2010-01-16 Farmer Adria's Report

Happy New Year!

We met at the garden this morning to prepare several existing plots and turn the "back 40". Weather was cold and cloudy, and eventually rainy. My feet are still cold!

Lots was accomplished today, and we're looking forward to our next workday at the end of the month.

2009-10-22 Farmer Adria's Report

First, the gardens are looking good! Great job on getting the top terrace planted - hopefully the seeds will germinate & grow quickly!

So this afternoon I began preparing the last terrace for this season -- the long strip below the square-foot plots and above the bee boxes. As soon as our clover comes in we'll plant that and hope for the best. Some clover is already coming in on the plot furthest away from the road (under the pecan tree).

The rye I planted in the bottom terrace last week is just starting to turn green. The rain we had washed some of the seed into little piles, but there should still be enough there to get plenty of coverage.

I'm pretty excited about learning to keep bees. And maybe a little anxious.. I've only been stung by a honeybee once, but that was enough to learn not to irritate them (like by sitting on one while wearing shorts!).

2009-10-13 Farmer Adria's Report

We received over 2 inches of rain yesterday and the weather forecast is calling for that much if not more tomorrow. So, I drove by Ace & picked up a back of winter rye and spread out on the lower terrace late this afternoon. Hopefully most of it will stay in place during the storms tomorrow.

Rye is an annual grass with roots that can extend several feet below the surface - just what we need to help break up the clay below the plow tip. With a little sunshine after tomorrow, the lower terrace should be bright green by this time next week.

We've talked a little more about adding red clover to the garden in other areas, so it may be worth our while to try and sow more of it in the smaller terraces below the concrete block plots (after we mix in a little of the compost to help feed the clover).

That's it for now -- hope to have bee pics posted in a few days. :o)

2009-10-03 Farmer Adria's Report

So our first batch of compost has been spread out and mixed in on the upper terrace. The lower terrace has been bottom-plowed and is ready for its first load of compost.

I happened to be at the garden this morning when Dekalb County arrived to deliver a new load of compost. Here are a few pictures and a short video:


Upper terrace, after mixing in the first batch of compost. It's there, but turned under a layer of clay. We'll continue spreading & turning over until we have adequate amounts of organic matter in the soil to prevent it from clumping together and forming a big brick.



The lower terrace, after initial plowing (no amendments added here yet - hence the bright red color)



About this time I heard the beeping of a Dekalb country delivery truck... Black gold had arrived!


The load was steaming hot.. and will remain that way until it's spread out.

The steam comes from CO₂ and thermal heat - products of the breakdown of materials by bacteria and fungi (decomposers) in the compost. Products resulting from decomposition of rotting grass clippings, leaves, manure, ect include proteins, amino acids, and humic matter (the leftovers of fully decomposed plant matter). All the stuff plants love and need to grow. The humic matter will also help change the red clay into something more desirable.

Oh, one more thing: heat is not only good for breaking down material, it also kills weed seeds.

It's very important that we only use properly aged compost in our gardens, since adding fresh manure to a garden will cause our plant roots to burn among other things. So don't scrape up your chicken litter & toss in the garden.. Pile it up and let it sit for at least a year before mixing into your garden.