Snow on Trees
With all the snow that is falling this February you need to knock some of it off trees. Take you broom and swing in an upward motion under the limbs. They have enough weight on them and don't need any more downward pressure.
No Measurable Precipitation
Two weeks ago I would have told you to go fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and dump the entire bucketful onto a tree and then go do the same thing for every tree. That is exactly what I did for my trees and some of my other bushes and plants. Do not let your trees go over 30 days with no measurable precipitation.
Bear Root Trees
Get ready to shop for bare root trees. They will be showing up a Lowe's and Home Depot any day. Pick out the one you think you want and then go into the store and look in the Sunset Western Garden Book and find out if the one you picked is good for this climate.
Starting Seeds Indoors
Get ready to start your garden seeds indoors the end of this month.
Iris
Fertilize your iris.
Compost
Check you compost. If it hasn't decomposed much this winter then add a big handful of ammonium sulfate (the stuff you use to make your lawn green) to your compost bucket and mix it in.
Showing posts with label compost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compost. Show all posts
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
How I compost
Compost needs equal parts of green and brown. And it also needs heat, oxygen, and moisture.
What is green and brown?
Green is all of your fresh picked plant piece, fresh grass clippings and your kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps.
Brown is all of your dried leaves and dried organic plant material.
I use all the fruit and vegetable scraps from my kitchen as my green. For my brown I use chicken or steer manure or even finished compost if I run out of the other two. I like chicken manure the best because it heats up the compost pile better than steer manure.
I do not use grass clippings, because they pack down and make a thick tight layer. I would have to turn my compost pile if I used them and I don't want to be bothered turning it.
I water my compost buckets about every 2 weeks. I add water until I start to see it run out the holes in the bottom of each bucket. In the winter time I let the snow and rain water for me.
DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING:
Citrus peel - they just get hard
Meat
Animal by products - except you can use egg shells.
Any food product that has oil in it - like leftover salad or vegetables with salad dressing, mayonnaise or butter/margarine on it.
Tomato plants - poisonous
Potato plants - poisonous
Rhubarb leaves - poisonous
Charcoal briquettes
Flavored coffee grounds
Weeds that have gone to seed - seeds can live for years and some seeds need heat to make them germinate.
Clippings from grass that has recently been treated with any chemicals.
Manure from pets that eat meat, such as dogs and cats.
Equal parts of green and brown make the microorganisms break it down.
Remember this saying and you will be on your way to great compost. If the compost smells bad it means there is not enough brown in the mixture. It should have a clean earthy smell.
What is green and brown?
Green is all of your fresh picked plant piece, fresh grass clippings and your kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps.
Brown is all of your dried leaves and dried organic plant material.
I use all the fruit and vegetable scraps from my kitchen as my green. For my brown I use chicken or steer manure or even finished compost if I run out of the other two. I like chicken manure the best because it heats up the compost pile better than steer manure.
I do not use grass clippings, because they pack down and make a thick tight layer. I would have to turn my compost pile if I used them and I don't want to be bothered turning it.
I water my compost buckets about every 2 weeks. I add water until I start to see it run out the holes in the bottom of each bucket. In the winter time I let the snow and rain water for me.
DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING:
Citrus peel - they just get hard
Meat
Animal by products - except you can use egg shells.
Any food product that has oil in it - like leftover salad or vegetables with salad dressing, mayonnaise or butter/margarine on it.
Tomato plants - poisonous
Potato plants - poisonous
Rhubarb leaves - poisonous
Charcoal briquettes
Flavored coffee grounds
Weeds that have gone to seed - seeds can live for years and some seeds need heat to make them germinate.
Clippings from grass that has recently been treated with any chemicals.
Manure from pets that eat meat, such as dogs and cats.
Equal parts of green and brown make the microorganisms break it down.
Remember this saying and you will be on your way to great compost. If the compost smells bad it means there is not enough brown in the mixture. It should have a clean earthy smell.
Compost Buckets
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