a homemade compost bin

Okay, I’ll admit:  you won’t find any trashy talk here today, no matter what my heading says.  But we are going to talk about trash, because today’s blog is about compost.

As you probably know, compost is simply a mixture of decaying vegetation and well-rotted manure. You can make it by putting your kitchen scraps (except for meats, grease, or diary products, which attract animals) into an outdoor bin or pile.  Toss in grass clippings, fallen leaves, twigs, or just about any other organic matter you have on hand.  Moisten and turn the pile occasionally.  In time, microbes will reduce the materials to a kind “black gold,” a dark, nutrient-rich humus that makes a terrific mulch or soil amendment.   So forget bagging up all  your trash for the city dump.  You’re throwing money away if you get rid of stuff stuff that can decompose!

Now is a great time to plan on starting a compost heap for spring. For detailed instructions, check out this site from the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service: How To Make Compost.

And while we’re on the subject of decaying stuff—once your compost is ready, it will attract lots of highly desirable earthworms to your garden.  Make the little guys welcome, because as they plow through the dirt, they aerate the soil, and the casings they leave behind will help feed your plants organically.

Worms, we should mention, have a certain ickiness factor, which makes them very appealing to the kids in your family.  If you’d like to give your children a fun, play-in-the-dirt project to do, check out these easy directions, from the National Gardening Association, for creating a bin at home:  Making a Worm Bin.

Then bring the little darlings (your kids, not the worms) to the Southeastern Flower Show on Sunday, Feb. 1, to hear gardener Louise Estabrook teach them all about these wiggly gardening wonders!

green blessings,

Lynn
www.LynnCoulter.com

Give your kids crayons, watercolor paints, and chalk sticks like these to create a nature journal.

Happy New Year’s Day!  If you’re like me, you’ve been oohing and ahhing over the fantastic floral designs and floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade.  I needed all that splashy color now that we’re in the gray days of winter.  Makes me yearn for spring.

But spring is still some time away, so instead of sighing over what I can’t have, I’m making some new resolutions (yes, on top of the ones I posted yesterday).  One is to catch up on reading all the gardening books I bought last year.

Another one came out of a Christmas gift I received.  My friend Courtney gave me a blank nature journal, along with some colored pencils and a box of watercolors.  Then she taught me a few basics about sketching things like toads and trees and birds.  I’m resolving to keep adding to my journal, whether by writing a few lines or by painting a landscape or flower I want to remember.

If you have children, a nature journal is a great way to cultivate their interest in gardening.  Older kids can use a camera and paste photos into their books.  Younger types can color with pencils, crayons, or crayons, or cut and paste pictures from your old gardening magazines (if you can bear to let them go.  Be sure to check out Flower Magazine, one of the participants in the upcoming Southeastern Flower Show.)  If you don’t feel artistic enough to help get them started, don’t worry. There are lots of tips for beginners on the Web, including this “how-to site” on Wiki, a free, online encyclopedia: How to Sketch.

Keeping a journal is an excellent way for anyone to study and learn about design and color.   It’s just plain fun, too!
cheers,
Lynn

Have you checked your mailbox lately? Mine is starting to fill up with new seed catalogs, and yesterday, I got one from Tomato Growers Supply Company, a mail order business that will celebrate 25 years in 2009.

Tomato Growers, as you’d guess, specializes in tomatoes, and there are some delicious new varieties coming onto the market. I like ‘Bella Rosa,’ a VFFNA hybrid that is said to be both heat tolerant and resistant to tomato spotted wilt virus. The fruits are large with bright red flesh. ‘Shilling Giant’ also looks great. It bears huge, heart-shaped fruits with a meaty texture, fine for making into rich tomato sauce. Check out the catalog at Tomato Growers Supply Company.

I can’t wait to hear Jenny Levison, owner of Souper Jenny, when she speaks at the flower show next Jan. 30 about “Cooking from the Garden.” Laurie Grizzle, owner of the Mustard Seed Cafe, will also discuss cooking from your garden on Jan. 29. I want to ask them both about their recommendations for the best varieties to grow for making homemade sauces and soups.

