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Curricula - Hobbies

Urban Gardening

An Interview with Pam in Southern California

How did you get started? My hobby is urban gardening using soil made through vermicomposting. I am a big fan of composting, especially with regard to using worms and bugs to help the decomposition process. I was a medical transcriptionist and used an internet site to help me spell words. The owner of the site had quite a few links to things that interested her; one was the Homeschool Christian site (that's how I found it) and one was to vermicomposting. I was intrigued and visited the site a few times until I finally took the step to get started.

What materials and costs are involved?

I bought a pound of worms (red wrigglers) for about $20 and had them shipped to me. I started with a Rubbermaid bin and drilled holes all over so that the "worm tea" could leach out. I collected it in a tray, poured it into mason jars, diluted it with water (1-4 ratio), then watered my plants. I did that for several years. I tried making bedding material using shredded newspaper, but my worms hated it. Instead I collect dead leaves and grass and shovel it into the pile. Since I am an urban gardener, I rarely have lawn clippings or anything like that unless I happen to catch the gardeners outside. They are glad to help out with clippings and things and take an interest in my project!

How does it bless you or others? The roses I grow out front (Mr. Lincolns) are HUGE. My neighbors like to walk by and admire them. One little boy's mouth dropped open and he ran to get his sister and her friends so they could see the "huge giant rose!" Very cute. I like that I can compost the spent roses and use them to nourish the plants later. This year I'm trying container gardening for short-rooted vegetables and using pure compost to grow the seeds. The packages said to wait 3-4 weeks before seeing any sprouts, but I had sprouts within a week for a couple of the plants. We get such great sunlight here almost full time, so that probably helped a lot, too. I'm looking forward to serving my family totally pure vegetables this summer. Some of the seeds I bought are even from organic plants.

Link for more information:

Gardenweb.com