Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Life is a Bowl of Cherries, and a Big Barrel of Compost


One Pound of Freshpicked Sweet Cherries

Some days are a wonderful, sunny bowl of cherries like the beautiful dark red Van variety of cherries shown in the photo above. There was exactly 1lb of them in the basket when I weighed them. This was, of course, after nibbling on a few as I harvested them from the tree. The Van cherry side of my double graft cherry tree has given me all of its cherries now. They ripened first. The other half of my cherry tree is loaded with almost ripe Bing cherries. Hopefully, they will ripen and I will pick them before the birds, squirrels and deer figure out how to get through the protective bird netting I have wrapped around the tree. Sometimes I wrap a fruit tree so well that I have trouble getting to the fruit when I want to harvest it! These cherries were picked yesterday. They are very tasty and sweet. They truly brightened my day.



Finished Compost in a 30 Gallon Trash Can Container

And then some days are more like a big barrel of compost!

Actually, this homemade compost is not as bad as it sounds. Compost is a very good thing. It smells like sweet clean earth and is full of life. It is soft to the touch and has many little buggies and earthworms living in it. I don't spend much time "turning" my compost piles. I usually just keep adding to them for a few months at a time, and then let them sit and decompose for a few more months. Then I sift the finished compost to remove the larger chunks of wood, fruit rinds, stems and pits that remain even after several months in a "working" pile. The compost that makes it through my homemade sifter (an old picture frame with 1 inch grid chicken wire stretched across it and stapled into place) goes from the wheelbarrow into the barrel container shown in the photo. I then spread it into the veggie garden as needed throughout the growing season. The compost piles and the finished compost are located right beside my main raised bed garden for my convenience. See my previous post about compost for more about my composting method of choice and a good book about composting.

Each day brings something new. I wonder what I will gather in my harvest basket tomorrow...



© Copyright 2008 Mountain Harvest Basket

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Those are some nice looking cherries and that compost isn't bad looking either! lol

Hardware Bob said...

Yummy, yummy, cherries and compost. Sadly, I lost my two small cherry trees last season.

I see you have a new follower...

Danni said...

You may have a new follower, but Bob and I will always be your favorites, right? ;-)
Beautiful cherries - those would totally brighten my day, too. I just love 'em.
I still can't believe all that wilty kitchen muck I'm putting out into my bin with all the rabbit and chicken manure and leaves is actually going to turn into some pretty stuff that you have!

Farmer Jen said...

Hi Everyone,
Sue is actually not a new commenter so much as an occasional commenter on my blog.I read her blog Country Pleasures and occasionally leave her a comment. Check her blog out. She is in the process of moving into a very nice new home.

Hi Sue,
Thank you for visitng my blog and praising my fruit and compost. I appreciate it.

Hi Bob,
Are you sure those cherry trees are goners? They looked so healthy when you first moved there. Yes, the cherries are delicious. Ask me next time you are over and I may let you sample some if any are left.

Hi Danni,
Of course you and Bob will always be my favorite blog commenters. You two are the most loyal.Yes, your compost will look beautiful too. Just give it some time for nature to work her magic. Remember "Compost Happens".

CaliforniaGrammy said...

Oh my, those cherries look good. What fun to have two kinds of cherries on one tree. How many pounds of cherries do you figure you get out of a season?

And you can't beat homemade composting. So simple and yet so nourishing for your soil. We used to do so much of that before we went into fulltime RVing. That's one thing we miss, but with our daughter moving up near us with her three acres, we'll be able to enjoy her "farm" and garden!

Farmer Jen said...

Hi CA Grammy,
My sweet cherry crop really varies from year to year. The weather really influences the bounty. This year my small cherry tree will probably give me 2 to 3 lbs of cherries, which is quite a lot for that little tree. Some do get eaten by birds and squirrels even though I do my best to protect the tree.

I've been composting for years. It seems to really help my garden grow.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Those cherries are gorgeous! They would brighten anyone's day.

I'm thinking that my peach tree crop is going to be a bust this year because of the late frosts. I'm so bummed.

Your compost is so deep, dark and rich looking.