No catalogs in your mailbox yet? Be patient. They start arriving around this time of year. Meanwhile, enjoy this picture, which comes from a book published in the mid-1500s. Seems artists have been fascinated by the beauty of humble tomatoes for centuries!

From a garden book published circa 1640

green blessings,
Lynn
www.LynnCoulter.com

Recently I received a catalog of some of the most beautiful glass houses I’ve ever seen.   They’re made by a company called Hartley, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, and they are absolutely gorgeous, any grower’s dreamhouse.  Approved by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, they’re built with light aluminum frames that allow plenty of natural light to illuminate the spacious interiors.  Take a look at this Victorian Classic model:

Victorian Classic Planthouse, by Hartley Botanic, Inc.

As you’d expect, these greenhouses are not inexpensive.  My catalog lists a price range from around $16,000 all the way up to $58,685–and those are special offers.  Still, you get what you pay for, and these houses can be customized to serve as a garden room or a contained environment for specific growing needs.  Check out www.hartleybotanic.com for more details and illustrations of other models.

Have you made out your Christmas list yet?  I’d like to add a house to mine!

cheers,

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

Mike McGrath, passionate organic gardener and tomato fan

No offense, but –leave your Lima beans at home when you visit the Southeastern Flower Show on opening day.  Why?  Because keynote speaker Mike McGrath, host of the nationally syndicated public radio show, ”You Bet Your Garden,” hates Lima beans with a passion, that’s why.

Hey, we’re cool with that, Mike.  After all, the theme for the 2009 show is passion, and that intense emotion doesn’t always mean you love something. You can passionately hate a certain flower or veggie, too!

Luckily, Mike is passionate in a positive way about many other garden delights, like the tomatoes pictured in his cartoon.  He’s also crazy about organic gardening, and he’s eager to teach you how to raise your own bountiful organic harvest.  Don’t miss his keynote lecture, “A Passion for Nature:  The Seven Secrets to Successful Organic Gardeners,” on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 11 a.m., or his workshop that afternoon at 2 p.m. 

If you’re got a lust for Limas, and you think you raise the most lucious legumes around, feel free to stop and talk to Mike while you’re at the show.  Ask him to give yours a try. 

Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.

cheers,

Lynn

visit Mike McGrath at http://www.whyy.org/91FM/ybyg/index.html

then visit me, your passionate Master Blogger, at www.LynnCoulter.com

Master Naturalists explore the plants that grow in wetlands, forests, and more--like these cattails in a bog.

Most of us have heard of the volunteer training program that allows you to become a Master Gardener here in Georgia.   Administered through county offices by the UGA Cooperative Extension Service, it’s a wonderful educational  opportunity.  Once you’re certified in horticulture and other areas, you pass on your knowledge by helping to train others.  Since its launch in 1979, the Master Gardener Program has certified thousands of Georgia gardeners and spread to 100 counties.

But did you know about the Master Naturalist Program (MNP)?  It’s new to me, but it sounds like a terrific next-step for Master Gardeners who are ready to expand their expertise. 

The MNP is hands-on training about the environment.  Students might explore swamps, wetlands, bogs, forests, mountains, urban landscapes, or whatever natural features surround them.

Weekly classes are offered by the UGA Cooperative Extension Service and the Warnell School of Forest Resources.  Birding, agriculture, forestry, wildlife, and native plants are just a few of the topics covered.  

If you’d like to learn more about the MNP, please visit  http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/faculty/html/mengak/gmnp.html or contact Dr. Michael T. Mengak, State Coordinator for the Georgia Master Naturalist Program, at 706-583-8096 or mmengak@forestry.uga.edu.

Butterflies, medicinal plants, tree identification: the Master Naturalist leaders are ready to ignite your passion, just as we are here at the flower show!

cheers,

Lynn

P.S.–if you’re in the Douglasville area tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 6, stop by Borders Books in Arbor Place Mall and say hello.  I’ll be signing my new book, Mustard Seeds: Thoughts on the Nature of God and Faith, as well as my first book, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds.

