If gardening teaches us anything, it surely is patience. I never give up on a plant until it's brown and crispy and beyond all hope of living.

I'm very glad that your bulbs decided to teach you patience! I agree that maybe the compost heap isn't the best place to get new healthy roots to grow, but I'm very happy that it happened, and that you were able to salvage those bulbs!

I think the mixture you have them in now should do the trick, along with a watchful eye and careful watering. The bulbs I have potted in Al's Mix drain almost as soon as I water them, too, and I am careful to make sure they're being fed and watered when they need it.

That's a great story... thank you for sharing it with us! And don't forget to post photos when those bulbs bloom for you!

I forgot to mention that my compost pile is growing vegetables from last years garden clean-up! There are tomato plants, corn, and a couple of vining plants, such as cantaloupe! I doubt they'll actually produce much, but they're giving it the old college try!

My Mom got all her wonderful Iris plants from the neighbor's compost pile! The neighbor had thinned out her beautiful beds, and had thrown away a ton of extra rhizomes... we just asked if we could have them, and a new Iris garden was born!

I know what you mean Jodik. In the area in front of the bin where I "sorted" compost, I must have had at least 20 volunteer tomato seedlings sprout up. They really looked healthy too! But it was so late in the season, there was no way (especially in Wisconsin) that they would have had time to grow enough to bear fruit. Oh, but it was SO HARD to pull up all those lovely plants and put them in the compost bin! I kept thinking: I should have done this first thing in the spring! And next year, I will! MacThayer

Why is it that the tomato plants we want to bear fruit, and are carefully planted in the veggie garden, seem to take forever to grow? But volunteer seedlings will come up everywhere we don't want them, and they grow like weeds! I've been pulling tomato plants out of the perennial beds since spring! And the tomatoes I planted in the veggie patch haven't even produced one ripe tomato yet!

Maybe next year I'll let a few volunteers grow where they come up... maybe I'll actually have early fruit from them!

Do you suppose it's because they have cross pollinated to create a stronger, healthier strain? Or perhaps it's because only the healthiest seeds germinated. Sometimes I think most seeds would do their best if only we could start them where they are to grow, but unfortunately the growing season in Wisconsin does not allow for that! (At least for tomatoes) I would absolutely LOVE to grow the "compost plants" because I had so many varieties of tomatoes last year that surely there would be at least one "hybrid" in there, if not more than that. I think the only other way to do it is to clean out your compost bins (or wherever your baby volunteers grow) and replant them in tubs or hanging baskets, and then have a greenhouse you could move them into so you could have a season of decent length. I do have a small greenhouse attached to my house, but couldn't overwinter anything -- heating it would be WAY too expensive. But I could get tomatoes through a couple of frosts, as long as I knew the weather was going to warm up again soon. It stays pretty warm in there with just the sun. I started my tomatoes early this year by using the greenhouse, and started getting ripe tomatoes on the 4th of July, which in Wisconsin terms, is practically a miracle! I've had enough for my own salads steadily since, and over the past week, they have really started to put out the fruit. I'm overwhelmed! Don't quite know what to do, and wouldn't you know it, I'm going to be gone next week. Oh, well, I guess picking and distributing tomatoes will just end up on my "Hubby Duty List!" But as soon as I get back, it looks like I'll start some canning. Happy gardening! MacThayer

I think you're right... the bees work hard pollinating the tomato plants we plant... and then, the seeds that grow volunteer are stronger than their parents.

Even here, in Central Illinois, the season is too short to plant seeds and hope for much fruit. This season's weather hasn't helped much... too chilly early, and then too much rain... if we don't buy actual starter plants, we don't get a decent crop. And this year, it looks like we won't get much regardless. Last year, and the previous year, we had bumper crops of tomatoes! I couldn't give them all away!

I did notice, though, that some varieties were rather tasteless last year, compared to the flavor of the previous year. Another tomato mystery! This year, we grew a few early types and some heirloom types, and a slicer and a grape type. The previous two years, we grew at least a dozen varieties, if not more. It gets a little much!

We should have our little greenhouse up by next year, so the following year, I could probably start collected seed early. I can't really do that now... I don't have a decent place to start seeds too early.

