Introducing Our Compost Bin

Thank you to the volunteers that helped build the compost bin a few weeks ago. It looks amazing! You brought your tools and your teamwork and we made a lovely addition to our garden. The Apple Valley Home Depot helped us out by discounting the materials and cutting everything for us. The wood is cedar which should make it last several years. We used the instructions on Organic Gardening to make it happen.

Now that we have this beautiful compost bin, let me tell you how you can use it. 
Composting is the process where organic wastes (grasses, leaves, food scraps and garden debris) are converted into a highly desirable, soil-like material. For any compost system, you need to add the right ingredients. We need 5 ingredients for good compost:

1. Bin (done!)
2. Carbon source or "browns" (dead leaves, straw, paper, etc.)
3. Nitrogen source or "greens" (food leftovers, plants, coffee grounds, etc.) 
4. Air--we need to turn the pile occasionally 
5. Water--usually the water from the greens is enough but in dry times we may have to water it down
6. Microbes--our little helpers that break down all the organic stuff. They will appear naturally.

The three bin system works just like having three separate compost bins. You fill up one section. While the material in the first section is decomposing, you fill up the second section. 

As a garden member, you can bring leftovers and other other food scraps from home to add to the compost bin, but please follow this list. Every time you add a handful of greens, add 2-3 handfuls of browns. 

Here is more information on backyard composting. Here is a great printable Yes/No list. 

Why compost? 

About 1/3 of our trash is made up of items we could compost. Currently, we send them to a landfill where they don't decompose properly or to an incinerator where they are burned. Making compost reduces the amount of trash we send off and creates a valuable resource for our garden.  

What you can do

• Bring your leftovers, banana peels and apple cores to the compost bin
• Add in any garden plants and weeds (without seeds!)
• If you have dried leaves at home, please bring a bag or two to the garden. Put them next to the compost pile. When you add in greens, add some leaves too. 
• Turn the pile with a rake or shovel

June Work Days: Help Needed this Wednesday

Our garden is looking amazing! I'm hungry just thinking about all the lettuce, beans and radishes popping up. If you still need plants, you are welcome to take the plants from the back plots behind the shed. More seeds packets have been placed in the shoe box in the shed including beans and cucumbers. Help yourself!

We are not doing the normal 2nd Tuesday and Saturday work days in June. Instead we picked days that garden leads will definitely be available. Here are our scheduled days:

Wednesday, June 4, 6pm

Tuesday, June 17, 6pm

June 4 Work Day 
We need help building our new compost bin this Wednesday. All skills levels are welcome. We will
clean out the area needed and build a 3 bin system. Please come by to help. We need 6-10 gardeners.

Please RSVP by emailing 3237garden@gmail.com or calling 612-5-MULCH-5.

Compost is here--time to plant! El abono vegetal está en el jardín: es hora de plantar!

The fresh pile of compost was delivered today and garden members helped haul it to the back by the shed. Feel free to use the compost to cover your plot. You do not need to till (mix up the soil) that's already there.

Adding compost will increase the moisture-holding capacity of sandy soils, thereby reducing drought damage to plants. Compost increases the ability of the soil to hold and release essential nutrients and promotes the activity of earthworms and soil microorganisms beneficial to plant growth. Other benefits of adding compost include improved seed emergence and water infiltration due to a reduction in soil crusting.

Now we are ready to plant! You can start plants that tolerate the cold such as: 

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower 
• Broccoli 
• Brussels sprouts
• Onions 

Check out the U of M Extension to learn when to plant and how much space between plants. Check out other resources in our resources page. 

If you buy seeds and have some leftover, feel free to leave them in the shed for others to use. 

El abono vegetal está en el jardín: es hora de plantar!

Una cantidad de abono vegetal fresco vino y algunos miembros del jardín ayudaron moverlo al costado del cobertizo. Por favor no dude en usar el abono vegetal. No es necesario mezclar la tierra que ya está en su parcela.

Agregando abono vegetal aumenta la capacidad de sostener la humedad en tierra arenosa, protegiendo las plantas de daño sequía. Abono vegetal aumenta la habilidad de la tierra sostener y segregar nutrientes esencial, y también promoví el actividad de los lombrices de tierra y microorganismos de la tierra que son beneficioso para las plantas. Otros beneficios de agregar abono vegetal son que ayuda crecer las plantas de semilla y minimiza el endurecer de la tierra porque increse el filtración del agua en la tierra.

Ahora estamos listas para plantar! Ya podes plantas las vegetales que pueden tolerar el frio, como:

·         Espinaca

·         Lechuga

·         Vainas de guisantes

·         Repollo

·         Coliflor

·         Brócoli

·         Coles de Bruselas

·         Cebollas

 Visita la página U of M Extension para aprender cuando podes plantar sus plantas y cuanto espacio tienes que dejar entre las plantas. Para más información podes visitar la página de recursos del jardín acá: resources page.

Si compraste semillas, tienes sobres, y quieres compartirlos, podes dejarlos en el cobertizo así otros pueden usarlos.