Tulips and Compost

Tulips are up and beautiful! I planted this one years ago and it still comes up year after year.

Also in bloom are Bleeding Hearts.
And the lilacs are just beginning to bloom.



Last fall I dug up a spot along the front border of the vegetable garden and planted daffodil, hyacinth, and tulip bulbs. I did this because for years I've planted tulip bulbs throughout the perennial flower/herb garden and they don't do well there. Plus I often forget where they are and accidentally dig them up. A few years ago I planted daffodil bulbs in our front yard but not one came up. We have moles and I am assuming they ate the bulbs. So I thought I'd try a small spot devoted to bulbs to see how they do there and they look lovely. So I will expand that area and plant more bulbs in the fall. It's nice having enough to cut and bring indoors.



Yesterday was a long day adding compost to the vegetable garden beds and strawberry patch as well as adding hay mulch to the paths. I like to use hay for pathway mulch because it breaks down into the soil at then end of the season. I first line the paths with 2 layers of newspaper and then cover with hay. I use the newspaper so that any seeds from the hay, which is a perennial grass, don't take root in the path ways. That would be terrible! I wanted to get this done because we were going to have a good rain last night and we did. Here's my lower vegetable garden with hay newly put down in the pathways.



Straw is another mulch material and many folks use straw rather than hay on their strawberry beds. This is because, unlike hay, straw is an annual so the seeds of straw aren't as much a threat. But straw tends to be a bit more difficult to find, at least up here it is. And it tends to be double the price. I buy my straw at a local horse shop. Hay I get from a local cow farm.

This week I will spend a good amount of time adding compost to the flower beds, raspberry patches, shrubs, trees, and upper vegetable garden. Compost...what can I say about compost?! There is nothing more beneficial for your garden than compost. Farmers and gardeners who know the beneficial value of compost refer to it as Gardener's Gold or Black Gold. Because compost is pure gold to the plants in a garden. Rodale's book on Organic Gardening introduces compost nicely so I'm going to put it here,
" In the soft, warm bosom of a decaying compost heap, a transformation from life to death and back again is taking place. Life is leaving the living plants of yesterday, but in their death these leaves and stalks pass on their vitality to the coming generations of future seasons. Here in the dank and moldy pile the wheel of life is turning."

Compost can be made from just about any organic matter. When you hear or read the word "organic" you are reading about something that is carbon based. And if something is carbon based it is/was living, made up of cells (or a cell). When folks say they have an organic garden they are using the word "organic" differently. They are referring to the process of gardening without using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Rather organic gardeners use compost for fertilizer (as well as other "natural" materials) and use methods such as crop rotation and biological pest control. Organic matter for compost can include plant material such as leaves, grass clippings, vegetable and fruit waste. All those things can go into a compost pile. Food waste from plant material can also go into compost pile such as bread, pasta, and coffee grounds. Egg shells can also go into compost. But anything from meat, oil, or cheese cannot go into a compost pile as it will attract unwanted rodents. Compost adds needed nutrients to your soil; it also adds to the texture and structure of your soil. Compost adds worms and beneficial microorganisms to your soil as well. Compost loosens clay soil which allows roots to grow and water to reach your plants' roots. Compost adds texture to sandy soil allowing the soil to hold onto moisture. Simply said, compost makes your soil better and when you have good soil your garden plants grow better. Healthy soil is of the utmost importance in gardening. If you don't compost now is a great time to start. For some basic information visit the University of Illinois site at: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/compost/process.html

Since the dandelions are blooming it was time to plant potatoes. After turning a spot and digging in lots of compost an area in the upper garden was ready. Here is a picture of the potatoes before I planted them. Before you plant them you cut them up, being sure there is an "eye" in each section and each section needs to be big enough to "feed" the eye piece as the eye piece establishes roots. The potato is the food for the developing potato plant. Once the potatoes are cut they need to sit for 24 hours before you plant them.



Below is a picture of the potato bed after planting. Notice the hay on the bed to keep the soil cool.


Up in the garden are peas and the first and second plantings of beets, spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes, and Swiss chard. Broccoli is growing but slowly. Onion sets are in. For herbs, sage and thyme are just starting to leaf out and chervil and cilantro are up.

Next week is Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend is the traditional garden planting time here in Maine. Some folks put in their tomatoes, peppers, and corn. But this has been a very cool spring. We've got the woodstove on today and it's May 17th. I think I'll wait until the first week of June to plant my tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, squash. and annual flowers and herbs. So for now I'll continue with composting and mulching the gardens.