From most accounts, the Pilgrims weren’t exactly savvy gardeners when they arrived in the New World.  The Native Peoples had to teach them about cultivating corn, pumpkins, squash, and beans in a climate very different from England’s, or they might have starved while walking around in those funky shoes and weird hats.

But at least the Pilgrims got one thing right. After a long sea voyage, and a rocky start in their new home, they decided to rest for awhile and express their thanks for nature’s bounty.   

Tomorrow we’ll gather round our dinner table, like many American families, and give thanks for the blessings of faith, family, friends, and homes.  But today, I’m going to play pilgrim by making a short list of just my garden blessings: 

BrownTurkey figs

I’m grateful for the Brown Turkey fig tree that provide us with delicious fruit for preserves.  

I’m thankful for spring rain. 

I appreciate the cherry-pie perfume of summertime heliotropes. 

Summer heliotrope

I welcome the bats that wing through our yard, snapping up mosquitoes.

I’m grateful for non-profit seed exchanges, like Seed Savers of Decorah, Iowa, which helps preserve heirloom fruits, flowers, and vegetables.

I’m grateful for sun-ripened tomatoes that taste so good on bread spread with mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper. 

I’m thankful for timers that help keep the garden watered even in a drought.

I appreciate Plant-A-Row-For-The-Hungry, an organization that helps gardeners share generously with the less fortunate.

I’m thankful that we gardeners keep finding exciting and new plants to grow, thanks to hybridizers, developers, growers, and researchers. 

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, why not take a moment to count your own green blessings, and remember to express your gratitude, your love, and your gardening passion–the watchword for the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show—every day!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

Picture this, gardening friends:  I got up early today and stumbled to the kitchen.  Turned on the coffee maker and poured a steaming cuppa.  Tied the belt on my robe–I’d watched the news the night before, so I knew our temperatures had dropped toward freezing–and headed into the garage, intending to raise the door and fetch the paper that the deliveryman always slings into my forsythia bushes.

That’s when I froze.  I walked into a blast of freezing air in the garage and suddenly realized that we’d left the door open all night long.  Which might not have been so bad, except that I’d temporarily moved all my frost-tender potted plants and hanging baskets in there, including my long-lived lemon tree, the one that yields dozens of tart, yellow lemons for our pies and lemonade each year.

I could’ve frozen my all favorite plants in a single night, but so far, I haven’t found any blackened stems or wilted leaves. The next few days will tell, though, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed and the garage doors SHUT.

Since Atlanta temperatures are predicted to plunge into the 20s later this week, there’s a lesson here.  Make sure your tender plants are moved to a frost-proof place.  Go ahead and drain your hoses and sprinklers, and turn off any outside spigots, letting the water drain so the pipes won’t freeze.

There’s still time to mulch your beds and borders with shredded bark, chopped leaves, and other materials, too.  Established outdoor plants should be okay, but show a little TLC to anything you’ve recently planted.  When the Southeastern Flower Show opens next Jan. 28, you’ll see exhibits using some attractive, new mulches, and you can shop the show’s marketplace for tips on where to purchase them and how to use them effectively.

Speaking of working outdoors, I’d like to hear if other gardeners are seeing an unusually large crop of acorns and other nuts this year.  They seem to be raining down on my yard like crazy.  Not that I mind, although they can be a nuisance to rake, but I know these crops provide nutritious winter food for deer, squirrels, and other animals.

Samantha's baby picture, shortly after she fell from her nest

Speaking of squirrels….I want to share some great photos with you.  My friend Linda recently came home to find that her cat, Louisa, had brought a present into the house for her.  What was Louisa’s gift?  A baby squirrel that had fallen from its nest.  Fortunately, Louisa was gentle and didn’t harm her.

