worms and lasagna

 

My place is located in Northern Pennsylvania.    The day after Halloween I brought home aproximately one ton of pumpkins.   I'm guessing that it's almose ideal fo the worms.

 

I'm layering it (chopped) with manure, leaves and coffee grounds.  

 

I just came up with the tought of adding solar heating pads toi my layered garden beds.

 

This summer I read an article titled 'lasagna gardens'.   simply layered raised beds.   I've converted most of my garden plots ( about 10 around the house and yard) to this technique.  Every bed gets an inoculation of worms occassionally...   they are having a ball!

 

Now that cold temps are approaching, I'm using large heavy weight, 3 mil, trash bags holding about 10 gallons of cinders (from coal burner) to create 2' x 3' solar pillows covering the beds.  A) it's cheap, B) gets the ashes out of my basement, and C) it will keep the worm colonies from driving down too far to escape the frost line.  

 

My place is on a north facing slope and I have built my garden beds up to where they actually are higher at the north end, to capture more spring sun.   I'm guessing the inclined beds will add three weeks to my season, and there's no telling what the heting pads will add...   let's update these notes in '09!

 

 

Intro to a new, and yet unknown, friend

OK, Sunshine... I have 'technically' hung up the office phone until Monday (except for a series of automotive emails that need to go out in the next couple hours and one or two significant magazine phone calls tomorrow...) so What's in the Weekend!? I decided that I like people more than I like numbers, so quit the plant manager/engineering career after 20 years and two months to go into sales. The income can be all over the board, but it's sure great being intimately involved with my client's business plans and successes. Did my graduate degree in Admin & Organizational Behavior. Mostly psych and decision making theory, and group dynamics... I use that a LOT! (this is 'no shit') While waiting for tires to be mounted on my truck, I think I came upon a kitchen layout that could work here at my place... been struggling with the layout for 2+ years. I have a high tolerance for 'underconstruction' and low concern for 'finishing touches' when it comes to my surroundings. I usually move into the houses I'm flipping during the construction phase and move home (to my 'home' home) between projects. ergo my place is the last one to get worked on. Now that the flippin' flipping business has ground to a flippin' hault, I have a perfectly good winter staring me in the face and figure it's time to get rolling here. Even sketched out a temporary kitchen to create in the garden room (3rd bedroom which became the garden prep project) so I can build cabinets and move walls without getting sand in my Schlitz. (see college humor and Schlitz beer, et al.) And, (this letter is long enough that I had better add it to my blog) while I'm sketching the temp kitch' plumbing I hit on an idea for the bath, which shares the significant wall. As I always told my ex(s) "tHIS JOB WILL TAKE A DAY OR SO". You can guess what that led to...

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Jeff

too many weeks

can't believe it's been this long since i posted. Lasabna gardens are finished... had tremendous results... great tomato crop, beautifull zennias, 4 o'clocks, so many others. will recap the photos and have them posted shortly.

Now I'm cleaning up spent beds and replenishinging layers for re-composting over winter. Everything I can put a bed of compost into gets a contribution of worms from the worm project. These buddies will work all winter to compost the veggies and organic stuff, and be there in the spring to be my underground workers.

I did the pumpkin beds tonight,,, finished after dark. layer of coffee grounds, then newspapers ( I pick them up formt he locdal recycle bins), then grass clippings. this last two weeks has been awesome for the lawn.

This weekend I'll dump a couple thousand worms into each bed. they will work all winter on whatever layer isn't frozen. Everything they touch turns into black gold!

My winter vermipost inventory will be here for early beds and for sale.

Last weekend I moved most of the worm cultures into the basement and moved a couple of the rabbit hutches inside over the worm beds to feed each other. some of this stuff is so easy!

Happy gardening, and enjoy the awesome autumn weather!

Jeff

August wrap up

Garage is being converted to a worm farm. very intreguing green process to turn grass clippings, manure and phone books into worm turds that go in little bags to sell to organic yuppie's for tea (garden).

3rd bedroom is entering 3rd year of garden research center. envelpoes of swquestered flowers and seeds in PPL bill envelopes. Started a mealworm project a couple months ago and am on 2nd generation of beetles now. am pushing 2000 worms and feeding them to birds in a feeder mac bought me for xmas couple years ago. interesting little critters... you can actually hear them munching!

Personal adopt-a-frontage project has won local aclaim as the highway department mowed AROUND my sunflowers and wildflowers!

and the rabits? (I wonder if I should go back after the typos, or if it fits me better in the 'as entered' format?)
Did I tell you about rabbits? When on the farm I started raising them for food. Absoulutely the best white meat. I'm sure the american culture will never make the transition, but then again, we don't eat dogs or goats much either. Just bred the Senior Lady for the third batch. first batch needs to start processing soon... g/f will go through withdrawl, but life needs to go on.


Looking forward to three days of scheduled nothingness... three email newsletters to process by Tuesday dawn. will tinker in garden, drink beer, do some photography stuff, keep my hands in dirt, not think about realestate (4 houses go to auction in November) , and enjoy country living.

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Lasagna Garden - about half...

So I read this newspaper article about a raised bed called a Lasagna Garden while visiting my 14 y.o. daughter. No, I didn't buy the paper...

leave sod intact, layer 4" of newspsper, grass clippings, leaves, compost, sod from other project, water, newspaper and cardboard. Some of these thoughts are from my experience with worm farming. Soak the whole thing, cover with tarp and wait 6 weeks.

Opened it this morning found, as I sort of expected, the top layer didn't do much, but down about 6" ( 12" was depth after it cooked down) and it looks great. Took the top layer to another similar project to re-cook. Should have photos later today.

Will plant some with seeds, some with transplants.

Septic finished