The bottom line, though, is as you say... the cross-pollinated compost pile volunteers are stronger and better, and if given a chance to produce, would probably grow really nice, tasty fruit! It's a shame our season is so short! Left to its own devices, nature always grows the strongest, best plants... survival of the fittest, and all!

You're very lucky to be enjoying tomatoes... for some unknown reason, ours are not doing that well. Green beans, on the other hand, are going nuts! And the peppers are producing like crazy! Go figure!

Maybe the key, here, is to plant the garden right on top of the compost pile! LOL!

Happy Growing!

If we are talking about tomatoes here already, my Sundrops just start to ripen. I hope I can keep wild life away from the crop, so we can enjoy the "fruit of my labor."

{{gwi:423645}}

Soultan -- lovely looking tomatoes! They remind me of my "Sungold" cherry tomatoes, which are also wonderful.

Jodik -- I think you are "right on" when you talk about "planting on the compost pile". I have been using tons of composted cow manure on my tomatoes for the last few years, and have definitely noticed a big difference. I literally bury the plant in compost, and as soon as it starts to fruit, I side dress it with more. I have tons of worms, and the flavor of the tomatoes is also wonderful. I keep saying: Nature makes the best fertilizer. In fact, I use compost for everything. Last year, when the garden center was selling out, I picked up 40 bags (20 pounds each) for 98 cents a bag! Is that cheap fertilizer or what?! And all I had to do was store it over the winter. Plus, of course, I make my own -- but I can't make enough for all of my needs. Actually, I used a lot of it to side dress most of my plants just after the first frost, and before I put down winter mulch, so it would go to work as soon as it warmed up. ALL of my plants love it! MacThayer

MacThayer,
After dinner, I hurried back to the computer because I realized that I used the wrong name for my tomato. It IS Sun Gold. I don't know where I got the drop from.
I didn't know this variety can bear up to about a thousand tomatoes per bush, and I have 6 bushes reaching/overgrowing 6 feet already. Then there are the Yellow Pears from Cindee doing the same... So I guess, I will plant some for the Fall/Winter/Spring that bear larger fruits, like my Hungarian Lugas F1, Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple and alike... I need some more space. Fortunately, I have a flat roof on the house. The question is, if I overdo it, as I tend to overdo things when I get the craze for something, then I will grow so much tomatoes that I will not find enough people to feed it to... What a dilemma. :o) I'd like to be there already.

I guess you'd call this a "farm-ette"... there are 3 horses, 3 goats, and an aviary full of peacocks, ducks and chickens... not to mention all the dogs in the kennel, and the barn cats... as I'm sure you can imagine, the manure from the horses, goats and poultry can build up fairly fast! We compost it all, and use it on everything!

The best fertilizer is the used duck pool water! We have baby pools in the aviary for the ducks to swim in... we take the used water and dump it on the gardens. We call it "Duck Poop Soup"! The plants absolutely love it!

The only things we use chemical fertilizer on are the roses, and of course, my houseplants... everything else gets a healthy dose of manure, whether it's a topdressing from the compost pile, or water from the duck pools... or both!

Yes, Mother Nature makes the finest fertilizer!

Soultan - Those look almost ready to eat! You'll be picking very soon! It sounds like you're going to have an overabundance of tomatoes! You could always give the extras to friends and colleagues... or, you could freeze or can them... or, you could sell them at a Farmer's Market... I'm sure they're organic, and people pay dearly for organically grown fruits and veggies! Local stores or restaurants might want to buy them, too. That's the thing with tomatoes... a single plant usually produces way more than one person can consume!

Several of our grocery stores here depend on the local small growers/farmers to supply them with organically grown vegetables and fruits... and the price on everything is rather steep! Every Thursday during summer, there's a local Farmer's Market downtown... people flock to the market so they can buy fresh produce! I'm amazed at the money people are willing to pay for freshly picked vegetables and fruit!

