July 2012

Regardless of the inclement weather,  every thing from fierce wind storms, the month of May the wettest month on record and then days of unusually hot weather, my garden is really producing a beautiful crop. Their is corn of course, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, scarlet beans, strawberries, melons, etc.  For just a whim I planted some flowers including nasturtiums.

WHAT A JOY !

2012 - A New Gardener Year

A New Gardener Year is upon us...2012.

Tree that was removed

 Basic layout of bricks for Garden

 Various views during 2011

 Rhubarb, Beans, Strawberries

 Corn, DayLily 

 From Road looking Opposite Direction

O how I miss that beautiful tree !!!  Of course I was told that my first year would be a waste of time as the soil was full of contamination from the 50 or so year old evergreen tree. Here in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, we call these majestic trees Pine trees and Fir trees and Spruce trees. 

So I followed the advice given in my eBook, using the soil acid test and general tips for success. While digging the soil by hand to remove the huge quantity of roots, the gravel mixture that was used by the developer was very evident. Not to be discouraged, and after a lot of spreading and digging and spreading, an almost reasonable soil mix was managed.

The asparagus was a failure...too dry I think. The beans and corn flourished! My hope is that the strawberries will be better this year. 

At first it was impossible to find worms but by the end of the year there were lots of them. It pays to work the soil with compost.  

The effort to water efficiently sure paid off for the tomatoes. I put a small water trickle seeper at the base of the plants. No water on the leaves and lots of pruning back.

The ebook author really knows her stuff !!  Gave me a base or foundation of ideas to get started with and made it easy to ad my own ideas. After all, my life profession has been fixing cars!   Give me an email if you would like the eBook ...Fre*e 'cause I think you would like it tooo!

Barrymor3@gmail.com
(ask for the book and I will email it to you)

Kelowna, BC, Canada

Bokashicycle | Anaerobic Compost

   Recently a process came to my attention regarding a new composting concept in a sealed five gallon pail. This is composting without oxygen, which is the opposite of what we normally do in our compost bins in the garden.
   This is a sealed process consisting of a pair of five-gallon buckets that take very little space. Once the first bucket is filled it is sealed tight so no oxygen can enter and the process to "pickle" anything from vegetable matter to meat and bones takes as little as a week's time.
   Meanwhile, you start filling the second bucket and mix the processed contents of the first with your garden soil and watch it disappear in short order.
   A tea can be drained off the spigot at the bottom of the bucket for use as a fertilizer for garden and container plants.
   The system is called Bokashicycle  and along with the kitchen waste process they have a separate system for pet waste. This system for recycling pet waste takes the pooh and turns it into a wonderful nutrient blend for the flower and shrub beds.
   For more information on the two systems go to www.Bokcashicycle.com
Thank you Don Burnett