Fenton Friday: Radish Thinnings

 
It was another crazy weather week with summertime-like temps and barely any rain, so the thornless blackberry bush is covered in big white blooms and the strawberries are also flowering prolifically. The kale and broccoli from last fall have both bolted and I yanked them out. I think at this rate the garlic will form scapes in the next week or two!

We had to hand-water the seedlings and carried that water over from the rain barrel at my house as the cistern at the community garden was not open yet for the season. 

We weeded a bit and thinned out the radishes, arugula, lettuce, and carrot seedlings. The spinach seedlings are now all up too.

The pea seedlings and the Swiss chard one are both still fairly small and don't need thinning. The potato plants have not emerged yet.

We picked a few more asparagus spears and cleaned/ate the thinnings mentioned above, except for the carrots as I read they are not good to eat them.

We created a short compost trench where I hope to plant tomatoes this summer or similar "heavy feeder" plants. We posted a TikTok video of that compost trench process. See: https://tiktok.com/t/ZTR3KtcNs/

What are you growing in your edible garden this season?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 12th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).

GardenDC Podcast Episode 136: Home Composting

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Gary Pilarchik of The Rusted Garden about home composting. The plant profile is on Stinking Hellebore and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with Greg Peterson of The Urban Farm podcast, who shares the Last Word on Observation.

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 

See how at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/support.

Show Notes: 01:06 Meet Gary Pilarchik of The Rustic Garden. 03:22 Home composting in small spaces. 04:40 “(Bagged) compost can be in any state of decay and they’ll call it compost.” 05:34 How to compost in a 4x4 space. 06:26 “People just don’t get started, they get paralyzed…” 07:06 You don’t have to be an active composter. 07:49 Compost happens. 08:10 Gary’s biggest tip: just get started. 09:17 Setting up a hot compost. 10:43 Pros and cons to hot composting. 11:30 If you’re lucky, cold composting takes 12 months to become usable. 12:14 “I was a little bit slow getting started on composting, and that was the barrier.” 12:34 Why tumblers are great: “At dinner time I don’t feel like walking out when it’s raining.” 13:35 How to control compost odors. 15:58 Composting is like lasagna. 17:13 How to separate hot composting into multiple piles. 18:41 You shouldn’t get overly stressed about making it right. 19:35 Turning piles adds in oxygen – fuels the decomposition process. 21:22 How Gary sets up his leaf compost. 22:08 You don’t always have to turn leaf compost – here’s how. 22:47 Leaf composting: “It’s not a lot of work, which is what I prefer.” 23:30 Chemicals on grass may not break down and can hurt your garden. 24:08 Don’t be lazy and add whole sticks. 25:29 Here’s what attracts racoons and rats to your compost. 26:23 Do creatures get into your compost? 27:10 Snakes – don’t freak out. 29:09 Weed seeds can last for years. 30:27 Things can grow out of a compost pile??? 32:28 Plants want to survive. 33:10 Experimenting with closed-bag composting. 35:49 Composting for the first time? Try three pens. 37:18 Compost activators: they don’t work. 38:10 Beer and urine in your compost! 40:07 Leaves don’t need to be sifted. 41:40 “I want to do the least amount of work.” 42:20 Compost tea – an extra step. 43:46 Organic gardening, the compost is your fertilizer. 45:07 Just get started. 45:36 Stinking Hellebore: this week’s Plant Profile. 47:07 Garden updates: Blooming crocuses! 47:22 Upcoming events: Tacoma Horticultural Club: Growing Figs; National Capital Orchid Society’s annual show and sale; Stars for Your Garden – Potomac Rose Society. 48:43 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 49:52 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 50:52 Last Word by Greg Peterson: Observation. 53:24 “Always keep a curious mind.”

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 123: Cover Crops and Winter Bed Prep
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/10/gardendc-podcast-episode-123-cover.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 103: Mulching and Weeding Tips
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/05/gardendc-podcast-episode-103-mulching.html

This episode is archived at:

https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Home-Composting-e1udvj9

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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

Episode Credits:

Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Editing and Show Notes: Jessica Harden

PIN THIS FOR LATER!

