I had a simple plan for this spring's garden: Two plants each of broccoli and cauliflower in each corner of the garden with the compost bin in the center. I thought it would be fairly simple and composting directly in the garden would help get me ready for corn at the end of summer.
Recently, I've had some battles with the neighborhood racoon who seems to like most everything that goes into the compost bin. He's a tenacious little guy, climbing over and bending the fence around the garden all in his effort to dig around for our composted kitchen waste. My racoon espisodes these days reminds me of Bill Murray in "Caddyshack" and his constant battle with the gopher. Either way, I'm smarter now and all the kitchen stuff goes in the other compost bin at the edge of the yard. He stays away from the garden when there's nothing fresh in it. So, the garden composter will be for grass clippings for now.
The last time the racoon romped in the garden he nearly destroyed my cauliflower and broccoli seedlings I had set out in pots just before planting in the ground. Seeing those little seedlings all turned over and left for dead, I realized a back up plan was needed or this spring was a bust for the garden. So, I looked at the space I had and seeds I still had from past years and whamo, it hit me........peas and beans, two quick and easy veggies that also help to put valuable nitrogen back in the ground as they grow. Its called nitrogen fixing and legumes do that through their roots. With corn being a heavy nitrogen feeder it only made sense to do the beans now. Load my plot with nitro from the legumes and all the grass clippings from a summer of mowing and I'm surely to get good results with fall sweet corn!!!
And so, plan B is firmly in place. The beans and peas are planted in their seperate sections, the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings have com back
to health and are firmly planted.
Recently, I've had some battles with the neighborhood racoon who seems to like most everything that goes into the compost bin. He's a tenacious little guy, climbing over and bending the fence around the garden all in his effort to dig around for our composted kitchen waste. My racoon espisodes these days reminds me of Bill Murray in "Caddyshack" and his constant battle with the gopher. Either way, I'm smarter now and all the kitchen stuff goes in the other compost bin at the edge of the yard. He stays away from the garden when there's nothing fresh in it. So, the garden composter will be for grass clippings for now.
The last time the racoon romped in the garden he nearly destroyed my cauliflower and broccoli seedlings I had set out in pots just before planting in the ground. Seeing those little seedlings all turned over and left for dead, I realized a back up plan was needed or this spring was a bust for the garden. So, I looked at the space I had and seeds I still had from past years and whamo, it hit me........peas and beans, two quick and easy veggies that also help to put valuable nitrogen back in the ground as they grow. Its called nitrogen fixing and legumes do that through their roots. With corn being a heavy nitrogen feeder it only made sense to do the beans now. Load my plot with nitro from the legumes and all the grass clippings from a summer of mowing and I'm surely to get good results with fall sweet corn!!!
And so, plan B is firmly in place. The beans and peas are planted in their seperate sections, the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings have com back
to health and are firmly planted.
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