Green in the Greenhouse

Green in the Greenhouse

Lots of stuff is coming up in the greenhouse already. I’m getting a few early lessons as well. I planted the basil way too thickly. Most of it is planted several to a pot or in egg cartons. Now it has to be separated. This is very tedious and time consuming. I really love basil though. Almost everything planted in dirt has come up. Very little of the stuff planted in rockwool has. Part of the reason may be that I planted larger seeds in rockwool. They may take longer to germinate.

The fallow part of the garden is getting a 6” layer of leaves. The soil was worked very deeply earlier as the dead and finished plants were pulled off. I think of mulching as making an earthworm heaven. Earthworms are the real heroes of organic gardens. As they move through the soil, they wiggle through the soft earth making tunnels that aerate the ground. When they come to a harder spot, they munch their way through. When they find something organic they eat it. An earthworm produces its weight in “castings” every day. Earthworm castings are some of the richest fertilizer known.

Compost and organic matter are really tasty and attractive to earthworms. Artificial chemical fertilizers are not only yucky tasting. They irritate their soft skin. Make an earthworm heaven in your garden.



David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/.