I’ve had a very satisfying day today and managed to do a few jobs in the garden and I’m starting to sample the fruits of my labour!
Rich moist compost
After a year using an experimental compost bin made from a old dustbin and water butt and adding a few worms the results are fantastic! Nice rich moist compost which will help to grow more veg, and lots of it too. I’ve already started on the second batch so no kitchen scraps will go to waste! There is something that brings me great pleasure in seeing the full cycle of growing / eating / composting as you feel like nothing goes to waste and its incredibly easy too. If I can do it anyone can, in fact imagine all the carbon that could be removed from the air if we weren’t shipping in fruit and veg from half way across the world all year.
New Potatoes
I’ve managed to squeeze in lots of different crops this year mainly due to having a few extra containers. The original 3×3 meter raised bed still produces most of the veg such as the lettuces, tomatoes, kale, phenol and the broad beans, but I’ve supplemented what I can grow with pots! I managed to get a early crop of potatoes in and I have some very nice looking carrots to pull out the ground very soon. I’ve also tried onions this year and they seem to be coming on ok. I have the normal spring onions and radishes in smaller pots at the front of the bed. I’ve also been given some runner beans in a pot and I’m hopping if I feed them enough they do ok not being put in the ground.
3x3 Meter Patch
The strawberries are doing really well too and to add to the fruit this year I’ve been given a black current bush which I still need to plant out. If your a techy like me and you don’t currently grow your on i urge yo to try it, even if its just a herb pot, it will give you a break from the screen and real sense of achieving something. I am however interested in hooking up some arduino action to monitor the grow of the plants, and maybe even get them to twitter when they need a drink! Sad I know but I’m a sys admin at the end of the day and I like to script things! Fingers crossed I’ll have some more really nice food this year and I’ve had some good fun producing it so far. I’ll be sure to blog or twitter more as I pull them out the ground!
