling it up with a mix of our lovely clay, some compost and a lot of peat.  I’m going to put a section of soaker hose in there as well so that if it starts to dry out it will be easy enough to water.  I’m lucky in the sense that it won’t get too much sun which means hopefully it won’t dry out as much.  I really want this area for my bull frogs, here’s hoping that it wasn’t one of the giants that Randy found in the skimmer last fall
Finally, the waterfall, it’s in dire need of a rebuild.   It’s green and isn’t flowing as well as it should.  We actually had a pond renovator come out and talk to us about fixing it but the cost was insane.  I’ve ordered several books on the subject and we are in the planning stage of either moving it way back and creating a stream or just moving it back a few feet and widening the area and altering the slope with dirt.   If we move it way back it will be back behind that stump, personally I’m not sure that the scale of a stream leading to our pond would be right.  So I’m leaning more towards the moving it back a little and making it wider, but only some rope and vision will make that decision.  Hopefully, we will get a warm and not over booked weekend here soon to start working!