Squash Blossoms on the Compost Pile

An interesting thing here – I pulled out most of my summer squash plants because with my limited space, it is time to plant my winter garden.

I tossed the pulled squash vines on the compost pile and the next day I see these blossoms on pulled plants.  It amazes me how much life is still in pulled plants.

By the end of the day, lots more waste was tossed on the pile and covered these blooms.

Compost Pile

This is the new compost pile. About 2 months ago, I flipped the big stuff from the old compost pile and added all the weeds I pulled getting the garden ready for spring planting.

I wish I was able to build retaining walls, but haven’t yet been able to get it rolling. I was considering using old wood pallets for the side and rear wall.

I still need to use my 1/2″ square wire mesh framed screen to screen the old compost pile, but before I could get the job done, these volunteer squash popped up. I hoped that they were summer squash, and thus would get some fruit within a month or so, but no, these look like winter squash. I might end up pulling them, tossing them in the new compost pile, so that I can finish using the compost they are growing out of.

Although it is quite obvious that the compost pile never heated up enough to kill any seeds it contained, the finished compost is still dirt like. This compost pile did it’s thing over the past winter. The new pile will heat up very well this coming summer. Twice a year I flip the compost pile. I flip it between the 2 locations you see – the new pile and where the volunteers are sprouting. After I flip the undecayed material from the old pile to the new, I put a framed mesh wire screen over my wheel barrow and shovel the compost onto it, shaking it to pass the fully composted material into the wheel barrow, and the uncomposted stuff left on the screen is dumped into the new pile.

Most of the Broccoli Has Been Harvested

This fall, I planted less than a dozen broccoli plants. I just didn’t start enough seed, or start it early enough.

This lovely plant has a beautiful head ready to be harvested. I usually grow heirloom varieties, these are Waltham, and I suspect that is the reason that the heads are looser than those sold in grocery stores.

Three of these 4 plants have already had their main head harvested.

If you look closely at the cut stems of this broccoli, you will see smaller heads. I am hoping they grow larger and worthy to be harvested.

Broccoli is a nice winter garden crop, but again, never compost cabbage family plants or tomatoes. These plants will be tossed on the burn pile when they are pulled up. There is too much risk of the several root diseases these cabbage family plants can have.