We are having the most fabulous fall weather. I've been down with a bad bad cold for a couple of weeks and have not been able to truly enjoy it.
Today I sat outside on my handy dandy gardening stool and weeded the pepper beds The soil is fabulous. The only thing I have done differently is mulch with the neighbors grass clippings. The grass clippings I put on earlier this summer have completely broken down leaving soft, friable, rich dirt. The peppers are so loaded with fruit that they are laying over on the ground from the weight.
The leaves are falling from all of our trees so I added those to the grass clippings and mulched the beds again. I also got a huge back of coffee grounds from a local coffee shop and spread those everywhere, not even bothering to compost them. I think I will call this method composting in situ.
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My mom started using grass clippings as mulch some 20 years ago... and after a few years she stopped, and she STILL has the best, richest soil I've ever seen! I've curbside shopped a on of leaves... yay!
ReplyDeleteI wish you knew how much I have learned from you Deb!
ReplyDeleteWell, I've been "compsting in situ" for ages, I guess, only I call it "throwing out the peelings". I have saved up my potato peels, and bits of veggie scraps, coffee grounds, etc... for a long time, and just toss them into the beds along the back fence. One of these days I will do it "for real", but this is my lazy gardening. I have never used grass clippings, I'll have to read up on that and give it a try!
ReplyDeleteNow that is a great idea Deb. I bet your veggies are in hog heaven with all that rich soil. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, way to go Debbi! And congrats on snagging those coffee grounds!!!
ReplyDeleteJust to let you know, Starbucks is really glad to get rid of their coffee grounds, and all you need to do is ask. I spend the winter getting grounds by the garbage bagful (I live right down the street from a very popular one in Dallas, and every 50 pounds I take away is another 50 pounds they don't have to haul to the dumpster) and dump it atop my daylilies. The daylilies and roses love it, and the worms in the beds love it even more.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was also going to recommend that you don't have to let your pepper plants die over the winter. Instead, take those leaves from the neighbors and make a big ring around each one. If some of the leaves fall over the peppers, don't worry about it: you just want to have the leaves break up the north wind. If you're expecting a real freeze, cover the pepper plants with a plastic or cloth sheet, but otherwise leave the leaves in place. Some of the branches may die over the winter, but the roots should survive well, and you'll get new growth off the crown of the plant as soon as the temperatures warm a bit. This way, you'll already be getting fresh peppers when everyone else is still trying to get their seedlings established. I speak from experience.
Grass clippings and leaves are splendid mulch and make fine soil.
ReplyDeleteGreat job. Hope your cold is much better by now.~~Dee