Getting Ready for Spring

Well, I had Monday off and figured I should take advantage of the cool weather and get the garden ready for the spring. Bailey was at the vet getting a dip treatment, so I knew I could actually get some work done without a little shadow following me around the whole backyard. I pulled up everything except the garlic and added the compost I had been cooking since the summer. 

Here's a pic of Shady hiding in the broccoli before I pulled them up. Technically they were still making heads, but I have plans for this space in the next few weeks. Into the compost bin they go!

Here is my harvest of mesclun lettuce. De-lish!

Nearly-done compost makes a great topping for the garden. The big stuff stays on top as an organic mulch and the little stuff gets washed down into the soil, adding nutrients and organic material, the plants will love it!.

What could not be eaten from the pulled up garden was the first thing to go in the compost bin. The end is only the beginning. Next spring this will be part of the compost that is spread. The chemicals and molecules that are created by the bacteria will help build the new plants, so nothing is wasted! Did you know that in San Francisco they have green garbage cans where you can put compost-able items? This stuff does not need to go in a bag and put in the land-fill! Monday night Abbey and I drove around the neighborhood picking up bags of raked leaves people had set on the sidewalk. My compost bin is now bulging at the seams!

Here are the freshly composted gardens, fertilized and ready for planting. All I need to do is figure out what to grow and where to grow it!