I wouldn't mind having enough friends just to give the extra away if I ever get to that situation. I'm not really interested in freeze, can, or sell them. I am doing too many things already. I don't want tomato growing get out of hand and develop into another semi-work for me, taking the fun out of caring them, playing around in my kitchen garden.
I am at a point in my life when I start to seriously slow down and feel the pressure all the things, jobs, obligations, society, just living hold me back with, so I will have to find a way to slow down, weed out things that are not that important in my life and try to grab something meaningful. Playing kitchen garden should stay an easy game for me.
Right now, I am just picking Sun Gold one at a time and gulp them down a la nature. So there is no overabundance yet.
One thing is exciting though: the Hungarian peppers I brought to the Country are seriously working on producing peppers... That's neat. I was prepared to face failure due to our California heat, but it seems like I am succeeding.
I need these tiny sparkles in my life until I finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. :o)
Anybody who got seeds from me, report me if you succeeded with any, please...

Soultan -- Like you, I end up with excess produce, and am not interested in dragging it around to sell to a variety of places, so I take it all to our local "food bank". Do you have any food banks nearby? We have one called Second Harvest, and it's for poor people who are struggling to feed their families. Most people donate canned and dry goods. When I walk in with a load of fresh vegetables, they LOVE me, and they take everything I have. The people who run Second Harvest say that my produce is always gone in less than a day, and that makes me feel good, because I know it is going to people who otherwise would not be able to afford fresh produce. Anyway, that one thought. Also, before I moved here, I used to give all of my excess produce to a Women's shelter, and again, they always took everything and were very grateful. Maybe there's a place near you that gives away food or prepares food for the poor that would benefit from your excess produce, and you could drop it off at your convenience, and only make one stop.

Jodik -- I would ADORE having more animals! You are one LUCKY LADY! We only have two puppies at the moment, and even though I love them, I was thinking more along the lines of some chickens, and perhaps a few goats or sheep. We have plenty of land for it -- 20 acres smack in the middle of farm country, so no one would lift an eyebrow if I did get more animals. Unfortunately, my work requires me to travel a fair bit, and while it is simple to board a dog or two, it's not easy to get someone to take care of farm animals. (My husband also travels, and sometimes we travel together because we own a business together.) Sigh! Well, maybe when we retire? On the other hand, with all of these farmers around, all I have to do is pick up the phone and I can get all of the manure, straw, topsoil -- you name it! -- that I want. The farmer next door "hays" our big field which keeps the thistles and unwanted trees under control (and he keeps the hay for his trouble, so it's a win-win). We raised chickens, ducks and goats on a "farm-ette" all the while I was growing up, which is why I know so much about using natural fertilizer (manure), and growing things --we had a HUGE garden -- grew enough potatoes and carrots to feed a family of 6 for an entire winter -- and we stored them in the "root cellar". Most young people today don't even know what a root cellar is! Or how to bury winter squash and other things in a mound in the ground to keep them until you want them in the winter. Or how to can tomatoes, for that matter. Or most of the truly wonderful things you can learn while growing up on a farm. Which is why we bought this land. I was so "hungry" to get back to the land. Our last house was on 5 acres, and I thought I had big gardens there -- and did -- but also had loud complaints from my suburban neighbors. ("It looks like a farm over there!" Well, duh, I'm planting a ton of vegetables in the back yard -- but vegetable weren't welcome, because they weren't "decorative enough" and besides that, my vegetable bed was "too big" -- the landscaping committee told me I had to make it smaller so it would "fit in" -- which is one of the main reasons we moved -- not because I had to make the bed smaller, but to escape things like "landscaping committees". We've been here 4 years now, and they'll be taking me out of here feet first, and that's the truth (hopefully when I'm in my 90's like the rest of my family!)

Anyway, nice talking with both of you. All the Best! MacThayer

Don't start me on "landscaping committees." They did not own your back yard, and you did not buy your home with a special clause allowing them to run your life or curtail your vegetable garden. Committees most of the time have rights of proposal or suggestions. They actually can be sued for harrassment. Your back yard is not your front yard, that could "alter" the outlook of a community, thus, a committee could make recommendations for you to change.
Amazing how many people want to run other people's life, and if they cannot get into politics, or some kind of job that gives them power and assumed authority, then they get into committees, and pretend to be forceful, and sometimes they succeed, because a lot of people don't know their rights and get scared of them.
I am glad though that you did not move to run away from them, but to expand your opportunities on a larger scale...

Before we were married, Larry ran into similar trouble living within the confines of "town"... he had quite a few American Bulldogs, and you know how it is... we fear that which we do not understand. His house was across from the elementary school, and the kids would come across the street to play with the dogs. They let some of the dogs loose to play with them, and the dogs ended up over at the school. Well, chaos ensued, the police were called, and the whole episode landed him in front of the Village Board.

