Adding Coffee grounds to my compost!

One day as I was making dunkin donuts pumpkin spice coffee at home I realized the coffee grounds would be great for my compost bin. Since it is a lot colder out and I only use a little amount of coffee grounds a day I set up a little system.

I simply took an old coffee can and labeled "coffee grounds for compost".  Then slowly everyday I would add the coffee grounds to fill the can. It's perfect because the can doesn't take up space and contains any smell the grounds would emit! Plus I'm not walking in the cold to empty the grounds directly into the compost bin everyday but only when the can is filled!

The best thing is I'm providing more for my compost, recycling the use of a old coffee can and not producing any trash when I make a cup of coffee!!

We've got Roots! Rosemary roots for indoor herbs!

The rosemary sprigs I placed in a vase two weeks ago on a windowsill have finally taken root!

The three sprigs I cut from my potted rosemary plant on my back deck have survived the transition indoors.

Ill let the sprigs get a little stronger before planting them in a pot for the rest of winter on the windowsill. Just goes to show you when the growing season ends outside it can still continue indoors!

Fall color: Blueberry Bushes

Attempting to grow Rosemary inside!

Now that we have had a number if freezes and tomorrow might even bring snow! I decided to try and grow some rosemary inside. First step was to find a vase and then cut some sprigs of rosemary. I cut the stems at an angle like you would for cut flowers. Then I placed the three branches in a vase. Hopefully the branches will take root in the water and ill be able to plant them in a small pot to grow indoors over the winter!

2012 Growing Season Final Harvest Numbers!

After an early season freeze in the beginning of October and Hurricane Sandy hitting at the end, I'm pretty sure the 2012 Growing Season has come to an end for me.  This year I devoted a lot of time to my vegetable garden, from expanding it to experimenting with growing new plants.  As the season progressed I was pleasantly surprised to see that my garden was producing more then I was expecting!  Some of the highest yielding plants include Hot Peppers (which I still haven't figured out what type they are, at the store they were labeled as red cayenne plants), cherry tomatoes and Juliet tomatoes.  I decided to keep a record of all the harvests throughout the summer and fall.  Although I may have missed a few tomatoes here or there, I believe my records are pretty close to what I ended up taking out of my garden.  So without further ado here is my final harvest totals for the 2012 growing season! The list includes type of plant grown and how many fruits or vegetables collected from them.

1. Hot Peppers  =                       192
2. Cherry Tomatoes =                153
3. Juliet Tomatoes=                   118
4. Garden Beans =                       58
5. Cucumbers =                           30
6. Heirloom Tomato =                20
7. Marion Tomato =                   17
8. Big Boy Tomato =                 15
9. Japanese Eggplant =                9
10. Red Hot Cherry Peppers =      7
11. Zucchini =                               4
12. Sweet Pepper =                       4
13. Sugar Baby Watermelon =     2

Hurricane Sandy Garden Damage!

Although my garden was empty, thanks to an early freeze back in the beginning of October, my garden was indirectly impacted by Hurricane Sandy. I was lucky for no big branches or trees landed on my rabbit fencing around my garden!

What did go wrong is I lost all the hot pepper I froze! We went 4 days without power and this caused my hot peppers, which I froze to, defrost. Without any way to cook them I ended up having to throw them out :( which was very disappointing for me!