Kitchen Ranch

Winter in the Garden

A visit to a local garden

A favorite garden of mine is the Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden just down the street...

LadyBugs!

Thanks to Ladies in Red we have learned some great details about ladybugs and how they assist in our gardening efforts...

Vermicompost Bin - Improved

Remember this DIY bin I made way back? HERE ...... well, those worms died. Boo hoo. After additional research, turns out plastic is no good for bins because of the very important level of moisture and ventilation for the bin/worms. Additional evidence that plastic worm bins are no bueno was offered when all the worms died at the daughter's school garden in one of those fancy and quite expensive (but again plastic) worm towers.

I knew then I had to build one from wood. I have never built anything and this project turned out so easy and fun. There was enough scrap wood in the garage and laying about. The only purchase I made was a little bit of window screen to line the bottum of the bin over the ventilation holes. I paid a couple dollars for the screen and $20 for 200 worms at City Farmer's Nursery. The whole project set me back less than $25.

The kids enjoyed helping too- drilling holes is always fun right?

Here is my bin and here are the worms-

Oh yea, What a whirlwind...

I do have good reason for being absent from this space. As chilled out Costa Rica was, returning has been as not chilled out. Every single second of my time has been spent. While in Costa Rica, the husband and I opened Pandora's box of sorts...

We currently live about a 15 minutes drive from San Diego city center. I suppose it is the suburbs-although this neighborhood offers a lot more character than the image that springs to my mind when I utter the word suburb. We moved out here because as our family grew we yearned for more space.  And I always wanted chickens. Here we are 3 years later and yearning for a more walkable living situation. We decided in Costa Rica we would sell our red house in the suburbs and renovate the 700 square foot home in the city.

Fun right?

Super fun, planning is well under way, the red house is on the market... then yesterday.Yesterday has ruined everything.

A sunny day and all 3 kids make their exit after breakfast into the backyard and do not come in until dinner.

REALLY? Can I REALLY move into a house with no yard and these 3 kids that love the outside so?

Torn, really torn.

 

Garden in the mountains

And I suppose there isn't a gopher problem here... (sigh)

Pulling up Radishes.....

Recent radish harvest... spicy and delicious!

As you read this, We are landing in Costa Rica. We will be traveling throughout  Costa Rica for the coming 5 weeks....(working too and plugged in). I will be bringing you lots of photos along the way...(actually, I hope at least 1 a day)

Stay posted!

DIY Vermicompost Bin

This has been on my to-do list for quite a while. Proper vermicompost bins are pretty expensive and then I saw a DIY bin here (what a resourceful blog). How very easy: The bin cost me $4.88 at Home Depot-all other materials were lying about. The boy was thrilled at his chore to dig for worms in the backyard to live in the bin ( I will take a trip to my favorite place to buy a pound of worms for the bin: City Farmers).

Although it is winter, we have some cold crops in the boxes.... (and intentions to build a third box)...

Ok, worm friends-get to work!

To-Do list and Garden Harvest

We had the pleasure of harvesting many greens as well as radishes from the school garden. Pulling radishes from the ground is so utterly delightful...like unwrapping a gift that tastes divine.

I woke up Sunday morning and the daughter had written her to-do list on the kitchen chalkboard...

 

Garden Babes

I think I feel unusually fond about this watermelon baby....

And then these Babes are growing up so fast:

 

Baby Pumpkin too...

Have a splendid week end.