Compost

Last year, I built a compost pile out of leaves, stuff I pruned out of the flours and shrubs, garden waste, kitchen waste, etc.  While it did produce some compost, enough to help fill my raised planter/green house, it did not do a great job.  I think I didn't have enough green matter and I never reached a critical mass.  This year will be different.  I have been picking up bagged yard waste to add to my compost pile and I have been turning it regularly.  Now I know bagged yard waste does produce some concern when it comes to pesticides and other chemicals, but I think I have limited the risk.  I never pick up from yards that have signs warning that they have been sprayed, and I picked up most of it during winter.  Most homes don't fertilize or spray during winter.  There are two kinds of bags, ones filled with leaves and ones filled with trimmings from a bagged mower.  The ones from the bagged mower contain some grass clippings and some leaves, about 2-3 parts leaves to 1 part grass.  These I add directly to my compost pile.  The ones with just leaves go to mulch around trees and shrubs mostly.  Some do get added to the compost pile, but not before they have been run over by my push mower a few times and mixed with straw bales that have been chopped by the mower too.

As you can see by the size of my compost pile it has absolutely exceeded  the critical mass point, usually seen as 1 cubic yard (3'x3'x3').  I have 6 pallets placed in the corner of the yard against a chain link fence.  At least once a week I turn half the pile and add a few more bags of yard clippings.  As of this morning the temperature inside the pile was over 140*.  I hope to use this compost in 6-8 weeks to build some lasagna gardening beds.

Tips:  Check bags for pine cones, sweet gum balls, and magnolia leaves or seed pods.  These do not go well in a compost bed, but may be found in yard waste.

Starting seeds in my green house.

Our weather has been great, lows in the 40-50* range and highs from the mid 60's to 80*.  So I decided to start some seeds for the garden.  Our last frost date is April 14, about 7 weeks away, and usually April 1 is safe.  I checked the ground temperature this morning and it is already 54 degrees!

I don't need many of most plants, and I hate to buy the little 6 or 9 packs knowing I only need 2 or 3 plants.  So what I did is save those 9 pack trays and start my own seeds.  To keep track of what is where I decided to number each tray.

I used the side I numbered to orient a grid of 1 thru 9.  Then I wrote down what I planted in each tray.  For the most part I planted 3 of each type of plant, except the last tray where I planted ones and two's.

Before I planted the seeds I took some old pots with a vermiculite mix and mixed the soil with some peat moss in a bucket.  Then I filled the trays full, wet the soil, and gently packed the soil down.  Then just to make sure the soil was fully wet I let the trays sit in 1/2" of water for 15 minutes.  When I brought them into the house the soil was moist, but not wet.  I used a sharpened pencil to make holes for those seeds that needed to be buried.

I have had limited success in starting seeds before.  My problem seems to be that I am planting too many types in one container, a zucchini will hit the top of the tray's plastic lid before some other seeds are up.  The leaves of the zucchini then start to die because they are wet, or if you open the top the other seeds dry out and don't do well.  So instead of placing the trays under a tray cover, I placed them in my green house.  This is not a big expensive green house, just the opposite in fact.   I had a raised bed that I screwed tomato stakes to, then I covered it with clear plastic.  That simple.

Ok, maybe not.  My cat keeps jumping on top of it and poking holes in the plastic, and I have to cut a hole in the side to access anything.

It does not look good, but the stuff it has grown for us this winter has been great.

The cabbage, garlic, strawberries, butter lettuce, and spinach have done the best.  I also recently transfered some parsley, cilantro, onions, and carrots in there too.  There is also rose mary, and some pineapple tops that I rooted.  Not bad considering I spent less than $20 to build it.

I put the seed trays where I have harvested the lettuce and some of the cabbage.  Hopefully, in a few weeks I will be transplanting lots of great stuff; Sage, Thyme, Lavender, Lemon Basil, Lemon Balm, Flat leaf Parsley, Rosemary (a different variety than what I already have), Bush Spicy Globe Basil, Genovese Basil (*H), Butter Lettuce, Sungold Select II Tomato (*H), Ground Cherry or strawberry husk tomato (*H), Purple Tomatillo (*H), Arkansas Traveler Tomato (*H), Money Maker Tomato (*H), Cherokee Purple tomato (*H), Cayenne Peppers long thin (*H), Serrano Tampequino peppers (*H), Red marconi peppers (*H), German green tomato (*H), Great white tomato (*H), Pineapple tomato (*H), and chives.

All of the heirloom seeds came from Baker Creek Seed Company in their large souther seed package.  The package has 25 types of plants and 60 total varieties of heirloom seeds for only $102 shipped!  I went thru their magazine and marked what i "wanted" and then decided that I wanted more than I could afford or had the room to plant.  So I decided on one of their packages that come in a metal tin for storage and let them pick which 60 types to send me.  About 35-40 of the 60 packs were ones that I marked in their magazine.

(*H) - The *H stands for an Heirloom variety. 

Cannon Pub - fajita recipe

My wife and I have eaten at the Cannon pub once before, she loved it, but I thought it was only OK.  We went back for dinner yesterday and now I know why she loved it.  The first time we went she ordered a burger and I had a chicken dish that was recommended by the waiter.  The chicken was dry and salty, but everything else was good.  Well this time I ordered one of their burgers, the Tiger Burger (mushroom, bacon, and Swiss), and it was awesome.  It is definitely the best restaurant burger I have had in Columbus.  As a side I got their sunspots a sweet potato chip that comes with a raspberry dipping sauce. My wife had the french dip sandwich with beer battered french fries and thought it was great too.  Since the last time I was there the redesigned their menus.  Maybe they fixed or replaced the salty chicken dish.  This is also a brew bub, and they make some great brews.  We will definitely be back, and I will recommend them to my friends too. 

Recipe for you. 
Fajitas for 2

1 chicken breast
3-6 garlic cloves
1 large onion
2 bell peppers (yellow, red, or orange)
2 Tbsp oil (if you use medium low heat olive oil will work, otherwise use canola)
fajita spice


Fajita Spice for the above recipe
1 1/2 tsp cumin ground
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder

Cook the chicken breast. For less calories boil it. For more flavor use an additional 1 tbsp of oil and saute the breast till caramelized. then set the breast aside.  Place a large saute pan on the stove on medium low heat and add oil. Crush the garlic and give it a rough chop. Cut the onion in half and slice in 1/4"-3/8" thick slices. When the oil is hot add the garlic and onion. Cut the bell peppers along the seams and remove the seeds and pith. Slice bell peppers in 1/4" slices. Once the onions start to get soft add the bell peppers. You do not want to caramelize the onions and garlic. Now slice the chicken breast to halve the thickness. Then slice the breast across the grain of the muscle in 1/4" slices. Add the chicken to the pan and then add the spice mixture and mix everything well. Once everything is evenly coated remove from heat and serve.
Serve with fresh made corn tortillas. http://www.myhomecooking.net/mexican...lla-recipe.htm
If you want salsa just dice 2 tomatoes and 1/2 an onion with 2 tbsp cilantro 1 tsp olive oil and 2 tbsp white wine vinegar. Depending on the heat you like you can dice Serrano, jalapeno, or Anaheim peppers into it 1-2 peppers is usually enough. Let it sit for an hour for better flavor then salt and pepper to taste. You can add other stuff to your salsa to make it yours or use up leftovers. Some of my favorites are: Mango, Peach, Corn, black beans, minced garlic, bell peppers, etc.