Five

Flowers are a welcome addition to a vegetable patch to attract pollinators. Black Gold Part 2.

Greetings fellow gardeners,

The gardens are very happy with the rain. You will notice an explosion of growth in a few days. With the rain and the warmth, you should see the seeds you planted outside starting to push forward.

While a lot of people are starting a vegetable garden this year, I would like to suggest that you add flowers to your vegetable plot. I usually add edible flowers in case I get small children rummaging around tasting the garden; lots of different ones are available. I always add flowers because they attract pollinators. Your vegetables need to be pollinated in order to give you food.

Adding a row of herbs to your garden will bring lots of busy pollinators. Borage is my favourite herb for pollinators, it has glorious blue flowers and a faint cucumber taste. Herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage are also good. Basil and parsley are two that you do not want to flower, they need to be used when they are young and tender. Tomatoes like the company of marigolds while nasturtiums are so tasty in the garden. Nasturtium leaves are great in salads and sandwiches while the flowers are lovely as a garnish. I like to make nasturtium vinegar as the flowers start to bloom. Flowers added to a good white vinegar that sits for a couple of weeks, strained and bottled then added to salads. It is a brilliant orange colour (I use orange flowers) and has a peppery taste.

Not all pollinators are bees. If you watch your garden you will see bees, butterflies, hover flies, beetles and moths to name a few. To further attract them, have a shallow dish filled with rocks or marbles and water. Tiny pollinators can’t use the big bird baths, or they will drown. Try not to use chemicals in your garden. You are eating the vegetables, so chemicals are not that great for you either.

The first week of May is when we can start most of our tender vegetables inside. If you want to start vine crops you may want to wait for another two weeks unless you have room for the growth. I will be starting my zucchini soon as I would really like a good crop this year. Believe it or not I have had problems with zucchini thanks to a colony of rogue chipmunks. This year I will be putting netting over the plants so the blossoms can mature.

Most of our vegetable garden should be in the ground by the first week of June. Of course, if we get a cold snap that will change. So, keep an eye on the weather and the rain and the bugs. Being a gardener is sometimes a gamble but the prize at the end is really worth it.

Judith.

(Email lapisdragonarts@gmail.com)

Arlene Rowe’s compost article Part Two follows:

Compost: Black Gold

(Part 2)

In this part, I am going to talk about the science of decomposition. This is a very basic explanation and will help you understand how to build and maintain your compost pile.

What is needed for successful composting?

· Decomposers,

· Organic material,

· Oxygen and,

· Moisture.

Decomposers?

Decomposers can be physical decomposers. Examples of these are herbivores (Chickens, horses, sheep, rabbits, etc.), nematodes, mites, millipedes/centipedes, worms (earthworm, Red worms, manure worms) and even frost (so don't stop composting during the winter).

Or they can be chemical decomposers. Examples of these arebacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and protozoa.

All contribute to the decomposition of organic matter to compost, but the major contributor is bacteria. In order to compost efficiently, successful composting involves keeping a friendly environment for these workhorses.

There are two general classification of bacteria that can be present in your compost pile: aerobic and anaerobic. The aerobic bacteria are the most desirable group you want in your pile. They are the race cars of decomposition. They use oxygen in their decomposition process and produce wonderful earthy smelling humus. The anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand, do not use oxygen, are significantly slower decomposers and produce a pungent sickly sweet/sour smelling humus. By far, the aerobic bacteria are the more desirable. You can tell which ones predominates by just smelling your compost pile.

Within the aerobic bacteria group, there are three subgroups: Psychrophiles, Mesophylls and the Thermophiles. When these bacteria digest materials, they give off energy in the form of heat. This heat is energy in excess of what the bacteria need. The temperature in the pile rises as the bacteria give off more and more heat, and as the heap gets hotter. All three subgroups are present in your pile, only one group will predominant any one time. This is dependent upon the temperature of the pile.

The Psychrophiles are most active between 10° C and 21° C (50 – 70 °F) and produce a little heat as a byproduct. The Mesophylls are most active between 37° C and 49° C (100 – 120 °F); most home composts operate in this range. The Thermophiles are most active between 55 °C and 71 °C (130° F - 160° F) and provide the optimum decomposition speed. Compost pile in which these bacteria predominant are referred to as hot composts. It can be achieved with some work in your pile and is common in commercial composting facilities.

Generally, if you provide the food, the bacteria will come. But if you are particularly anxious about whether you have the appropriate bacteria to kick-start your pile, you can introduce the bacteria by adding good gardening soil or manure, the fresher the better, from any herbivores (e.g., horse, poultry, hamster, rabbit).

Organic Material?

Any organic material derived from plants can be added to your compost. do not add animal by-products (cheese, fat, milk), animal waste (dog waste or spent kitty litter) or meat to your compost pile. Although bacteria can break these down, you will attract undesirable creatures such as rats and maggots, and unless you can consistently maintain a hot compost, pathogens into your compost. Feed your compost any kitchen scraps, grass clippings and plants from your garden. Like all organisms, bacteria need a balanced diet. They need a mixture of green food which acts as quick energy (bacteria's equivalent to a sugar snack) and brown food (bacteria's equivalent to fat) which provides the majority of energy but is more difficult and slower to digest.

Composting Material

GREEN FOOD

Bread, coffee, coffee grounds, eggshells, feathers, flowers, fruit scraps, house plants, vegetable stems and stalks, leaves, grass clippings, green plant trimming, nut shells, tea leaves and tea bags, hair (animal and human),

BROWN FOOD

Cornstalks, dryer lint (natural fabric only), dried grass, dried leaves (e.g. oak), woodchips, fireplace ash (real wood only!), sawdust, straw

Oxygen?

Since the most desirable bacteria for your pile are the aerobic bacteria which need oxygen, the pile must have plenty of air present to promote the action of these bacteria.

To ensure that your pile has sufficient air for aerobic bacteria, you can:

1. If your pile is small, introduce air by turning the pile every couple of weeks. Move the middle of the pile to the edges and the edges into the middle.

2. If the pile is too big to turn, add air pockets to the pile while you are adding material by putting in straw, cornstalks, branches and twigs. The resulting mesh will trap air and make it available for the aerobic bacteria. Save branches during the spring clean-up and use these for your compost pile.

3. If you do not have any branches, be careful with leaves and grass clippings which tend to matt and encourage anaerobic bacteria activity. Alternate thin (3 to 4 inches) layers of grass and leaves with soil and food scraps.

Moisture?

The bacteria require some moisture to do their work. If the pile is too dry, the bacteria will die and if it is too wet, anaerobic bacteria will predominant. For best results, use the Goldilocks principle (not too dry, not too wet, just right); i.e. damp to the touch. Generally, in Ottawa, adequate moisture is not a problem.