My compost has a cantaloupe!

Over the past several months, I've been working on cultivating my compost. I've added cut grass after we mow, manure as it dries out, lots of fruit and veggie scraps from the kitchen and generally adding this and that to make the compost ready to use in the fall. I've been turning it regularly and keeping it 'aired' well. But, about a month or so ago, I noticed a pretty little plant growing in there! In fact it now has blooms all over it and has vines growing in all directions. Needless to say I stopped turning the soil and put the whole thing on hold for a while. I wanted to see what was growing in there. It was beginning to look like something we planted in the garden and now the compost plant has outgrown the one in my garden!! I checked the leaves, vines and blooms on my garden cantaloupe to see if they looked the same as the compost plant...Yes! They sure did. Exactly the same. Great! The little compost plant is huge with gorgeous, lush leaves, and shoots and runners going everywhere that are covered in blooms! YAY!! It even has a lemon-sized, green ball growing and four more little, fuzzy ball-shapes coming along also. My garden cantaloupe has some also...they match. It's blooming so beautifully and growing rapidly. I remember cleaning out the frig and had the kids run some kitchen scraps out to the compost. There was a cantaloupe in the mess I sent out. It was left when we went out of town and so I threw it into the compost. I think it laid there for a good while. I thought it was rotting away...ha! Here's the little lemon-sized thing. We'll wait until it and the others grow into the right size and see how they taste. I'll be glad when it gets done growing so I can use that compost to make some 'compost tea' and fertilize my 'real' garden...if it did this well by accident I can't wait to see how it does on purpose!! I think I'll start another compost and make it bigger...wonder what could grow in that.

Composting

There's something refreshing about being outdoors and around nature. And have you ever wondered why we throw away so much trash. Well, remember our burn pile??? We no longer have that huge thing and now we have a little barrel that we burn stuff in regularly. With recycling all our glass and metal from the groceries we use, and burning what can be burned, at least we're not adding to the landfills. We don't even have a trash pick-up service. I didn't set it up after we moved. I have wanted to get to this point for a long, long time and think we may finally be getting there...but let me tell you up front...it is work. Mostly, it's just remembering what to do with what. After that...it's easy and after you do it a week or so it becomes much easier!! With all that said, we made a compost bin on Monday. There are many kinds of bins to assemble, but I chose one of the simplest to make. Actually, I didn't make it, the kids did. I just helped place the posts & wire. Check it out.

Garrett is setting the first post. It's kinda scary to be the one holding it while the other pounds with a mallet.

Austin is pounding a stake into the soft soil...it's rained alot and that made it easier to get the post in.She wasn't about to let those boys have all the fun!

If you want to make your own, here's what you'll need:

*12-14' heavy gauge poultry wire *5 five-foot stakes (wood or metal) *zip ties or wire ties-to keep wire steady Here's what you do:

**Roll out and cut about 12-13' of the wire. Press back a few inches on each end to provide a strong, clean edge. Set a circle in place with the wire and secure ends with ties. Space stakes evenly around the inside of the wire and pound each one firmly into the ground, keeping them tense against the wire. Use the ties to secure wire to posts.

The boys straightening the wire against the posts Micaylah is attaching the ties to the posts and wire.

That's it. You now have a compost bin and you can begin placing all your kitchen scraps into it. Here's some additional materials that you can use: *grass clippings *pine needles *wood ashes *sawdust *sod *newspapers *leaves *hay *hedge trimmings *peat moss *paper-not colored *feathers *manure *food you would eat, such as leftovers and things you throw out when you clean out your fridge. Things to remember about composting:

• stir it up about once every 5-7 days
• shred up items for faster decomposition
• proper moisture is key

More info coming!

That takes care of that! You know what I found out? Since you guys are so incredibly smart you probably already know this, but you don't have to have a lot of room to compost. You only need about a 4'X4' space in your yard. And you can put it in a corner.