Maturity (in the garden, not me)

My garden is yielding to maturity. But not me, no sir-ree. Okay, well, maybe a little. Seed heads are drying on their stems. Flower blossoms too. And it's time to start gathering them for an abundance of free spring sowing next year.

Dill is one of my favorites to gather. I love to plant a large grouping each Spring. I touch, sniff and fondle them regularly. Remember, I lack maturity.

Cosmos seeds are a must. Their blooms help bring pollinators to the garden and their dill like appearance so wispy and light is hard to resist.

And marigolds, are good bullies in the garden. Undesirable pests avoid their natural repelling nature. I collect the whole dry heads easily for next years bumper crop of sunny blooms.

Finding ways to bring a little garden to the table? Me too. I try to find ways to bring some to the table by searching out some mini varieties of my favorite herbs and veggies. I planted miniature romaine lettuce among some of my potted plants on our patio to nibble at will. And I'm completely smitten with tiny Basil Pistou. Their lovely herbal fragrance would charm the socks (or pantyhose, maybe girdles. Wait, folks don't wear those anymore do they?) off wedding guests attending summer nuptials! Maturity forth coming, I promise.

I treasure my wire gate. It's a fine sturdy trellis in our garden. It's flanked on one side with light and fruity lemon cucumbers and zinnias on the other. It's rarely in the same place each year but that's what I love about my found wire gate, it's versatility and constant up-cycle-ability.

Whoa, I can't turn my back for one minute!

Way too much maturity happenin' around here!

Ordinary Soil

Ordinary is good. I'm an ordinary person. I live an ordinary life. Good. But ordinary soil? Not so good. In long ago times home gardens received the best of the family's manure. Typically, every family owned a cow that grazed in abundance verdant pastures giving back to the family, milk, meat, and organic fertilizer. The family garden was robust because the soil was nutrient packed rich media. And it was everywhere. Not so today. The soils that coddled our vegetables a millennia ago are deplete of the rich natural resources of the humble bovine and are lackluster in providing for the high demands of the home vegetable garden.

Over the years my composting system has helped to build a rich organic matter filled garden teaming with the microbes of a healthy soil food web. But I also want to ensure that my garden will give back dividends for all my hard work. So I have gotten together my supplies and today I'm going to mix up this recipe for a complete organic fertilizer created by Steve Solomon founder of Territorial Seed Co. Steve encourages incorporating his recipe into the soil at planting time but I will fertilize the recommended amounts as a side dressing to my already established garden. Time to get crackin'!