songbird wrote:
continuing the stories...
....

it has been a while hasn't it?

what has changed this year:

i now limit my squash, melon, pepper, cucumber,
etc. seeds to the same bucket (number 1). after
having too many squash seeds sprout under the
beet rows that they were pushing all the beet
seedlings out of the ground... this way i can
use that bucket in particular when i want to
start a more random garden. the rest of the
containers will gradually get cleared of their
seeds or at least many fewer will be left to
contend with.

added another bucket (for natives found
during renovations or other gardening tasks)
to the lineup (making it 15 containers).

changed my soil renovation routine. previously
i would bring in a few buckets of garden soil to
incorporate into the worm bins as needed during
the winter months. that means that the later
bins would not have that much going on because
they were started so late. this year, in the
spring, when i put the worms/worm castings out in
the gardens i immediately restarted all of them
with a few scoops of soil from the garden along
with plenty of worms. a much more active use of
the whole system. when Ma decided to make fruit
salad for four families twice a week a bit ago
i had no trouble keeping up with all those melon
peels.

at present i'm drying chopped alfalfa and
birdsfoot trefoil (and whatever other weeds) for
storing to use during the winter. we have sunny
and dry weather, so it is a good time to get that
done. they do so much for me i don't mind spending
a little time putting by some good winter chow
for them in return.

we now call the worms members of Union 396.

had a bunch of nice ladies over the other day,
all most interested in seeing the worms at work.
very funny. someone always asks me if i sell them
and i respond that they wouldn't sell their
children would they? Ma likes to say that she
tried but we kept coming back.

peace,


songbird