It seems that the dogs and children were having fun, all playing together, but the police were afraid of the dogs. American Bulldogs are extremely child-friendly and protective. The kids had to help Larry round up the loose dogs, because the police were afraid to. They had their guns drawn... in a school yard full of children!

Anyway... to make a long story short... the Village Board told Larry he had to get rid of all but 3 dogs. Larry's attorney checked into it, and it seems that there were no laws on the books regarding how many animals you could have within the town limits. Well, they immediately enacted and voted a new law into existence, and tried to make Larry follow it. Since the town is within the USA, they couldn't make him bend to their will... he was "Grandfathered" in, and the dogs stayed. Very soon after, Larry bought a large piece of property and moved to the country.

I am not an unreasonable person, but I don't like to be told what I can and cannot do on my own property. I would never move into a community that had rules about landscaping or what I could park in my driveway, etc... it's not right.

Chickens don't really take much care at all... especially if you allow them to free range. We have our birds in an aviary, mostly to protect them. But there are a few chickens that roam around... they always come back to the loafing shed to roost at night. Chickens would help keep down the bug population in the gardens! We throw them a little extra feed, and keep a water tub for them to drink out of, but they just wander around and eat bugs and things... they're pretty cool.

I do count myself among the lucky ones... to have all this space and freedom is wonderful! I can walk to my mailbox in my pajamas, and no one can even see me... unless they're driving by. I can grow what I want, have my dogs and animals... and enjoy nature to the fullest!

Giving your extra produce to a Shelter or food bank is a fabulous idea! I'll have to look into that for next years' veggies... this year, we're not having good luck with extras!

Even though I'm still fairly young, I am a Grandma... and with my health problems, I'm starting to slow down, too... I don't really have a choice. My body won't do what I'd like it to do, and so, I do what I can. I'm very lucky to be able to garden, and to enjoy the animals and plants here. I thank God every day for the beauty around me... yes, I consider myself very lucky, indeed!

Hi Soultan & Jodik -- Well, in fact we DID buy our last home with an agreement that we would follow the guidelines as set down by the landscaping committee. We signed our name to a set of "covenants" which governed our little suburb, and one of them was that we could neither enlarge a garden, start a new garden, or plant a tree without the permission of the landscaping committee. The vegetable garden was, in fact, a new garden that I created where there had previously been lawn. They actually had the right to tell me to pull it all up and put the lawn back, and were being generous (according to MY lawyer) by allowing me to keep the vegetable garden at all. It all started because when we first moved there, we were practically the first ones to build on the circle. Over the years, it slowly became built up, until no empty lots remained. That's when the "landscaping committee" became active -- or should I say militant? They would send around these threatening little letters saying "Someone has enlarged a garden without permission" -- and "Don't forget to get permission before planting anything, be it annual, perennial or decorative container -- and "NO TREES!" Now honestly, I know we lived on Village View Circle, and I shouldn't plant a tree that obstructed the lovely view of the village for the house across the street from me, but give me a break - I wouldn't do that, and why did I have to dig up the tree in back of MY house, when the only view it might 'obstruct' was my own? And then they called us when some friends parked their motor home in our drive for 5 days for a visit - absolutely harassed us over this -- to the point where I just stopped answering the phone (again, it's in the covenants - no motor homes, trailers, boats, etc. parked on your drive). And I'll spare you the details about the garbage pick up. Suffice it to say that if we weren't exquisitely meticulous about separating our garbage, it was left at the curb. So when we went looking for land, what was at the TOP of my list was NO COVENANTS! I didn't want any restrictions on what I could do with my land. As you say, Jodik, I can now walk to my mailbox in my jammies if I please, and I won't hear a thing about it (and I certainly would have at the other place). There are no restrictions on this land, except that we can't build another house here. We can build all of the outbuildings we want, just not a second home.

But I agree, Soultan, people SHOULD be allowed to do as they please with their own land. After all, THEY weren't paying my mortgage or taxes! On the other hand, I have friends who swear they'd never live in a suburb that didn't have "well structured covenants" -- because it keeps the neighbors in line. To each his own, I suppose, which is why I live here, and they live in a suburb with covenants.

