Composting

It felt a lot like spring today at 76 degrees. Seemed like a good day to turn the compost.
I started this compost pile with a layer of browns, and then add a layer of greens, some old potting soil, and sprinkled in some blood meal. Mixed it well and add water as was necessary to moisten. I’m patient or lazy and use a Slow Compost Recipe: Slow composting is the least labor-and time-consuming way to compost. This method can take from six months or more produce compost, but usually don’t have to wait that long. I turn the pile occasionally to mix the materials together to prevent the materials from clumping together.
I use Organic trimmings from the yard, such as fallen leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, flowers and the remains of garden plants. I use Kitchen scraps, such as fruit and vegetable peels and trimmings, crushed eggshells, tea bags, and coffee grounds and filters when I can keep my husband from throwing them away.
It may seem like a lot of work but here are some reasons to try composting:
1. – Save the countryside (smaller landfill sites)
2. – Makes Healthy soil (rebuilds topsoil and microbial ecologies)
3. – Saves Money (use less commercial soil additives)
4. - Regenerates Nature (healthier plants and animals)
5. - Cleans air (Puts antioxidants into the atmosphere)

Great Backyard Bird Count

I'm getting ready for The 2011 GBBC will take place Friday, February 18, through Monday, February 21. I've downloaded my Regional checklist; filled my feeders and birdbaths, have my binoculars and bird books handy.

If you don’t know The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages and abilities in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. You don’t have to be an expert to participate; beginning bird watchers to experts are welcome. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds. For more information http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/whycount.html

Photo 1 is a Pine Warbler and Photo 2 is a Bluebird

Bulbs: a sign of spring

While walking back from taking scraps to the compost I noticed that a hyacinth bloom was starting to break the surface of the soil. Can spring be far behind? I noticed daffodil and some Iris leaves earlier last month. I walked around a little more and also saw tulips I’d planted in the fall poking out of the soil.
· Time to make plans to order/purchase summer-flowering bulbs for new beds or as additions to existing plantings.
· The best fertilizer for bulbs is a soil that is rich in organic matter.
· Spring bulbs whose shoots have emerged should be fertilized with a complete fertilizer as 10-10-10. If you used a slow release fertilizer in the fall it isn’t necessary to fertilize now.

What signs of spring have you seen in your yard?

Garden Checklist for February

Spring is not far off here in the Lowcountry and time to go over the garden checklist for February.

· Get my soil sample to Clemson Extension for my soil test!
· Time to buy pre-emergent herbicide for my established lawn and have it ready to apply when temperatures reach 65°-70° for 4-5 consecutive days.
· Fertilize ornamental trees, azalea, and camellias if needed.
· See if any of my perennial flowers (asters, coreopsis, daylilies, Shasta daisies) need to be divided or transplanted.
· Ready my raised bed and herb bed for planting lettuce and radishes this month: this includes weeding and adding compost.
· Prune summer flowering ornamentals just before spring growth mid-February through mid-March. Some in my yard include: Beautyberry, Crape myrtle, Roses, Osmanthus, Chaste Tree, Gardenia, & Glossy Abelia.)
.Set up second composter for kitchen scraps and yard clippings & leaves
.check for/pull winter weeds in flowerbeds

What’s growing in January?

What’s growing in January? It has been unusually cold this winter and I was surprised to see I still had a few vegetables and herbs in my garden. As you can see by the photo I still have some red leaf and Oakleaf lettuce, Lemon Balm (far left), garlic chives and rosemary in my small kitchen garden. This garden is in a very protected spot. Parsley and spinach are still growing in my raised bed but the lettuce did not survive. I really think I’ll try a cold frame for next fall/winter. I like having lettuce just a few steps away when I need it instead of driving to the store for fresh lettuce. What is a cold frame? It is a protected plant bed that has no artificial heat added. A cold frame has a transparent roofed enclosure, is built low to the ground, and used to protect plants from cold weather. It can extend the growing season weeks or months. I also found this anole sunbathing, not sure if he was growing but soaking up some heat at least!

