So, I have gathered the old recycle bin from the old house and put it to a recyled purpose! Growing my tomato plant. I grew this baby from seed y'all! Props to me and all that. Of course with all the wind we had last weekend I lost a couple of branches :-(But it is recovering well.
On other gardening issues I have seen ONE bee this year. ONE! we used to have a wild hive down the back of the property when we first moved in. We have a small patch of bush down the back and some hideous privet that I am always cutting back and trying to kill, but the bees thrived, I guess that damned veroa mite has hit them too. Still seeing lots of bumble bees around though!
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I call what I do "extreme" gardening. It's like regular gardening except that I boost fertility far beyond what can be accomplished with normal applications of compost.
Occasionally, someone will ask me if I have any extra compost. I tell the person I have lots of compost and he can have some, but I never have "extra' compost because my garden has an insatiable appetite for the stuff. So my motto is: "You can never have too much compost."
The phrase "nutrient reservoir" is descriptive of my soil preparation process for vining plants such as squash, melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers. I begin by digging a hole between two and three feet deep and thirty inches in diameter. I cart my subsoil away because it is dense clay. A sandy loam could be mixed with compost and put back into the hole.
Once the nutrient reservoir is prepared (filled with a mixture of topsoil and compost) I slide the vining plant in place. Since vining plants do not grow well here in Western Montana until the soil temperature warms, I start them in large plastic pots. This year I cut the bottoms off my pots and reattached them with L-shaped metal brackets. At transplant time I remove the brackets, remove the bottom, and slide the plant onto a nutrient reservoir. Having the roots above grade allows the root zone to remain warmer early in the season. Consequently the plants start growing vigorously a month earlier than would be the case if they were simply transplanted into the ground. Another advantage is I have a deeper nutrient reservoir under the plant which allows for greater productivity per plant.
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