DIY: Compost Tea

Compost tea can be used for watering seedlings or established plants. The jury is still out on its benefits, but it is said to loosen clay soils, stimulate root growth, and boost overall plant health.

Level: easy   Cost: minimal   Use: gardening 

Materials:

- bucket

- compost

- rain water

- strainer

- watering can

- large mason jars or other containers with lids

Step 1: In a clean bucket, fill until about 1/3rd full of composted material -- either sourced from our your compost pile or purchased.

Step 2: Fill the bucket almost to the top with rainwater from your rain barrel or collected in buckets after a storm. Chlorinated water can kill the good beneficial microbes in the compost that you are trying to promote.

Step 3: Let it sit for 5-7 days while stirring the compost occasionally a few times a day. This is to aerate the mixture. If you want to make it faster, you can run an aquarium pump or bubbler in it.

Step 4: Next strain the compost with a stainless steel strainer* over a second bucket and then apply the leftover strained compost "pulp" to a garden bed. 

Step 5: Save the strained liquid in an air-tight container. Apply to plantings right away and then every two weeks or so.

Tips: To amp up your compost tea, you can add a few tablespoons of blackstrap molasses, sugar, or liquid kelp/fish fertilizer. You can also throw in chopped-up straw or comfrey. 

*Note: You might want to dedicate that strainer for outdoor use only.

Caution: Don't drink it - yuck!!!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a few pennies from Amazon.

This is a monthly blog series on DIY projects for the beginning home gardener. Look for the other installments in this DIY blog series by putting "DIY" in the search box here at washingtongardener.blogspot.com. 

Fenton Friday: Treasures in the Compost Pile

Confession: I am a trash-picker -- and damn proud of it. I will rescue perfectly-fine bouquets of discarded flowers out of trashcans on K Street. I will go into neighbor's recycling bins on trash day and pull out choice Mason canning jars. And, I have been known to pick up Popsicle sticks off the sidewalk to use for plant labels.

You would not believe the things I have pulled out of our communal compost pile at the Fenton Community Garden. This pile gets carted away every few weeks by the county park's service, so it is fairly often refreshed. Every once in a while I throw a bucket of my weeds into it and each time I do, there is something that catches my eye, makes me pause, step in and pull out a "treasure."

Here is a short list of a few of my compost pile finds:
~ branches of dried Hot Peppers
~ Celosia seedlings
~ Cucumbers
~ Onion bulbs
~ Okra
~ Tomatoes
~ sprays of Globe Amaranth flowers
~ Wooden plant stakes

What about you -- do you "trash pick" for your garden too?

About Fenton Friday:
Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 5th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

DIY: Compost Bin

Guest blog by Gaby Galvin

Ever thought about composting and then changed your mind because you don’t want to see a big smelly pile in your backyard? Let those fears wash away, because this easy DIY compost bin will take only about 10 minutes to put together, though you’ll be seeing the benefits for a long time after. Compost is full of nutrients and will help your garden look its best, not to mention it’s eco-friendly.

Supplies:

• Storage bin (you can use an old one with cracks)
• Drill

Instructions:

1. Drill random holes all over the storage bin, including the bottom and lid.

They should each be about an inch apart.

2. Fill the bin about a fourth of the way with dirt. This can be any excess dirt

you have or some cheap topsoil mix.

3. Add plant trimmings and fruit and vegetable scraps, especially peels or cores.

When considering whether to add something, think of whether it came from

the ground. Food with salt, butter, dairy, and meat are not okay to add.

4. Add some water to make the mix moist and shake it up.

You can put this bin anywhere outside, including on a deck or patio. Every time you add something to the bin, you’ll want to shake it up and add a little bit of water to keep it moist. You’ll have usable compost in as little as six months, but if you really want to quicken the process, consider adding some worms and cutting up what you add so they decompose faster!

About the author:

Gaby Galvin is a Washington Gardener Magazine summer 2015 intern who is studying multiplatform journalism at the University of Maryland. She does some gardening at home in Davidsonville, MD, with her mother and grandparents. 

 
This is the second in a 5-part series on DIY projects for the home gardener. Look for the next installments in this DIY blog series on the 1st of each month (through December 2015) here at washingtongardener.blogspot.com.