And Then Came The First Frost & Alot Of Weird Bugs !

I took some pictures last week of the gourd garden, the vines made it all the way down the fence to the gate by the house that we go in & out of the yard, we had to start using the front door &  as you can tell yep the growing season is at it's end for most of our gardens. The leaves & vines on most of the plants are starting to brown & wilt away & the vines are bare in spots well here see for yourself. We noticed when I had taken these pictures that there were these little green flying bugs that were all over the bushel gourds & the bushel gourds are the BIG gourds, we weighed one that same day & it weighed 24 pounds WOW !  ( were going to make lamps from them & bowls & baskets) We were able to save three of them. There were six all togeather.  We also caught our 2 dogs grabbimg the gourds & running with them . Then we had our first real frost October 2 nd ,So I don't normally pick them but my son Chace thought it would be a good idea because of the dogs ( in michigan I left them on the vine all winter & picked them in the spring, bringing them in I found out the first year I planted them tends to dry them out to quickly & they tend to shrival up.

last weeks garden picture

When I came home from work the next day Chace had picked them all & had cleared away all the vines & extra fencing , infact you couldn't tell there was ever a gourd garden there !  Chace my son is a very hard worker constantly doing something but mostly loves to work out in the yard & on the yard !
  You can see by the pictures we had a few different kinds of gourds that grew in my garden . I had Bushel Gourds, Martin Gourds, Bottle Gourds  &  Apple Gourds ! I was so very happy to have as many as I did grow in my garden, so next year we are going to get it all rototilled early & I'm composting, I already have one big garbage can full of compost from last year. If you have never composed before it's really easy & great way to be green & it's fantastic dirt for your garden. As of yet I won't know how the quality of my gours will be until next spring when they are all moldy  & dried . Gourds are very dense & heavy when they are green but as they dry they get alot lighter . It will take a few years of growing them to be able to be thick shelled, they need just the right amount of sun, water, soil & growing structure so well just wait & see !




Frost Hits !




Frost damage



Afew of the gourds in the garden

one of the bushel gourds

shriveled up from the frost




These are called Squash Bugs

 

gourds from my garden ! 

Well I hope you've enjoyed my Gourd Garden this summer & next year I promise it will be better ! I'll take you step by step & day by day from beginning to end from planning to picking & storing your gourds. Soon I plan on posting video tutorials on here & on my you tube. So Please leave comments & I would love to here from other gourd artists & painters it would be great to have you post some tips & advice also. Please get ahold of me  at inmypaintedgarden@yahoo.com

I found this article on Composting 101 :

Composting Tips 1. Grass clippings add necessary nitrogen to a compost pile, but be sure to mix with the "brown" materials that add carbon. Both are necessary for quick decomposition and rich compost. Piles made up of just grass will compact, slow down and start to stink. 2. Do not compost fats, pet droppings, or animal products. They will attract pests to the pile and can spread disease. 3. Newspaper or plain white paper from the computer is excellent for composting - just remember to shred it first to speed up the process. 4. Got compost? When finished it should look, feel and smell like rich, dark soil. You should not be able to recognize any of the items you put in there. 5. Worms love coffee grounds! 6. If adding ashes to your compost bin, do so sparingly. They are alkaline and affect the pH of the pile. In contrast, acidic materials include pine needles and oak leaves. 7. Plants that have been treated with pesticides and/or herbicides (weeds and lawn clippings) should be avoided. 8. The microbes responsible for breaking down your compost pile need a balanced diet of nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen comes from green materials such as food scraps, manure, and grass clippings. Carbon comes from brown materials such as dead leaves, hay, wood chips and shredded newspaper. A ratio that contains equal portions by weight (not volume) of both works best. 9. Algae and seaweed make excellent additions to your compost pile. Be sure to rinse off any salts before using. 10. Finished compost is usually less than half the volume of the materials you started with, but it's much denser. 11. Keep your compost pile in a black plastic bin and in direct sunlight to continue the composting process through the winter. Hay bales can be used to further insulate the pile. 12. Wooden pallets make excellent compost bins. Start with one pallet on the ground. Drive two metal stakes into each side. Slide additional pallets over each support and you have a bin ready for compost. 13. Straw is an excellent source of carbon for your compost pile. However, it may contain weed seeds, so make sure the pile is "cooking" properly. 14. Compost decomposes fastest between 120 and 160 degrees F. Decomposition will occur at lower temperatures, but it takes much longer. 15. The perfect size for a compost pile is one that is at least 3' x 3' x 3'. It's not only a manageable size to turn, but it's ideal for retaining heat while still allowing air flow. 16. For faster composting keep your pile or compost bin in direct sun. 17. Don't throw away your kitchen waste in the winter - try an indoor composter. 18. Compost piles should remain damp but not too wet. As you build your compost pile, make sure that each layer is moist as it is added. The surface should also remain damp (think of a wrung out sponge), especially during the summer months. 19. Does your compost pile smell? It's probably due to a large number of anaerobic microbes, which are working hard to break down your compost, but creating a smelly situation in the process. To cut down on the anaerobic process, aerate your pile regularly, creating air spaces and limiting the anaerobic microbes while stimulating the less stinky aerobic microbes. 20. Help start a new compost pile with aged manure, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, blood meal, or compost starter. They are rich in nitrogen and help jump-start the microbes responsible for breaking down organic matter into compost. 21. Anything that was living at one time is great for compost bins. Think of leaves, vegetables, and grass clippings. 22. Compost piles can either be layered - thin layers of alternating greens and browns, or they can all be thrown in together and mixed well. Either way works! 23. Soak finished compost in water to "brew" compost "tea," a nutrient-rich liquid that can be used for foliar feeding or for watering plants in your garden, backyard, or houseplants. 24. Apply finished compost to your garden about 2-4 weeks before you plant, giving the compost time to integrate and stabilize within the soil. Click here for a guide to vegetable gardening. 25. For faster results, use a compost turner every two weeks to aerate your pile. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/In-My-Painted-Garden/170385616339261 http://www.twitter.com/inmypaintedgard