I don’t have room in my yard for traditional composting, but I do have worms that work faster than any other composting method I’ve previously used. Believing that organic sustainability does not have to cost a lot of money, I made two worm bins using large storage totes with lids. Holes were drilled around the top 4 inches of a container as well as throughout the bottom; in another bin, I put two bricks on the bottom to allow for drainage and put the drilled bin on top so it nest inside leaving at least the top 4 inches exposed; this ensures an oxygen flow that worms need to survive. I then filled the top container with a mixture of grass clippings, last year’s leaves, a handful of sand, a handful of dirt, some leaf hummus and kitchen scraps (again, no animal matter, oil, ads or construction paper.) Mix it all up, add 500 red wigglers, and watch the wonderful power of worms. Known as vermiculture, composting organically with worms reduces waste. Feed your worms at a 2:1 ratio. One pound of worms will consume ½ pound of organic waste per day. After tunneling though the loose mixture and eating whatever else you feed them, they leave behind castings (AKA worm poop). You could use castings as an addition to your potting soil; about 20% worm castings added to whatever else you normally use should show significant results. Usually I just add a light layer to the garden's topsoil allowing rainwater to work it further down.

Today, I spread one bucket of worms (both red wigglers and young night crawlers)along with their castings and fresh compost to my garden. Last Monday, I released approx. 100 worms along with food scraps and a nice layer of partially decomposed leaves. I'm really working on the new soil of our community garden plot. It still needs much amending; at least that's what my tomatoes are telling me.

Middle 7-1-10

West 7-1-10

East 7-1-10

More tomatoes

Tomatoes; how many will each plant produce? How long does their growing season last? To answer these questions, start by determining whether your variety is indeterminate or determinate. Most of the varieties I planted are indeterminate, meaning they will continue to flower and produce fruits until the local growing season has ended with frost. They grow six feet on average, requiring support by either caging or staking. Continue tying-up growing stalks to support their weight. The earlier they get planted, the earlier they mature, the more tomatoes you can harvest.

My tomatoes: Brandywine, a pink heirloom variety and Cherokee, a purple heirloom are both indeterminate, should begin ripening within 3 weeks; I suspect it may take longer for Cherokee. Sun Gold and Sweet Million are both hybrids, indeterminate, and already producing. Jubilee, indeterminate, expected within 4 weeks. Grape tomatoes are indeterminate; they are already producing. Roma, my only determinate plant, can be expected within 3 weeks. Determinate plants ripen entirely within a few weeks time before going dormant; they produce fruit quickly then stop. I remove the suckers from the bushy tomato plants; these are green leaves with no flowers that suck nutrients away from the fruit producing leaves; not always recommended for determinate varieties.

Put the leaves along with any other garden debris into a compost pile. If you don’t have time, energy, or space for composting, there are two bins located at the community garden that will happily accept your scraps. Be sure to leave out all animal products, oils, newspaper ads, and construction paper.

Let the tomatoes begin

The weeks since my last post have been full of activity. Leaf hummus, coffee grounds and egg shells have been applied to the garden, raising the soil level a total of one inch. Thanks to a fellow gardener, a fresh mix of compost was spread around the tomato plants. All of the plants show growing signs of green appreciation. The heirloom Cherokee tomato plant located in the northwest corner of the garden finally began to get larger but no fruit yet. Sweet Million and grape tomatoes ripen regularly now, providing a delicious addition to our backyard garden lettuce. The Sun Gold and Brandywine tomatoes all have swelling green fruits with flowers still blooming.

Even with frequent trimmings, basil plants remain abundant; I left one stem of each basil plant to flower, providing an invitation to my garden for pollinating bees. Fresh basil can be used in pasta dishes, salads, marinades, soups, and stews; the possibilities for cooking with herbs are endless. With a total of four basil plants, two at the community garden and two in backyard pots, I have leftovers; I remove each leaf, spread them on a paper plate and let them dry for about a week, turning occasionally; dried basil is then put into a zip tight bag and put into the deep freeze for use all winter long.

Five Romanian sweet peppers were harvested from a thriving plant. At about three inches long, these yellow bell shaped peppers will be stuffed with grass-fed ground beef and pork mixed with white rice and tomato for dinner. Unlike traditional stuffed green peppers, Romanian peppers will add a sweeter taste. Also, using grass fed meat reduces cooking time and temperature and has a significantly lower amount of fat; this will allow me to bake the stuffed peppers on the grill instead of heating my kitchen by turning on the oven. As far as the other pepper plants in my garden are concerned, they still need more TLC.

Cabbage plants that have been eaten by an uninvited guest show signs of hope with a reduction in small holes. No, I haven’t done anything to deter the problem; no beer traps or diluted dish soap spray. Cabbage plants and I have a long, rocky history, usually ending in surrender to persistent pests. I have tried everything recommended to me over the years, so this year I decided to do nothing.

This brings me to three dying cantaloupe plants located in the northeast corner of our plot. I dug them out, built 3 mounds with leaf hummus provided by the community garden, replanted and watered with a healthy dose of worm juice. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.