What is Vermicomposting?

Like the idea of compost, but hate the mess, smell, and look of a nasty bin. Don't give up on the idea of recycling your scraps and creating rich, dark compost. Vermicomposting is odorless, easy, and you can do it indoors in a plastic tub. If you have children, it can teach them about nature, the environment, and conservation.

Composting Using Worm Power

Vermicomposting or vermiposting is composting using worms. Don't squirm (pun intended), worms are clean, they don't smell, and they make some of the best compost available anywhere. For a nominal investment in a colony of red wiggler worms, you can put them to work eating your newsprint, vegetable peelings, pasta, and coffee grounds. They don't need much space, and once you see what they can do, you'll start to develop downright tender feelings for the little wigglers.

For instructions on making your own inexpensive setup, visit my herb blog and article on vermicomposting:

Start a Vermicomposting Bin
How to Start Vermicomposting

Having Insomnia Can Help you Control Weeds

Okay, a bit far fetched? Not so. German researchers discovered that turning your soil during in the dark hours can help cut down on the growth of weeds.

If you are a night owl, the garden may be the best place for you. Pun intended. The thinking is that exposure to light triggers germination in weed seeds. If you turn your soil in the dark, they don't get the necessary flash of light, which can inhibit weed development by as much as 78%. Well that's something we could all benefit from - fewer weeds.

If you don't believe me, just check with the Old Farmer's Almanac website.

Convinced now? Okay, I'll meet you out back tonight at midnight and we can get started.

Not a night person? Then use these warm spring days to get a jump on weeds that are already up and growing. Every weed eliminated now will save you pulling up a dozen later. They don't put up as much of a fight now either.

Asparagus – After Much Anticipation

Here in zone five my asparagus started coming up a few days after the daffodils bloomed. They poked through their (very thin) thatch of mulch like soldiers; bless them. The emerging asparagus shoots are my own personal precursor of spring. More than the daffodils, the chives, or even the crocus, those showoffs.

I don't know if it's that asparagus is edible, or that they are so spare. Those sturdy stalks of green, bracing for the chill after a long winter in the dark. There's a pervasive utility about them that appeals to me. Anyway, I've gathered enough for a couple of nice side dishes and am off to the kitchen.

If you haven't tried planting asparagus in your garden and you can give them a cold winter, they really are a treat. My first try was with a starter set of roots that ended up in the discount bin, being at the very end of the planting season. I snatched them up and planted them the same day in rich, sandy soil. They've rewarded me with bountiful harvests from the third year on, and need very little in the way of care. I let some shoots grow into ferns for nourishment, and make sure that they get something to eat a few times over the season.

They need some space, but offer a great deal in return.

Getting Rid of Japanese Beetles Naturally

Japanese beetles have been terrible, voracious visitors to my garden. In years past, I've watched them destroy so many beautiful blooms that I actually considered pulling out all of my rose bushes. Two years ago I found a two pronged solution to the problem.

Catch Japanese Beetles Early

In most areas, Japanese beetles emerge at the end of June. You will see a few tentative specimens checking out your garden, and that's when you should act. Be on the look out for them, because catching them when they first emerge can be the solution to your Japanese beetle problem.

These first visitors leave scents behind that others (many others) will follow. It's like the old depression era hobo story. Hobos would leave a specific symbol on the fences of homes and farms where they were given a hot meal as a signal to other hobos that this was a good place visit. But unlike the hobos, Japanese beetles are never welcome visitors. They are too greedy.

Trap and kill these first beetles and place them in a bucket of water to which you have added a couple of tablespoons of dish soap. The rotting beetles will send another scent indicator to other beetles: STAY AWAY, and the soap will discourage mosquitoes and other pests from using the water as a breeding ground.  Keep this up every day for a week or so.

If you do this early, the word gets out and Japanese beetles will leave your garden alone for the season. I think this explains why one garden will be plagued with the little @#!* while the garden next door is spared.

This works much better than traps, which can even start attracting beetles if you're not careful.

The emergence of Japanese beetles every year is pretty predictable. If you don't know when to expect them, start keeping watch at about the end of the second week in June. Your local horticultural society will probably be able to pinpoint it pretty closely. If you still need guidance, check out your local Cooperative Extension Location. You can find the online link here: Cooperative Extension Office Locator

Remember, it's important to catch them when they first start scoping out your garden.

Use Special Plants to Fight Japanese Beetles

I've referenced this in my herb blog: The Herb Gardener, and it works great. Planting rue and garlic together near your tastiest plants will discourage Japanese beetles from munching on them. Rue is an attractive plant, and only grows about 12" high, so it won't detract from your beauties.

This has worked beautifully for me. I think it will for you too.