Kitchen garden

Like the compost bin, starting seeds has become my way of welcoming spring (or what there is of it) this year. In past times, I would purchase plants later in the season that will be a source of fresh produce once the summer hits.
This year I think (!) it will be fun to start a few select plants from seed. Figure out your last frost date, and you will be able to determine when to start your plants indoors (check with your local extension service).
The first round of seeds will be my 'Mexican medley' - all vegetables that I can't wait to make into salsas, add to carnitas, and top onto tacos: jalapeno, tomatillos, habenero, ancho gigantes. In there is also broccoli, an early grower. Next up will be tomatoes, cucumbers....and more!

I simply planted as instructed into peat pots, and followed the instructions on the seed packets for soil depth. Keep 'em damp, and watch them grow! Now where to plant them.....

This kit comes with a see-through lid, to keep everything happy

4 days in, and the broccoli sees the light!

Composting kitchen

Nitrogenous green goodness

In hopes that snow will disappear, and the days become warm, the kitchen compost has started up again for the season. If you are both a kitchen and garden person, the twains meet in many ways. The output of the kitchen goes into the compost, the compost goes into the soil, the vegetables grow happily, and then return to where their ancestors came from. Compost adds nutrients and aerates the soil, making it the perfect soil amendment at the beginning of the growing season (and throughout the year).

The compost can accept most any food product that is not protein (meats, bones), or fat (grease, oil). All fruit, vegetables, coffees and teas, cooked pastas and grains, rinsed egg shells, are great additions. These are considered 'green' materials (nitrogen-rich), and to make optimal compost have to be balanced with 'brown' materials (carbon-rich yard waste such as leaves, grass, garden soil). 30:1 ratio of carbon to nitrogen allows for effective heating and decomposition into 'black gold'.

Check out this blog and this site for lots of the science and how-to behind composting.

While I am preparing dinner, a bowl on the counter is ready to accept scraps, which goes straight to a stainless steel lidded compost container. I used to just use a plastic container (which is great), but the lidded container is forgiving if you don't get out to your compost bin right away. Whether you use a larger contained compost bin outdoors, or a worm compost bin, you will be secure in the knowledge that you are building great soil, one carrot peel at a time.