Basic HTML Version
46
summer
|
fal l
more kitchen scraps they eat,
the richer and more nutritious
the eggs.
Left to forage in your garden, there is no better pest control.
Bugs, weed seeds, snails and slugs are no match for a flock of
marauding chickens. If allowed to roam free, be sure no snail bait
or other pesticides have been used in the garden.
From the Upper Village to The Music Academy of the West,
Montecitans are finding that the “cluck, cluck, clucks” resonating
from their gardens is music to their ears.
As The Worms Turn
Have plenty of organic kitchen scraps and want to make
your household more “green” and sustainable? Always wanted to
try composting but don’t have the time or adequate space in
your yard? You’ve outgrown your ant farm and want a new
challenge? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions,
vermiculture could be for you.
Vermiculture – worm farming to the uninitiated –
is easy to do, odor free and yields a dark, rich crumbly
compost called worm castings. This “black gold” is
excellent for mulching and incorporating into your
garden soil. When spread under your hibiscus plants it
helps keep the pesky giant white fly at bay.
The worms used in your worm bin are
different from the earthworms in your
garden and, since they are
surface feeders, your worm box only has
to be from eight to sixteen inches deep.
You can build one yourself out of wood
or recycle an old washtub, large dishpan or
a shipping crate. All of these will make a suitable
home for your worms.
When Pat Brodie isn’t cooking or gardening she
can be found tending her worm bin. She sent away for
her first handful of worms almost twenty years ago and
built her worm box out of marine plywood, hinged the
lid and drilled some holes in the bottom for drainage.
Shredded newspaper makes up their bedding and
her red wigglers dine on vegetable scraps and coffee
grounds. “I put the castings on my bonsai trees and
also in my vegetable garden—especially on the plants
that are prone to pests,” she says. “When I have an
outbreak of white fly I make worm compost tea and
give the infested plants a foliar application.”
Your worm bin can be kept outdoors in a cool,
dry spot or indoors under your kitchen sink, on a
porch, mudroom or similar location that’s easy to
get to.
Increasingly, Montecitans are getting their
hands dirty and going back to the land – even if the
land is a not-so-big parcel between the hedgerow
and the rose garden.
Remember: if you are new at this, begin
small with a few tomato and pepper plants
and a hen or two. Or, build some raised beds
and plant an orchard. Now, imagine making
an omelet with the spinach, onions, tomatoes
and eggs that grow in your backyard.
Get a cow or goat and you can add
cheese.