Biomass

I seem to have much more to put in the garden compost pile. I still use the garden compost pile- to keep the dogs out of more tasty things..and then take the mounds over and put in the garden pile once well rotted.

I salvage very flower we pick , every eggs shell, all the coffee grounds....I think everything that can be used to up our hummus level does not belong in the dump. I pile up the goat manure ( the guineas are fertilizing as they go) and still have chicken manure mixed in. that goes on newly cleared beds; or mixed with some compost to keep the humus level up where things are growing.

I have green beans coming, by the handful..so I pick the handfuls, when they are perfect, and rinse them and put them in the crisper wrapped in a paper towel ( paper towels go in the compost too) I highly suggest picking all of your storage veggies, whether frozen or canned, as they are ready. put on the pot to blanch  them or can them while you cook dinner. so it;s only a package or two, or can or two, at a time. don;t you deserve perfect produce? and not overheating the kitchen trying to do everything in one day?

another thing i have noticed- I have amped the soil to frenzy, and I have to make sure water levels keep up. hasn;t been much of a problem, but i want to keep the lovely lettuce and carrots and tomatoes and beans and pumpkins going full tilt.the worms need the water as much as the plants.

it's also meant using a lot of cardboard to keep the lanes clear. the weeds are also happy- but in such loose soil, easy to pull.uses up cardboard instead of it going to the dump. yippee!

 I do have to keep up with lime and a mixed organic mineral blend- not 100 percent sure we are up to  par on that yet.But we are obviously getting close ( not on the lime- with this acid soil, that will be a constant...)

so the word that sums it all up is- biomass. treating the garden as a jungle, with mixed species, total soil coverage, and watching the massive amounts of leaves and fruits produced. all of this will further deepen the soil, so whether leaving it to rot, or moving it to the compost pile, we'll keep that lovely solar energy produced goodness for another year.,

Biomass, if you don;t have it yet, import it. use the lasagna technique, cardboard, compost, minerals, leaves, paper, straw, manure- build it to 18 inches thick. plant lightly until it is all eaten in the soil- then plant heavy., Mix it up, move plants around, Mix in flowers. Mix veggies into flower beds! get pots going( more controlled soil- for the stuff you think you can't grow- potatoes, carrots, etc). put something else in- flowers? herbs? to fill up the pots and protect the soil.

it becomes a feast for the eyes as well as the table, a home to insects to keep things in check ( the japanese beetles found the beans...I need to get some wet and feed to the guineas.) add some form of animal life to your garden. toad houses, bird feeders, bat houses, chickens,. goats......"borrow" the manure from a horse farm.

And when the biomass gets to the right point, like a forest or jungle, your garden will thrive, it will be like-nature did it all and you get to wander through and pick your herbs and flowers and veggies with almost no work.,.

Overabundance

I planted pole beans instead of bush beans. not sure how that happened. they are running over the tomato cages, tangling in the beds- neat!So thick I have been hacking them back so the tomatoes ( which have many many tomatoes setting) get enough sun.

the turnips were so enthusiastic, I learned to make turnip pickles. Mind you, I've never gotten an edible sized root from the things; just used them as ground cover. now I have a bunch to give away..I pull them and let the leaves stay as mulch....

Every few days we pull enough carrots, lettuce and onions for salad or other meals. I never grew carrots before.Herbs are off the charts. We have anything we want to cook with.I might start drying dill weed and things.

the parsnips are thigh high. that;s new too.

We have one type of basil with leaves so large, you could do small wraps with them. I've grown a lot of basil, but this year, the stuff is incredible.

the back flower garden,started in soil so bad, white chalky stuff no topsoil at all, I threw in mint as a ground cover and only bothered with compost where I dug holes to plant things- most died during the first years....is so thick, with the fig tree, hibiscus, lilies obedient plant phlox tomatoes and mint, you cannot see the ground at all.

Not all of this is due to an early spring ( I took a lot of chances planting early..it paid off) or compost or  manure, or guineas working the ground. some of it just seems to be- everything coming together.No pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. lots of good mineral supplements and lime. Lots of compost ( cuttings trimmings coffee and coffee filters, egg shells... you name it)I've whacked the nettles for compost-twice and the comfrey-once.

And I found honey bees working the pumpkins yesterday. the first in two years

We have more songbirds, new types ( like Baltimore orioles) and more grass growing where the goat's persistence in eating shrubs is finally paying off.

All I'm saying is, with more intelligent planning, you could have garden beds thriving in far less time than six years. and that- polyculture with your veggies, mixing up flowers in the veggie beds and veggies in the flower beds- it does work!