The weather this past weekened was great, despite the predictions for a foot of snow and possible blizzard-like conditions. Jon and I ate lunch outdoors at Panera Bread Sunday, surrounded by bikers. (As in spandex and ten-speeds, not leather and tattoos.) We were at one of those outdoor malls that apparantly backs up to a bunch of bike trails. Our food was yummy - Jon had a turkey sandwich on sundried tomato bread, and I enjoyed a Greek salad.
Afterwards we went to the library to pick up some veg cookbooks and organic gardening books for me, and then to a gas station/bait shop to purchase worms for Jon's compost pile. He drilled holes in a rubbermaid tub, filled it with shredded newspaper, dirt, and steer manure, and placed the whole thing in another tub to catch potential moisture. Then he added the worms and I added a few strawberry tops from breakfast. Unfortunately, by this morning all the worms were dead. So the new Question of the Week is this: How to keep your compost pile from killing the worms?? Any suggestions? It didn't get below freezing overnight, and the compost pile isn't in direct sunlight to overheat them.
On the up-side - one of the books I got from the library is called This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader, by Joan Dye Gussow. It's about a 60- or 70- year old woman who has slowly progressed to growing all her veggies (and a lot of her fruits too!) over the past 40+ years. I'm loving this book! It's very reminiscent of A Year in Provence, with lots of tips on organic vegetable gardening and information/motivation about eating locally and seasonally thrown in. I'm not done yet - but so far I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the environment, gardening, or just looking for a good story.
2 comments:
Hi guys - reading with interest about your gardening adventures. Hope your seeds fare well and do not suffer any grazing by the cats!
Concerning worms, the last Martha Stewart Gardening issue (March 2007) actually had an article on composting with worms, which I was quite intrigued by. I'll scan and send you the pages, but under the troubleshooting guide, 'Worms Dying' was linked to excessive moisture suffocating the worms. The offered solution is to limit moist scraps, such as tomatoes; add dry bedding; leave lid off for a few hours to air out...maybe more garden soil and less manure? Good luck with the vermicomposting!
Actually, Jen urged me because she saw that Martha article, and I talked with my brother about it since he used to have a "worm farm". I do think that their (my) downfall was making the soil too wet. I opened up the lid today, and was suprised how wet that dirt was. I'm leaving the top off the tub overnight in hopes that some of the moisture goes away.
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