This post is long, long overdue. But…I made dirt! My compost did it’s thing beautifully and made a terrific pile of soil.

I had to stop adding to the compost for about a month since I only had the one pile. And even still I had to go through by hand and crush up eggshells. When I started the pile I didn’t realize how much you really needed to crush them so there were quite a few hidden in the pile.

Another thing I learned about composting is that you need a pitchfork! It really is a necessity. I tried just using a shovel in the beginning, not good! Not good at all. But the pitchfork, the pitchfork is wonderful! It cuts into that pile like buttuh!

And as predicted, the flimsy hardware cloth is not doing well. I can see it now from my kitchen window collapsing under  a few inches of snow and ice. I did manage to make another pile though. This one is in a garbage-can I can put by the back door so I don’t have to venture too far out in the ice and snow. I’m looking forward to the Spring when I can get my composting back into full swing using a two pile system!

And by “killer” I mean AWESOME tomatoes! It is unbelievably satisfying to grow and eat your own food! To know that they are truly fresh, vine ripened, organic vegetables! So great! And so delicious!

Now, tell me. What do I do with them all?!

Salsa- check. Guacamole- check. Pasta with fresh parsley and diced tomatoes- check! Check check check

Now what?

No seriously, I’m open to suggestions!

…canning?

The tomatoes have really taken off! In fact, maybe a little too much. I counted the other day and there are 35 tomatoes growing out there! I think I should have paid closer attention to what my plants were doing. My next post may end up being on how to make home made salsa and marinara sauce.

I can’t wait until they ripen up! Looks like two of them will be ready in a day or two. You know, one of my favorite things to do growing up was to pick tomatoes from my best friend’s garden. I would stand there in the garden munching away on the warm tomato with the juice running down my arm. A perfect summer moment.

Woo Hoo! Composting! Is it crazy that I am so excited about this? …Nah

So many ways to compost! Tumblers, piles, bins, balls (!?), drawers, pallets and worms, Oh my! How to choose? Well, lots of research I am sorry to say. You just have to find what’s right for you. Will you compost indoors or outside? How much room do you have? Will you continually add to the compost or put in one big batch at a time?

I decided to make a single enclosure my self; it is much cheaper and pretty easy to do. But it does have downsides that I will get into in a moment. I used hardware cloth and three metal stakes to make a triangle in a sunny corner of the yard. It took me about 15 minutes and cost about $20.

Now for the verdict! It has been a few months since I made this and I gotta say, I love composting! But I do not love my enclosure.

The plastic hardware cloth is much too flimsy and will not last the winter. I am also very frustrated with not having an opening so i can actually get to my compost. Having to bend over and turn the compost has become such a pain! It’s to the point that I now climb into the pile to turn it. My shoes don’t like this method at all! I also don’t like only having one pile. I think I need two or three piles going at the same time that are at different stages of decomposition.

In doing more research and talking to family members who also compost, I think my next adventure in composting will be to make a two or three bin, open front system using wood pallets. However, I will still have to put up some kind of fencing because of those damn…er, adorable bunnies.

For a very long time I have wanted to have a garden but I have always lived in the city with little or no yard space. Sure I’ve had potted plants, herbs mostly, but never a “real” garden. But with my recent move I gained a yard! A real yard! So we plowed ahead (Ha! Sorry) with prepping and planting a garden. Ah, gardening! Ripping up grass! digging up dirt! … About two hours later we stopped and made a trip to Lowes. Did you know Southern Pennsylvania is full of clay and rock?

We were able to rent this nifty little tiller that really got the job done!

After many hours of work we finally had a nice plot of tilled land. We took out about three inches of earth to make room for new organic gardening soil to mix in. We also had a pretty large pile of rocks!

In our area rabbits are a big problem! A cute problem, but a problem all the same. We used wire hardware cloth to encircle the entire garden and planted a border of marigolds. The hardware cloth has been great! The marigolds, not so much. Rabbits supposedly hate marigolds and will stay a way from them. However, a few weeks ago I found a rabbit hole next to the fence in-between two marigold plants. Oh well, at least the marigolds are pretty!

In our garden: Hot & Spicy Oregano, Garlic, Kale, Broccoli, Parsley, and Tomatoes!