composting and the garden

We worked hard on Saturday.

We all worked together outside, in the yard and in the garden. There was a lot to do, and I was glad to get so much accomplished.

Our spring garden has come and gone. We are in full swing with the summer heat, and it takes it's toll on the plants and gardeners alike.

We enjoyed a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables from our garden these past several months.

I have bought very little from the produce section when I go to the grocery store. Grapes, strawberries and bananas mainly.

But it was time to pull it all up, and start preparing for the fall garden.

My husband does most of the heavy work... digging, tilling etc. He also produces a pretty mean pile of compost... the real secret to our garden's success.

Here's our compost pile, just behind the brown shed.

Surprisingly, it is not stinky. It smells.... well..... earthy.

You can see the layers of brown leaves and green grass clippings. Buried under there is also our kitchen scraps (vegetable trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds etc).

After months of watering and turning, this pile will become what I have heard gardeners call "black gold". I am still very much a novice gardener, but I have learned the value of good soil. It makes all the difference.

If you are interested in making your own compost, it is very easy. When I was doing research, I found a lot of over-complicated information. Keep it simple. You can also purchase compost from your garden center. Before we had our own, I would buy mushroom compost. Good stuff.

Can you see the large tarp over one of the the garden areas? Even though we will start planting in just a few weeks, this helps with weeding, and also heats up the soil quite a bit. The heat will help kill things that you may not want sticking around for your next crop.

So... we were able to get the garden prepped...

AND we got the yard spiffied up.

After hours and hours in the heat, I slipped off to the kitchen and whipped up a cold treat for us all.

{recipe here}

This was the perfect ending to our hot summer day!

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