January the quietest month in the garden

"January is the quietest month in the garden. ... But just because it looks quiet doesn't mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while microorganisms convert tilled-under fodder into usable nutrients
for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come."
- Rosalie Muller Wright, Editor of Sunset Magazine, 1/99

January in the Garden

I like to take a slow walk in the garden in January to evaluate the structure of the garden and decide what might need to be added or removed to improve the site and plan improvements for the New Year.

Some of my January and winter chores are:

Pruning leafless trees and shrubs
Adding to the compost pile
Weeding and mowing where needed
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas outdoors or indoors.
Sharpening and cleaning garden tools
Protect tender plants from frosts. .
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much garden digging but I can spend time Weeding the winter garden..
Indoor activities includes: sorting seeds, planning, reading, writing, browsing seed and garden catalogs, reading gardening, books and magazines.

Winter Gardening Tips for Wildlife

Make your garden a haven for wildlife this winter and the future with 4 easy steps:

1. Provide food for wildlife with native plants that offer acorns, berries and seeds.
2. Clean and fill your birdbath on a regular basis. If you live in an area where water freezes, invest in a birdbath heater.
3. When you finish with your Christmas tree anchor it in a secluded part of your yard and wildlife will use it as shelter from winter weather and storms.
4. You can provide additional cover for wildlife by starting a compost pile or brush pile with pine needle, pinecones and wreaths from your holiday decorations.

Remember your backyard wildlife during the winter and year round. They will appreciate it!

Water for the birds!

In winter I turn my attention more to the wildlife that comes to my yard than the plants. The birds that visit my yard are colorful and are like flowers with wings!I put out seed and suet out for birds. But more importantly I provide a regular supply of clean water. Birds need water for drinking and bathing and is particularly important during the WINTER when natural supplies may be frozen.

Water to bathe in is equally important, especially in winter. It is essential that birds keep their feathers in good condition, and bathing is an important part of feather maintenance. Dampening the feathers loosens the dirt and makes the feathers easier to preen. When preening, the bird carefully rearranges the feathers and spreads oil from the preen gland so they remain waterproof and trap an insulating layer of air underneath.

There are many ways of providing water in the garden. The simplest way is a birdbath. This is essentially a dish of water that needs to be functional - the aesthetic aspects are there to please us, not the birds. The location of your garden and the type of vegetation immediately around it will determine what birds will visit your bird bath, and in what numbers. Sitting of the bath is very important - birds will only use it if they feel safe. Birds get excited and pre-occupied about bathing, and tend to be more vulnerable than at other times. Birds will need to have clear visibility as they bathe, nearby bushes or trees to provide cover if alarmed, and perches to use when preening.

I have a standing birdbath that I heat in winter to keep a constant source of water. I also use large shallow plant saucers on the ground in several locations that are very popular with some birds lie the Brown Thrasher. My pond and waterfall provide a steady source water for birds year-round.

It is important that Birdbaths be cleaned regularly as they soon build up a layer of algae, dead leaves or bird droppings. Give the bath a thorough clean every week or so. Scrub the sides and bottom to remove algae and other dirt. Use only cleaning products that are safe for birds or you can use dilute household disinfectants, but make sure that you rinse the bath out thoroughly to remove any traces of chemicals.

Provide an unfrozen source of water in your yard and see how many colorful birds you can attract.

Christmas cactus

Technically my cactus are not part of my yard but they do live outdoors from about May until November. My Christmas cactus continues to grow even though I have divided them over and over. It was not always this way. When I moved them outdoors one spring they thrived and were full of buds. Keeping them indoors all year did not produce this result. From then on I have moved the cactus outdoors when the temperatures warm in the spring and bring my Christmas cactus in from the patio when we have our first nights that go below 50 degrees. Normally the dark pink one blooms at Thanksgiving and the orange ones between Christmas and Thanksgiving and the white usually waits until Christmas. Not this year! The pink one bloomed before Thanksgiving and the others during Thanksgiving. I guess I won’t have one blooming @ Christmas this year. The white cactus is from a cutting given to my mother-in-law by my husband’s grandfather back in the early 1980’s. I was given a cutting and over the years it has been divided and cutting have been given to friends and family. When it blooms It’s a nice reminder of both people who are no longer with us.