Glorious Garden

I love my vegetable garden, but sometimes I wonder if the love is reciprocal?! I find few things as frustrating as tending to my garden daily, watching with baited breath for the first crop, only to have my plants ravaged by critters and insects. We moved the garden this year, in large part due to all of the ravaging that took place last summer. Since the move there have been much fewer issues with critters (read: rabbits and river rats), but I still have issues with insects and fungi. I've been using an organic pesticide/fungicide combo, with little success. Case in point - I've been patiently waiting for the past two weeks as the squash plants blossomed and the fruit began to grow, only to go out this morning and find one of the squash is rotting before it's much more than 2.5-3 inches long. What a bummer! I'm holding out hope that this is a small bump in the vegetable patch...keep your fingers crossed that my garden starts to show me some love!



Summer Squash





Japanese Eggplant

Roma Tomatoes

Romaine Lettuce



A Second Life for Cilantro

I love having cilantro in my garden. It's such a great flavor addition to so many dishes, but it doesn't last long in my garden. So, I started researching and found that all is not lost because there are many uses for the cilantro seeds. Dried cilantro seeds, or coriander, can be used for new plantings and in cooking. Once your cilantro has bolted follow the easy steps below to get more life out of your plant.

Drying Cilantro Seeds

The “seeds” are actually two cilantro seeds encased in a husk. The husk is hard, round and is light brown or grey in color. Before you plant them in the ground, you need to prepare the cilantro seeds to increase the chances that they will germinate. Gently crush the seed husk holding the two seeds together. Soak the cilantro seeds in water for 24 - 48 hours. Remove from the water and allow to dry.

Planting Cilantro Seeds

Once you have prepared the cilantro seeds, you need to plant the seeds. You can either start cilantro indoors or out doors. If you are starting the seeds indoors, you will be transplanting cilantro to the outdoors later on.

Put the seeds in the soil and then cover them with about a 1/4 inch layer of soil. Leave the cilantro growing until it is at least 2 inches tall. At this time, thin the cilantro to be about 3-4 inches apart. You want to be growing cilantro in crowded conditions because the leaves will shade the roots and help to keep the plant from bolting in hot weather.

If you are transplanting cilantro into your garden, dig holes 3-4 inches apart and place the plants in them. Water thoroughly after transplanting.

Cooking with Coriander

To prepare the coriander seeds for use, cut the stems and tie them together. Hang them in a cool, dry place to dry out. Make sure to place a container under them to capture falling seeds. When dry, place flower heads in a bag and shake to harvest seeds. Make sure seeds are completely dry before storing.

To use the seeds, crush them in a mortar and pestle or spin them in a coffee grinder or small food processor. Toasting the seeds in a dry pan brings out their best flavor.

Do-It-Yourself Composting

Not every gardener has the space for a large compost pile, and not all municipalities allow back yard composting. The good news is that it's very easy to compost in a small space. Even if all you have is a patio or balcony, you can use this method of making compost in a trash can. And, if you need to compost on the sly, no one will be the wiser---they'll just see another trash can.

To start out composting, purchase the most inexpensive 32 gallon or larger plastic garbage can you can find. Make sure it has a lid. If rats are a problem in your area, consider purchasing a metal trash can. Then, using a two to three-inch hole saw bit and a drill, drill holes all the way around the trash can (lid, bottom, and sides) six to twelve inches apart. Cover these holes with window screening. Good strong duct tape or epoxy will work. Put your trash can composter in a convenient place. If possible, raise it up on a couple of bricks to get even more air circulation to the contents of the trash can composter.

So, what do you put into your trash can composter?

Fruit and vegetable peels and cores
Leftover cooked veggies (as long as they don't have salt or butter on them)
Produce that's past its prime
Coffee grounds
Tea leaves and tea bags
Egg shells
Shredded newspaper
Weeds, leaves, and spent flowers from the garden

Never add meat or dairy to the composter, as it will spoil (and smell!) and attract pests. Besides that, your compost could then harbor harmful bacteria that could cause illness. It is a good idea, however, to add a shovelful of garden soil to your compost. The soil contains all kinds of microorganisms which will consume the contents of your compost and break it down. If you don't have access to garden soil, don't worry. You'll still get compost, but it will take a little longer.

Most books and articles about composting recommend using specific ratios of “green” and “brown” materials to make perfect compost. You may be able to get away with ignoring ratios if you have a large pile, but in a closed system like this, paying attention to the ratios of your materials is important. If you have too many “greens,” such as fruit and veggie peels, weeds, and grass clippings, the pile will stay too wet and will start to smell. If you have too many “browns,” such as leaves, small twigs, shredded paper, and coffee grounds, the pile will just kind of sit there. Try for a ratio of at least 4:1 of browns to greens. I've seen recommendations as high as 25:1, but the 4:1 ratio works well in my trash can composter.

In addition to a proper ratio of materials,you'll also need to make sure that your compost stays moist, but not wet. In general, your compost should feel like a wrung-out sponge. Any wetter than that, and it will start to smell because it has become anaerobic, meaning oxygen can't get to parts of the pile. If your pile dries out, it will still break down eventually, but it will take much, much longer than it should.

You'll also need to keep your compost aerated. In a traditional pile, this is done by digging into the pile and turning the contents every week or two. You can aerate your trash can composter by simply laying it on its side and rolling it around a few times. Do this once or twice a week, and you should have finished compost in two to four weeks.

Trash can composter courtesy of Anthony at The Compost Bin.