Linda made a bed of blankets and towels for her new baby, and fed the squirrel with a tiny bottle and formula purchased from a pet store.  When little Samantha the Squirrel was big enough to eat on her own, Linda took her to a nature center in Paulding County, GA, where wildlife specialists are helping her learn to live on her own.  When she’s ready, they’ll release her into the woods, where we all hope she’ll have a long, happy life.  So don’t bag and toss those acorns!  Samantha might be feasting on them later this year!

Samantha the Squirrel, all grown up and ready to go into the forest

Imagine your holiday table dressed up with gorgeous flowers blooming in deep red or snowy white; pale pink or brilliant copper; dark burgundy or even pale green.  Better yet, imagine that you’ve grown these beauties yourself, indoors–and with very little effort at all.

You may have already guessed that I’m talking about amaryllis (Hippeastrum).  You can find amaryllis bulbs for sale now, at garden centers and home improvement stores, or order them from mail-order suppliers.  But you’d better hurry.  They should be planted soon, so they’ll send up their magnificent flower shoots by Christmas.

To grow an amaryllis, simply pot the bulb at least six weeks before you want flowers.  Because these plants prefer crowded conditions, use a container that is only slightly bigger than the bulb.  A two-inch gap between the side of the pot and the bulb is fine.

Use a well-drained potting mix that is rich in organic matter, but leave about 1/2 of the bulb sticking up above the the soil.  Soak the entire pot in a sink or a tub of water, until air bubbles stop escaping from the mix.

Now put the bulb in a bright window that gets indirect light, and water only enough to keep the soil from drying out.  In one to two weeks, a flower stalk should appear.  You may need to stake these top-heavy plants to keep them from tipping over, but be careful not to spear the roots.

Turn the plant daily, so the flower stalk grows nice and straight.  As the flowers fade, snip them off.  You may be rewarded with another set of blooms! 

Although amaryllis are stunning all by themselves, you can dress them up even more by placing small, shiny ornaments, like red or silver balls, on top of the soil.  A beautifully tied bow around a simple pot is also pretty.  For a natural look, dress the top of the pot with some sphagnum moss or tiny pine cones, and use a branch as a stake, tying it loosely with raffia. 

The biggest problem with these plants is deciding which color to grow.  I’m crazy about ‘Green Goddess’, which has a glowing green center that fades to white.  For a Christmas-y red, try Double Dragon, a double-flowered delight.  I’m eager to grow a rare amaryllis that comes from the rainforests of Brazil, ’Papilio’.  Its orchid-shaped blooms are said to have a sweet scent.

Where can you find these beauties? If a local nursery doesn’t carry them, check out these links:

www.jacksonandperkins.com

www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Before we leave the subject of pumpkins (see yesterday’s post), I want to tell you about an unusual variety to look for at this time of year.  It’s the beautiful, so-called “true” or French pumpkin, also known as Rouge Vif D’Etampes.  You’ll recognize its classic shape, which artists copied when they drew Cinderella’s fairy-tale carriage.

Cooks disagree over the taste of this rather flat pumpkin with brilliant red-orange skin.  Some says its flavor is sweet and custard-like, while others grumble that the flesh is watery and not fit to grace a humble pie crust.  Even if you don’t puree it for pie, it’s still attractive enough to display on a porch or side table.

Although this variety doesn’t have many seeds, it is an heirloom, which means that you can save and dry its seeds, and plant them next year to grow your own Cinderella-carriages.  (You can plant the seeds of non-heirloom varietites, too, of course, but they don’t always grow true-to-type.  That simply means you won’t get baby pumpkins that look exactly like the one you started with.)

And just for fun, here’s a recipe from my book, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds.  The recipe was originally published in 1896 in a cookbook called The Thorough Good Cook, authored by George Augustus Sala:

“Take a ripe pumpkin, and chip off the rind or skin; halve it, and take out the seed and puffy part in the centre, which throw away. Cut the pumpkin into small, thin slices; fill a pie-dish therewith; add a teaspoonful of sugar, with a small quantity of water. Cover…and bake in the ordinary way. Pumpkin pie is greatly improved by being eaten with clotted cream and sugar.”

pumpkins for pie or the porch? the choice is yours!

Well said, George!

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com