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.
