Compost

I used to buy potting soil for my plant starts and to refill the raised bed garden- but now I generate new fertile planting media for free.

No blog about urban gardening would be complete without a mention about composting. Composting is good for the environment. Otherwise the kitchen trim would go into the trash or down the disposal, the dead leaves and grass would be tossed into trash bins and carted away, and packed deep into landfills- where it would generate methane gas.

Instead by composting- you get free topsoil, soil conditioner and fertilizer- plus by stirring it up and turning it over every morning with a short tined rake- you give your arms and abdominal muscles an easy but effective workout.

I posted an article 10 ways to heat up your compost- A step by step roadmap for a low cost, efficient way to feed your garden, condition the soil and get fast, easy, green results, safely.

The efficient compost heap has a pleasant fragrance, is warm, even steamy. I keep mine in a black plastic bin with vents on the sides- about a yard around and between 3 and 5 feet deep. When it gets below 3 feet, I make a concerted effort to top it up- because the pile cools down.

Yes it does attract some undesireable insects- like fruit flies, and earwigs- but it also supplies earthworms, lizards, birds, and beneficial spiders as well- and your garden will be kept in balance.

Whenever I add kitchen trim I immediately turn it over and mix it into the dead leaves and grass cuttings. And I can always put the lid on.

I move the compost bin every year or so- to get the full benefit of its production. Last year I put it between the avocado, the blueberry and the dwarf meyer lemon. Delicious volunteer heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, and wild spinach now grow in that place. This year it sits in a different part of the yard amid tropical plants like elephant ears and shade trees like the schefflera and the privet hedges.

The Truculent Lemon Dwarf

Last year's overwatering spree extended to a dwarf Improved Meyer lemon tree I had bought the year before. I harvested a dozen delicious sweet tart little lemons from its twiggy branches before the yellowing leaves started a wholesale fall-off. Lemon trees like a good soaking for their roots- but between soaks - they like to get completely dry.

My backyard is slightly larger than a postage stamp, with a large brick patio. Most areas are frequently heavily shaded with fencing, very tall hedges and trees. Initially I planted it in a large pot that I wheeled about over the patio- to get the most amount of sunshine for each season. Citrus trees appreciate full sunshine- but like cats- they are conservative and territorial, and dislike being wheeled about.

Panicked at the fall off of leaves, with no renewing growth- I finally planted it in the ground in a fairly sunny area by the fence- that fell outside the twice weekly automated drip irrigation and spray system. I will note that an avocado and a blueberry- two plants well known for their extended drinking habits- grow nearby- forming a triangle among the three of them about five feet per side.

For months the little tree sat, sulking, and grew nothing. A good deal of its root system had probably rotted. Meanwhile I planted veggies nearby within the irrigation spray belt. One was a nasturtium. Nasturtiums are companion plants, particularly attracted to fruit trees, and protect them from boring insects. Slowly the little flowering vine inched its way over the nearly denuded lemon tree, wrapping its green tendrils and bright jewel-colored flowers about the naked litte branches and the vertical stake supporting it. As it gaily bloomed, the little lemon tree finally reversed itself- and put out a myriad of tiny buds - promising new leaves and purple/white fragrant blossoms in response. Its branches are now coated with new starts. I feed it lightly and water it deeply no more than every two weeks.

I anticipate more delicious little lemons that ever this winter, now that it has found a lovely new friend. Incidentally I transplanted half a dozen nasturtiums. I planted 4 in ground and 2 in pots. One in ground died immediately- it was outside the automated watering area near the lemon. Four are thriving- each of them has found a tree nearby that they have endeavored to grow toward- an avocado, a loquat, the lemon and a cup of gold vine that is trellised and grows along the house roofline. The fifth – in a pot had no tree- grew and entangled with a potted hanging geranium but was scraggly and bug eaten.

After noticing the mutual companionships that have sprung up, I put the leggy nasturtian, pot and all, in a much larger tub that houses a struggling plumeria that has yet to produce a replacement set of leaves or blooms. It was unseasonably cold earlier this year and the plumeria lost its first set of leaves for the year. I want to see how the plumeria and its companion nasturtium fare together.