Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Thursday, April 16, 2009

April 17th. Compost and veggies and auger , etc.

There was a compost bin to assemble, tomatoes and veggies to plant, compost tea to be doled out to each vegetable already planted, and other gardening chores to be done.

My compost pile was less than perfect by any standard, but it did get the job done.

But now I have a better compost bin. It is not one of those very expensive types, it is very simple in construction, and, the price was right. I have decided I now want some kind of auger Thingamabob to help turn the compost. Somewhere a long time ago, I seem to remember reading an article, about someone using an auger style tool. I will have to look into it.Update: I looked into it and found information on The Manic Gardener

I found just the one I want, but according to The manic gardener
Quote: Well, guess what. A hand-held auger is available in Britain, and I’ll betcha you could buy one in practically any country in Europe, not to mention Asia. But this is the United States of America, and we don’t do that sort of thing.
Sheesh! a person can't win for losing.
My honey is very good at making things, perhaps he can create something I can use. I will put it on his "to do list" *chuckle*


I planted 10 tomato plants and surrounded them with these water filled plant protectors. I was amazed at how warm the air inside the first installed protector felt, by the time I finished with the last one. There are only three plant protectors to a package which meant I was one short, so I had to come up with a plan to protect the last tomato plant.

Here is another use for your bulb planting tool. Click on picture to enlarge
I use mine for making the holes to plant my seedlings, which were started in peat pots. Make a hole, drop the potted seedling in, gently firm down, water, (I use llama compost tea) and the job is done. See, couldn't be easier.

I have my photos out of sequence, but was too weary to change them around. Here is what I came up with to protect the last little tomato plant. I filled six empty soda bottles with water and placed them around the plant, then surrounded the whole thing with bubble wrap. I will pull the top closer together to protect the tomato plant. How's that for kiwi brainstorming?

My honey installed four vertical frames today. They are made from PVC pipe with steel pipe inserts to make them rigid and they can be easily removed at the end of the season to be stored for the winter. Tomorrow I plan on starting the job of stringing them, a back breaking job I am thinking.
Thanks honey, I could not do all this work without your help,
I appreciate it very much.
Now I need to lie on a heating pad Oh!! My aching back.

11 comments:

Dirt Princess said...

Quite a little operation you have going there. Very clever :)

Victoria Williams said...

I like your homemade wall of water. Great idea.
I have a great compost turner; it's called "Hubbie".

Anonymous said...

Ouch! Oh yes KeeWee, I'm familiar with Achy Back Syndrome! But it's gratifying to have things looking nice. I'm sure your hubby is going to enjoy the "fruits" (and vegetables) of your (and his) labor.

The weather is supposed to be gardener-friendly this weekend. Methinks we'll have Achy Back Syndrome for several days in a row--if we're lucky. Cheers.

Becca's Dirt said...

Very creative KeeWee. I have a similar contraption I made for composting. It works. Good you have a helper to create for you. It will all be worth it.

Peggy said...

Hi KeeWee, we may have augurs to turn compost (I have not seen any)but I am fairly sure we dont have those nifty water filled thingys for the tomatoes! I love your kiwi ingenuity as I have quite a lot of tomato plants and not enough room in a greenhouse for them so I may give your idea a try.

Rusty in Miami said...

I am looking for a new compost bin, my homemade contraction is not working out. Where did you get yours?

David said...

Great home made water wall! I am doing compost for the first time in an old metal trash can and so far the stuff looks and smells right. I turn it with a wooden stick.

tina said...

What a cool use for a bulb planter. I can see this working good, but my bulb planter is like never used for planting bulbs:(

Anonymous said...

Brilliant idea with the pop bottles KeeWee!

Pat said...

Love your set-up for growing tomatoes !
Now your a girl thats really is into gardening. Way to go !!

Heather said...

You have been a busy one! I love the ingenuity that went into the final tomato wall of water. Your garden looks fantastic :-D