Worm Bin Video

Here is a video of my worm bin taken by my daughter, Kimmi.

Vermicomposting

Since I have been gardening for the last few years I have been watching a lot of gardening shows to get inspiration and information. I had been hearing a lot about worm castings and how good they are for your garden.  my first year gardening, I used a lot synthetics in my soils like Scott's fertilizer.  I learned that while that makes your flowers grow, but its bad for the quality of your soil.  Eventually, its counterproductive.  Its also really bad for the water run offs because it causes algae blooms.

I heard a story about farm lands than have been overworked, so they used synthetic fertilizers to grow their crops.  If they stopped using the synthetic fertilizers then nothing would grow at all. I heard about a study where the soil was checked for quality in a farmer's field and the best soil was right around the fence line. Because the farmer didn't plow there, the worms were undisturbed.  The synthetic fertilizer wasn't there to kill the worms or degrade the soil quality.

I was curious about worms already and then my daughters and I went to a gardening expo.  There was a man there selling worm bins calling it vermicomposting. My youngest daughter bought me one for Mother's Day (thanks, Cindy).  The worm man taught me how to care for it.

Basically, you keep your worms in a bin and you throw in your organic garbage.  Everything they eat they poop out as fertilizer. It looks, feels, and smells like rich potting soil. If you do it right, then it doesn't stink.  It actually doesn't even have a smell.  I keep my worms outside in the spring and summer, but in the winter I bring them in.  I love my worms and I don't want them to be cold.

At the end of this season I harvested two bins of worm castings. When I collected it, I put it in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and store it.  I'll just store it until I am ready to use it. So far I have used it on every house plant and potted plan that I have. My flowers, tropical plants, blueberries clematis, and lilac. I put in anywhere from  3 tablespoons to 2 cups depending on the size of the plant.

I put the worm castings in my tulip cactus because it was in dire need. All of the other plants got the worm poop about 2 weeks ago so I haven't seen how it has effected them yet. I expect to have 5 gallons of worm poo by next spring.  They slow down production in the winter time, but because they live in the house during the winter, it doesn't stop completely.

The Way I Garden

I love gardening because I love flowers, but everyone should know that I am very inexperienced.  I do everything by trial and error.  Once in a while I will look something up, but research is not my cup of tea.  I find that when I do research something, it just leaves me with more questions.

I've got the basics.  everyone knows you need good water and everyone knows you need good water.  I check out people's yards when I drive around town.  I watch to see if there is anything that I like and take note of what time of year it is, and base my garden planning on that.

I also learn a lot from watching Gardening With Cisco on TV.  He recommends that you find master gardener at a reputable garden center.  I like to go to Shorty's because they have been in Vancouver for a long time and their master gardeners are always there and ready to help you.  They can answer any question I have.

The benefit of going somewhere local because the answers that I find on the internet aren't always compatible with my area.  A master gardener will answer all of your questions, you don't have to do any of the research, and all of their answers are based on location.  Also, his answers are instant.  I walk in with a question and I walk out with an answer, supplies, and sometimes even a full stomach from the cafe.

So, I have been gardening for about 3 years now, and I have just begun.  I am seriously thinking of starting to extend my garden into the fall.  Ornamental cabbages, pansies, and fall vegetables are some things that I would like to try out. Parsnips, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, lettuce and chard are things I'm looking forward to experimenting with.

Tulip Cactus

I got this cactus from a friend of mine.  She just pinched a couple of pieces off and told me to stick them in the dirt and water it once in a while.  She said it would do fine.  I did what she said and didn't get any blooms the first year, but I just kept taking care of it.

My friend keeps hers in her garage window in the winter, but she takes it out around Mother's day when the night temperature gets above 50 degrees. She hangs it on her clothes line in the middle of her yard in a hanging basket all Spring in Summer.  It gets full sun there, but it also gets all of our PNW rain. I asked her wouldn't that be too much rain for it, but she said that it does just fine.

The second year that I had this, I brought it inside for the winter and stuck it in a window.  I watered it just about the same as all of my other house plants. I put it out this Spring and it just grew like crazy. I put some of my worm castings in the potting soil, about 1/2 cup.  After that, it grew so much that I had to place it on a plant stand so it wouldn't drag on the ground. I placed the cactus out in my front yard where it gets about 6 hours of full sun a day.  It grew like crazy and I have had blooms from Springtime until now.

So, now my plant has grown so much this season that I plan on dividing it so I can have two.  I plan on just keeping up with what I did last year because it seemed to have worked out fantastic.  I am always worried that I am watering it too much, so I hold back on the amount of water, but I always give it some whenever I water the other plants.

I just love this cactus.  It's so striking.  I think that it has had up to ten blooms at one time.  They are large and vibrant, and really catch your eye.

Welcome to My Garden!

Welcome to my gardening blog.  I hope to share many stories and pictures with you as my garden grows!