Thanks for listening! MacThayer

Covenants that keep people from collecting garbage on their lawn, or make them keep the weeds down, are one thing... and those types of rules protect your property values, which can be a good thing... but when a committee is comprised of people that have nothing better to do with their time than become militant about rules... well, that's just ridiculous! It crushes the very ideals that our country is based upon, in my opinion.

My husband says, that he always wants to live where he can stand out on his front porch in the morning, in his boxers, and scratch his private parts! Now, that's what being American is all about! LOL!

I don't blame you one bit for wanting to move... I'd want to move, too! I couldn't live in a neighborhood where I had to ask permission to have out-of-town visitors park a motorhome in my driveway... or to plant a tree in my yard, or any of the other rules inflicted by the group of self-appointed monarchy. And the heck of it is... these neighborhoods are usually rather expensive ones to buy into. No thanks!

I love wide open spaces, rural gravel roads, not being able to see the neighbor's house... being able to urinate while standing on the porch, my husband adds! LOL!

I agree... to each his own. I'll take country life! The quiet and wildlife and freedoms are worth so much to me!

I'm not allowed to plant anything not native to California because we are CLOSE to a Natural Wildlife reserve and the Mullholland Scenic Corridor in the heart of Los Angeles.
I don't think Tomatoes, Hungarian Peppers, the Hawai'ian hybiscus, Amaryllis, Petunia, Chrysanthemum, Daylilly, Viola, Basil, Radish, Hybrid cucumber, (and the list could go on and on) that I plant in my property are native plants. What do I do now? Should I report myself?
I also believe that schnauzers are not native to California. How about humans? Weren't they invading species?
Maybe I should propose a city ordinance to demolish buildings erected on areas originally occupied by native plants and animals... Oops... I just eliminated Los Angeles...

That's exactly my point... humorous as it may sound... I think many of these "committees" are formed because the people have nothing better to do with their time, are extremely nosey and must know everything the neighbors do, and want the control to have things their way.

I can see wanting to preserve nature, and I can see wanting to keep property values high... but I can't see what's so horrible about having out-of-town visitors with a motorhome, or what's so terrible about wanting to plant a tree, etc...

If we really want to get technical, none of us, or our pets and garden plants, are native... we keep everything "native" in preserves, including the "Native Peoples". How civilized is that?!

I agree with both of you. As long as people are behaving responsibly, what they do with their own land should be their own business. I mean, it's not as if Soultan's violas or basil are going to "invade" the "pristine" natural Wildlife Reserve, or anything like that. When we first moved to the other place, I was leery of even signing the covenants, but (1) we had to do it to buy the land, and (2) we were assured that the only reason they were in place was to keep people from doing anything to obstruct the view of the people who might build across the street. Other than that, we were told "not to worry" about the covenants. And we didn't, until "the militants" came to power and started enforcing everything right down to the letter, and even retroactively. Don't we have enough problems in this world without having to create the "Plant Police" as well? So go ahead and plant all you want, Soultan. If no one has complained to this point, I'll bet they're not following the rules either! MacThayer

If they want to see what I am planting, they would have to use their advanced satellite cameras to check on me. I am on a flat on a hill side with a steep driveway curling up to the house with a strong gate. Then there are walls around the house, then there is Toto to tear anyone to pieces who enters without permission, so I am pretty safe. :o) And I am just planning to plant dozens of Passion Fruit Vines all over the property. I don't really want to check if they are native or not. I just worry that if I plant them now, they will be just large enough to be planted out by the time winter arrives. Even if they stop growing out there for a while, they should survive if there is no frost... Will see.

I live so far out in the boonies that you'd need satellite surveillance to see what I do, too! From my second story window, the neighboring houses are barely visible... even the hunting lodge on this property is not visible from the main house! And we're situated right on a corner, with two roads intersecting at the edge of the front and side yards!

But, even when I used to live in town, many years ago, I always felt that it was nobody's business what I did in my own yard! And for the most part, the neighbors I had then kept to themselves and never bothered me. We'd wave and say "hi" when we were out in our yards, or passing by. Small town living, I guess.

I still prefer to live isolated from neighbors, and I don't ever want to be told what I can and cannot do within the confines of my own property! As far as I'm aware, I still have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not to mention, the right to bear arms!