How To Build A Compost Bin

If you've always wanted to start your own compost pile, but didn't want the unkempt look of a compost pile in your backyard, you might want to consider building your own cheap compost bin out of scrap or salvaged materials. Compost bins can be constructed out of everything from salvaged bricks & concrete blocks to old wooden pallets headed for a grinder.

If you're really serious about wanting to make a difference in the world, you can help reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills by learning how to build a compost bin and start composting your daily organic wastes.

Compost

Building your cheap compost bin can also be an excellent educational opportunity for parents to not only teach their children how to recycle used materials, but also teach them more about where our food actually comes from. So gather some ideas, get out there and assemble your compost bins out of whatever you can find available and get composting!

Carrots Going To Seed

I 'accidentally' let some of my carrots go to seed this last summer. They were actually carrots that should have been harvested last year that I left in the garden over winter and they started growing again this spring. The main purpose of the carrot in its second year is to produce seed. And produce seed it did!

As I was cleaning out the garden bed yesterday, I noticed hundreds of tiny carrots that had started growing already beneath the dead plants. I also had some chickweed that had already sprouted and taken hold in that area. I could have spent an hour or more weeding out between the carrots, so I just turned the soil over and called it done.

There were literally thousands of carrot seeds still clinging to the dried heads above. Those were put in a bag to sort out & save later this winter when I find a little more time on my hands. I don't believe I'll be needing to order any more carrot seeds any time in the near future.

Baptisia Australis - False Blue Indigo

This beautiful little plant, Baptisia Australis, is known by several common names; False Blue Indigo, Wild Blue Indigo, False Indigo, Blue False Indigo, Horse Fly Weed or just plain old Wild Indigo.

False Blue Indigo is a member of the legume or pea family, thus the pea-shaped blue flowers. The perennial Baptisia Australis grows to a height of 3-5 feet with full sun and in sandy, loam and clay soils, although the plants will tolerate some partial shade. False Blue Indigo will grow practically maintenance-free in zones 3-9. Plant in groupings of three or more for best visual effect in your landscape.

Keep Animals Out of Your Garden

One sure-fire way to keep animals out of your garden is to fence it in & lock it up like Fort Knox, razor wire and all. But most of us have to settle for some old wire fencing or homemade sprays to keep animals out of our gardens. Whether your animal pests are deer, chipmunks, rabbits, raccoons or even your next door neighbor's favorite pet, there are a few things you can do to keep them out of the garden. Even if money is a little tight.

Tips to Keep Animals Out of Your Garden

If your neighbor's cat or dog uses your flower or vegetable garden as a litter box, keep a garden hose with a sprayer handy in the area they visit most often. When you catch them making a mess of your garden beds, give them a good high-spray soaking. Hopefully they'll learn quickly to leave your garden beds alone.
Sometimes, with neighborhood pets, you can get away with just acting like you're throwing something at them and yelling wildly at the same time. Who knows, maybe your neighbor will hear you and take action to see their pet doesn't visit your garden again. Or, you could just politely speak to them about it.
Deer can jump high fences even from a standstill. Some people have success with keeping deer out of the garden by tying fishing line around the garden and then tying bright marking tape on the line. It supposedly confuses the deer and they look for greener pastures.
Keeping raccoons out of the garden is a bit of a trick. Sometimes you have to resort to electric fencing to keep them out. If your garden is away from the house, you could try electric fencing powered by a solar charger. The solar chargers have come down in pricing quite a bit and are now affordable for even the most frugal backyard gardener.
Rabbits are pretty easy to keep out of the garden if you can find some old fencing or chicken wire. Just pound in some fencing stakes, wrap the fencing around the garden and you're pretty much set.
For smaller animals like chipmunks and squirrels, or even rabbits if the fencing option isn't on the table, you may have to try homemade plant sprays. You can find homemade plant spray recipes all over the web and then experiment with one that works best for your garden plants.

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis, sometimes called Preying Mantis or Pray Mantis, due to their predatory nature are a beneficial organic insect control in any garden setting.

Praying Mantis can be used as an effective organic pest control for the organic vegetable garden.
You can occasionally catch a praying mantis in the garden feasting on aphids, grasshoppers, beetles, moths and flies.
Their exceptional ability to blend in with their surroundings gives them the upper-hand when pouncing on unsuspecting prey.
One point to keep in mind, if given the opportunity, praying mantis may also dine on other beneficial pests in the organic garden.

Praying Mantis Life Cycle

Praying Mantis Babies

Praying mantis adults mate in late summer.
Contrary to popular belief, female praying mantis do not always bite off the head of the mating male.
Female praying mantis lay their eggs in a frothy egg mass called a Mantis ootheca (ō-ə-ˈthē-kə).
Baby praying mantis are hatched in late Spring and may resort to cannibalism if they cannot find a sufficient food source to sustain them.
Egg masses can be placed in a glass jar with a breathable top in mid-Spring to observe praying mantis babies hatching.
Praying mantis have a total life cycle of one year.

Praying Mantis Egg Mass

Garden Tillers - Rear Tine Tiller or Front Tine Tiller?

Garden Tillers - Rear Tine Tiller or Front Tine Tiller?

If you're interested in growing a vegetable garden you may want to consider purchasing a garden tiller to prepare your garden beds. There are so many different features when it comes to buying a tiller and it really helps beforehand to know what features you need for your particular garden. If you already have a spot where a garden was planted in the past, you could probably get by with a front tine tiller. But if you will be breaking new ground for your new garden or plan on making gardening a serious hobby then you may want to go ahead and purchase a rear tine tiller for the garden. There are a few notable differences between the two.

Rear Tine Garden Tiller

A rear tine garden tiller has its tines mounted on the back of the tiller with a shield to protect the operator.
The rear tine tiller is best suited for breaking up the soil in new garden plots, but works equally well in maintaining garden beds.
Rear tine tillers are usually a bit heavier in weight compared to front tine tillers, but the weight helps when tilling new garden plots.
Rear Tine tillers are self-propelled and most have forward and reverse gears to make your tilling job easier on your back.
After first breaking up the soil you can usually maneuver the garden tiller with just one hand while tilling.
A disadvantage in rear tine tillers is tilling into tight corners, especially in a fenced in garden. Some have handles that will adjust to compensate for this, but it can still be a pain working in this situation.

Front Tine Garden Tiller

Front tine garden tillers have the tines mounted on the front of the tiller.
They are more lightweight than rear tine garden tillers and thus easier to wheel around.
A front tine tiller works by pulling the tiller forward by the tines so if you need to reposition the tiller you have to do so by hand.
Front tine tillers are good at maintaining garden beds, but if you hit a large rock or tree root they can sometimes give you a good jerk.
One of the main advantages of a front tine garden tiller is the ability to till into tight corners.

Earthly Explorations

How To Build A Compost Bin

Carrots Going To Seed