The Compost Chronicles

I've not abandoned this, however you can really only write so much about burning boxes, working on compost and the like.  Some progress is being made on finishing up the raised beds, so I'll talk about that a bit later in the week and we've made some solid plans for our property so I'll talk about that too.  Just not today.

I've had a cold coming on for the past few days and today I feel like it's really settled in.  This means I feel like crap.  We'll catch up later, I promise.

Fall is definitely here.

We were starting the worms inside and all seemed to be going well but turns out the Red Wigglers should probably be called Red Runners...as they can and will escape even though the result is certain death by dehydration.

So the first day of Autumn is tomorrow and that makes me feel a little wistful.  It's been an incredibly eventful year though and I'm thankful for all the changes!

Took a stroll through the backyard yesterday and discovered literally heaps and heaps of garlic chives beside the shed.


I LOVE garlic chives so I'm sure we can find many uses for it.


I'm not sure there are many (or any) more days for lazing about in the sun in my hammock.


and the dandelions have all ended their reign.


Haven't seen many (any) visitors to the birdhouse.


There are still a few things blooming though.


and the yard still shows evidence of work to come.

More sprouts on the go. These ones are a mix of Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Canola, Radish, Mustard, and Arugula.  They have a lovely, fresh and spicy flavour and are particularly excellent in sandwiches. They are also quite easy to get started and maintain in a jar without soil.  I'd write out the instructions for you, but someone has already done a terrific job of it here
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Also made a great purchase this past weekend, found a pair of Hunter boots (THE pair I always wanted actually) for 1/2 price at Winners.


I really lucked out in that Hunter boots contain multiple size information.  They start the list with UK sizing, then Men's US sizing, then Women's.  Winners had put these out in the Women's section but using the Men's sizing.  So these were on the size 6 rack but are actually a Women's 7.  They were the last pair and I nearly didn't try them because of the size 6 thing (and I'm sure many others passed them over for the same reason).  I suddenly decided to just try anyway and VOILA!  Perfect fit!  That's when I noticed the sizing confusion inside.

So I now have a really cute pair of rubber boots and didn't pay an arm and a leg for them (just a forearm).

I've started researching sheep, this is something I want to consider in the next 1-2 years.  From what I can gather we have plenty of room to support a small flock, I'm really only interested in having 2.  These are the ones I like best so far, Babydoll Southdowns.  They are a bit on the expensive side and if I do want them in a couple of years I'll probably have to start looking very soon in order to be placed on a list, so we'll see.


They'd make great natural lawnmowers and possibly a source of home-made sheep's cheese although to be honest, I'm pretty sure I don't want to deal with breeding and all of that.  Anyway, as I mentioned, this is all research for the future.  We still need to get our chicken coop built and stocked and worry about them first!  There are a few chicken breeds that look interesting, I'll write about them as soon as we've made some decisions!

Did not get as much accomplished this weekend as I would have liked.  Our cat is experiencing some fairly serious health issues and the weekend was fairly preoccupied with dealing with him.  I did get some very limited work done on the side flower beds and that is basically it.

We did find a Gingko Biloba tree under all the overgrown weeds we cleared out last week though.

Apparently the leaves can be made into a rather healthy tea or eaten in a salad; I'll be researching this further. This specimen is still rather small.  I discovered these trees have the potential to live for a 1000 years!

Burned through more of the mess that came out of the garden weeding adventure, or should I say Darrick did.


We've also got a good start on some Arugula and a new batch of sprouts.

 Our vegetable gardens next year are going to be raised beds.  There are many advantages to this approach including pest and soil control and ease of maintenance.  Darrick is nearly finished building and preparing our first one.  He has built the frame and the sides are large patio stones.  He will be adding a ledge all around as well.



The bottom has a wire mesh across it to prevent primarily moles from coming up into the bed.  It has been filled with earth, peat, compostables and we will continue to add to this mix (including our worm castings) in preparation for planting next year.


 Ultimately, we should end up with about 4 of them to start.  I'd like to produce enough to have a small stand in the summer months as well as supply ourselves.

In the meantime my Meyer lemon tree is exploding!  2 lemons are thisclose to being ready and there are 10-12 more in various states of growth.



And it's blooming AGAIN!


 I'm anticipating approximately one more month of outdoor time for it, then inside for the colder months.  I'll add a lime tree to the mix next year.  I'd also like a fig tree but know nothing at all about them so something to research for next year as well.

The red barn has a lot of potential.  Right now, it's FULL of old wood etc. but we have been slowly burning our way through it and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Maybe a few sheep?  Again, something to research for future days.  For now as I mentioned, it will be the location of the vermiculture project.  Our chickens will have a coop right next to it.


The Jerusalem Artichokes are EVERYWHERE!  They are actually quite lovely and surround our firepit area in an extremely pleasing way.  Unfortunately they are also occupying a large area of usable land so most of them will be dug out.  We'll likely be trying to cook with them a bit this Fall as well, this recipe in particular sounds amazing!


For the first time in, well, ever, I'm looking forward to Autumn and all the changes it brings!