March 15, 2025 So, much yet to do........

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September 7, 2024 What am I doing? https://www.youtube.com/@NitasYardAndGarden

  

#garden #leaves #raking #mulch #bags #falling #fertilize #soil 

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June 24, 2024 Okra Growing

Scripture Verse

 Isaiah 61:11

King James Version

11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Encourage Earthworms

 So, you think earthworms are outdoors creatures? Well, you can actually raise them indoors, and use their castings to improve your soil, indoors and out.

Container
Make it large and manageable, space 8 to 12 inches deep. They feed on the top layers of the bedding. Bins can be plastic or wood.
Drill 8 to 12, ¼-inch-diameter holes in the bottom and sides for aeration and drainage. Drill more holes if using plastic or bedding stays wet. Place a tray under bin to collect “tea” that drips from bin. Tea makes good fertilizer for houseplants.
Bedding
Options; shredded cardboard, newspaper, or coir (coconut husks); and peat moss. Mist bedding with water if it looks dry.
Cover bins to keep worms in dark. Keep temperatures between 40°F and 80°F for survival, place bins in cellar, warm garage.
Red wigglers thrive in temperatures between 55°F and 77°F (Worms from garden, night crawlers, prefer cooler and deeper soils.) Buy red wigglers through the mail or at a bait shop.
One pound of red wiggler worms (about 1,000 worms) can eat a 1/2 pound of scraps a day.
Food
Feed worms vegetable scraps, fruit peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, crushed egg shells, and even leftover pasta. No spicy foods. Avoid meats, fish, fatty and oily foods, and bones. Lay a thin layer on top of bedding. Worms feed in the dark.
A small amount of potting soil or cornmeal help your worms digest their meal.
Harvest
After 3 to 4 months your worms should have eaten the bedding and the scraps. Top layer of matter should be dark brown and the consistency of chunky sand. Harvest the castings. Push the castings to side, add more bedding and scraps. Worms will go to the new bedding and scraps. Dig out castings and add more bedding and scraps. Make sure to pick out stray wigglers and return

It's Time to Start Your Garden! 9 Seeds to Plant Indoors in January

You Have Black Soil?

Black soil is a type of soil that is rich in organic matter, clay, and iron. It is also known as black earth, black loam, or chernozem. Black soil is good for growing crops such as wheat, cotton, sugarcane, and vegetables. However, black soil can also be heavy, sticky, and prone to waterlogging. Therefore, it may need some amendments to improve its drainage, aeration, and fertility1 One way to amend black soil is to add a garden mix that contains ingredients such as sphagnum peat moss, perlite, coir, gypsum, limestone, wetting agent, and mycorrhizae. These ingredients can help loosen the soil, increase its water retention and porosity, adjust its pH, and enhance its microbial activity. A garden mix that contains these ingredients is the PRO-MIX Organic Garden Mix, which you can find more information about on its website2

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Lemon Tree Blooms

 

Since the weather temps have turned cold, I brought my lemon and lime trees in to protect them.  As you can see the Lemon tree has sprouted blooms.

 

This one opened first and I can't wait to see if it will set fruit and support it.  It had many fruit set back in the summer, but a bad hail storm came along and knocked them all off.  So, since this time they are protected inside, maybe I'll get a few lemons before long.

Veggie Garden

 

Here's another view of my cukes, peas, and tomatoes.

 

And here you see marigolds, beets, squash plants, leaf lettuce, and one left over collard green plant from last year.

Lettuce

 

My leaf lettuce is coming on, good and the one darker plant with them, is probably marigolds, that I scattered the same day I planted the lettuce.  I hope the marigolds make good plants this year, so the bugs will go somewhere else.

Ginger

 

This is my ginger plants, that I rooted back in the winter, and now they are really tall.  It looks like there will be a decent harvest of fresh ginger in a few months.

Mango

 

Here is my mango tree, that I sprouted from seed back a few months ago.  It stayed in the house all winter, and has started to put on new leaves, since I fed it last week.  Am interested to see what this year's growth will yield.

Dry Ground

Summer is really here, with all the dried out sun burnt plants and cracked ground.  Yes, after all the good rain we received in May, the ground is dried out and cracking.  No help from the weather predictors either.  Seems, that if there's any chance for rain at all in the next week it will on by 30% and that's one day.  The area that could be blessed is in the upper top of our Texas State, around the Red River and TX/OK borders.  They don't expect it to come on down into our areas.  I don't see any help from the coastal area waters either.  Hurricanes, are few this year for some reason?  I suppose we can be happy that the 100* degree weather has been less this year.  Then we haven't made it to August as yet!
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Lilies Blooming

 

They made it through the storms too and now I have beautiful blooms, in May.

Storms

 

Everyday, for over 3 or 4 weeks, we've seen storms, flooding and torrential rains.  Texas, has been a drought zone and now it's a flood zone.  Many have lost their lives, homes and businesses to the heavy flooding.  As for us here in my yard, we've been very lucky and blessed to only have a few limbs fall from the trees.  Thank God!

 

Aloe Vera

 

Recently, I got two starts from an aloe vera plant, and brought them home.  They've been in this pot since than and I've fertilized them once.  Rain water seems to be helping them grow well.  Will put them outside when threat of frost is gone.  Warm temps help them grow real well, and I won't have to catch the rain water, it will fall on them freely.

Earthworms Can Work

So, you think earthworms are outdoors creatures? Well, you can actually raise them indoors, and use their castings to improve your soil, indoors and out. Container Make it large and manageable, space 8 to 12 inches deep. They feed on the top layers of the bedding. Bins can be plastic or wood. Drill 8 to 12, ¼-inch-diameter holes in the bottom and sides for aeration and drainage. Drill more holes if using plastic or bedding stays wet. Place a tray under bin to collect “tea” that drips from bin. Tea makes good fertilizer for houseplants. Bedding Options; shredded cardboard, newspaper, or coir (coconut husks); and peat moss. Mist bedding with water if it looks dry. Cover bins to keep worms in dark. Keep temperatures between 40°F and 80°F for survival, place bins in cellar, warm garage. Red wigglers thrive in temperatures between 55°F and 77°F (Worms from garden, night crawlers, prefer cooler and deeper soils.) Buy red wigglers through the mail or at a bait shop. One pound of red wiggler worms (about 1,000 worms) can eat a 1/2 pound of scraps a day. Food Feed worms vegetable scraps, fruit peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, crushed egg shells, and even leftover pasta. No spicy foods. Avoid meats, fish, fatty and oily foods, and bones. Lay a thin layer on top of bedding. Worms feed in the dark. A small amount of potting soil or cornmeal help your worms digest their meal. Harvest After 3 to 4 months your worms should have eaten the bedding and the scraps. Top layer of matter should be dark brown and the consistency of chunky sand. Harvest the castings. Push the castings to side, add more bedding and scraps. Worms will go to the new bedding and scraps. Dig out castings and add more bedding and scraps. Make sure to pick out stray wigglers and return

Spring?

Ok, enough of this cold crap!  The ground hog hasn't even seen his shadow yet, and we're still freezing our butts off!  I get tired of the cold weather, cause most of the time it's a wet cold and that cuts right through my bones.  It would be nice to have spring, year round!