My newfound interest in growing roses and my very expanded vegetable garden have led me down some wild YouTube rabbit holes lately. One of the main topics I've been trying to learn about is composting and using natural, organic methods of building up soil.
Can you guess what this is?
That, my friends, is a bucket of "tea" made of earthworm poop (!) that I mixed up and used in the garden a couple of weeks ago. I'd read lots of stuff online about how good it is for flowers (specifically roses) and also vegetable gardens. The only problem was I only had access to our city water, which has chemicals in it and isn't good for making the tea. So, I had an idea! I asked the young guy next door (Ms. Luella's grandson, who bought her house) if I could have a 5-gallon bucket of water from his outdoor spigot, because they still have well water. I told him why I wanted it, and of course he said, "Sure, take as much as you need" but I'll bet he thinks I'm kind of nutty! But in any case, I got my non-chlorinated, non-treated water and all the plants seemed to perk up a little when I gave them their first dose of "tea".
Anyway, last night we finally got some much-needed rain, and I had a plan. I made a rain barrel out of a large, sturdy Rubbermaid trash can and positioned it in a spot where water runs off the roof. It got totally filled up with rainwater! There's a lid to keep out mosquitoes until I'm ready to use it. The next time I want to make Worm Poop Tea I won't have to go ask next door for the water!
The garden's looking good. Last night's rain made a big difference.
The Rattlesnake beans are really getting going now. In the foreground: squash seedlings. Behind and to the left and right of Poppy: the two tiny corn patches.
Tomatoes are looking good.
I love sipping a Gin and Tonic on the porch after working in the garden. Thanks to Mistress Maddie for inspiring me to use borage flowers in them!
So pretty. So refreshing.
34 comments:
Ooooh, borage flowers in a G&T is a good idea! I'm going to use that.
Where on earth do you get worm poop? Is this something you buy? We use liquid seaweed as a fertilizer and it's pretty effective.
I bought a bag of "worm castings" in powder form. I got it at Lowe's so it must be readily available!
Yay I'm so glad you liked it! I love a nice g i n and tonic in the afternoon. And yours looks like a very pretty presentation. And the borage adds a subtle flavor. I don't know if I told you this, but I do have a lot of roses. One tip my aunt always gave me was to add my old coffee grinds into the soil around them. Coffee grounds can be beneficial for rose plants if used properly and in moderation. They can provide nutrients, help with soil acidification, and even deter some pests. You just have to make sure you don't overdo it with too many, and not too often.
That gin and tonic looks fabulous!
I’d love to down a gins with you one day xxx
The rain barrel's an inspired idea. And yes, do use a lid, not only to keep mosquitos from laying their eggs there, but also to keep out squirrels. Sometimes they get in rain barrels and drown.
The G&T with borage flowers looks so pretty and refreshing!
Everything looks really healthy. We have a worm farm where all our kitchen scraps go. We get the castings and tea.
Very nice. I'm still in the small sprout stage.
The one thing I miss most of all (now that I have no veg garden) are the Tomatoes. Shop bought Toms are rubbish.
It's only 7:30 in the morning and way too early for alcohol (for me), but I'd LOVE that G&T with the flowers! Must give this a try next time I'm at O.K.'s, or my Mum's for the evening.
Your garden is coming along nicely. I am surprised you didn't already have a rain barrel; here, everyone with a garden has at least one, positioned at the bottom of the drain pipes running down from the roof.
Your gin and tonic is so elegant! I’m waiting to see what else you pick up from Maddie! How did you get all those earthworms to poop in the bucket?
I'm laughing at the idea of house-trained worms!
Your garden looks good, Jennifer. Keep up the great work!
The cocktail looks good, and a nice way to end a day of gardening!
I'm not sure what sort of compost it is that we're using on the garden this year but it looks like the plants are loving it. Also trying to get as much oak leaf mulch on it as possible. Glen's got me keeping the coffee grounds and egg shells to use on our tomatoes so that's going in there too. We are now watering with well water even though we're on municipal water for the house.
But your garden really does look amazing. We southern women and our gardens and roses...it's a cliche but it's so often true.
I had no idea!
genius!
Me too!!!!!
It's easy to keep up the good work this time of year, before the heat, humidity, and pests explode! We're in the sweet spot right now.
Gin and tonic is my summer go-to.
I'd like to carefully wrap and ship a small case of good tomatoes to you!
I am mad-jealous of the garden especially the tomatoes, I miss them so!
What sort of gin?
Nothing special--Beefeater's.
Mary! My new rose has five tiny flower buds on it!!!
Which part? lol
We normally get enough rainfall that I'd never really considered needed one, but last summer was especially dry. Let me know if you like the G&T with borage! :)
We're well ahead of you in summer weather down here!
A worm farm! Fun!
Oh no! I'd never considered squirrels drowning. That would be awful. We have a handful of squirrels that come hang out near the back fence, hoping for me to come put out peanuts for them. Which I do regularly because they're fun to watch. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them!
We'll make it happen one of these days, my friend!
Very cool and refreshing! There's a slice of lime in there too, below the ice.
I welcome any rose advice you can give me, Maddie! This is all new to me, but I'm having fun!
It looks like you have trained Poppy to guard your vegetables. Good idea!
I spy with my little eye, a tomato! I am trying so hard not to be jealous.
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