Smokey has his own definition of “Comfortable”

I’m glad he’s comfortable, because we have officially adopted Smokey. This makes me his fourth cat parent within a three year period and three lot radius area.

Make yourself at home, Smokey!

Creature Feature: Heroes of the Compost Bin

Warning: This post is not recommended for the squeamish.

Someone once brought up a point that has always stuck with me. Imagine the world without decomposing organisms. Not only would the energy stored in waste and carcasses be locked in place, but the planet would be covered with mountains of corpses and discarded scraps. Of course, things would never get to this point, because without the scavengers of the world, everything would come to a biological standstill.

As I’ve been more than willing to admit, my whole horticultural experience is nothing more than a grand experiment. I’ve been winging it since day one, and all my successes have been the result of trial and error. When I first decided to get into composting I was warned of the numerous mistakes and pitfalls that await the flippant composter. In my usual form, I threw caution to the wind and kitchen scraps to the bin.

My composting system consists of a large, plastic storage container with holes punched in the bottom. Despite advice to the contrary, I throw in anything and everything, including meat scraps, dairy and large chunks of things. There was a period of time where my  bin emitted an aroma that rivaled that of an open sewer, but I covered it with yard waste and pretended like it wasn’t happening.

One day I noticed some big, ugly maggots on a cantaloupe rind and made a mental note to deal with the fact that I was set for a major fly invasion. Over the next few weeks, I approached the bin with trepidation; tossing in my coffee grounds and vegetable scraps with the expectation of the inevitable fly fest.

Remarkably, the flies never appeared, and the putrid odor diminished. In addition, the scraps (including yard waste) began to decompose at a rapid rate, no matter how much I added to the bin.

Being busy with work, and having lost enthusiasm for being outside in the heat, I ignored the compost bin, other than the daily visit to dump scraps. I haven’t turned it. I haven’t added leaves or soil in ages. I just pile on food waste and garden clippings and leave it alone. In the back of my mind has been the nagging sense that when it comes to composting, I am doing it wrong.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this barren section of The Oasis and wondering whether or not some earthworms might help make new soil. Since nothing botanical is going on, I entertained the idea of raising some giant African nightcrawlers or some composting red wrigglers. I’ve learned that worms are a bit persnickety. They like their food chopped up. They don’t care for anything acidic, such as coffee grounds or citrus. And, their own waste is toxic to them and must be periodically removed. To top it off, they will desert the farm if they don’t like the digs.Slimy little snobs!

Ever the entrepreneur, I been fantasizing about how to raise earthworms, mealworms and other creepy crawlies for profit. This train of thought brought me around to those husky maggots which have taken over my compost bin. “Maybe they could be marketed as pet food or the like” I mused. Upon closer inspection I decided that they were not your everyday housefly maggots. They look almost like beetle larvae with their thick, dark skin. A few searches on the internet led me to the discovery that not only was I not failing at composting, I am actually winning!

The grotesque creatures writing about in my food waste are truly the stars of the composting world: Black Soldier Fly larvae! “BSF” as they are known in gardening circles are sleek, black flies which resemble wasps. However, these flies have no mouth parts and they neither eat, bite, nor carry disease. All they do in their brief lifetime is mate and lay eggs. Their larvae, on the other hand, have voracious appetites and will consume anything organic at a breakneck pace. This is how my compost bin keeps from filling up. The BSF larvae seem to be in a race to eat whatever I feed them.

Their rapid composting skills should be enough to endear you to these ugly ducklings, but they have a few additional tricks up their grimy little sleeves. BSF larvae emit a chemical that repels houseflies. Finally, the mystery of why my compost bin is free of houseflies has been solved. The BSF larvae do seem to get along with the abundance of woodlice in my bin. The woodlice, or sowbugs are also valuable decomposers, as they break down cellulose. What I find most amazing is that since these critters have taken over, my bin doesn’t smell bad. I throw some disgusting stuff in there, but it is broken down faster than it has a chance to stink!

Why am I so excited? Well, not only do BSF larvae make quick work of rotting food, but with their high protein and fat content, they are also prized as chicken feed, fish food, bait and even as live food for exotic pets. Not to mention that other gardeners buy starter colonies for their own composting setups. So, there is a possible income opportunity for the future.

For now, I am planning to put these little miracles to work repairing the soil in The Oasis. Since I’ve all but abandoned serious gardening, I have nothing to lose.

If you aren’t completely swayed by these marvelous creatures, have a look at how Black Soldier Fly larvae dispense with fish carcasses. If you can get past the yuckiness, it really is a beautiful process.

A Sandhill of Beans

So, what’s up in the garden? We’ll talk about the (mostly) pretty stuff in this post, and I’ll give a forewarning about the next post (which will cover a topic I find fascinating, and which most of you may wish to skip).

Let’s start out with a great plant that has far exceeded my expectations:

Bay Bean

Canavalia rosea, otherwise known as the bay bean, beach bean, seaside jackbean, coastal bean or Mackenzie bean is an important plant for control of beach erosion. I’ve often marveled at the lush foliage and quirky flowers of this plant when I found it growing on the sand dunes.

Last year I became very interested in the plant and learned that it is a severely underrated, hardy and drought-tolerant ground cover. I decided that it would be the perfect plant for our barren “Back 40″, and resolved to acquire some beans to plant.

As though I had placed an order, Mike (the guy who pays us) who had been harvesting beans from the beach, and growing these plants in his garden, gave me some seeds. He also mentioned that he enjoyed eating the beans, prepared the same as edamame. Research gives mixed results about the toxicity of these beans and suggests that they should be thoroughly boiled (if eaten at all).

He shared some seeds with me, which I planted this spring. The vines have since grown to fill my trellis and are blooming and creating beans.

I’ve also begun training them to grow out on the Back 40″. My next step is to get some native beach daisies and gaillardia to intersperse with the bay beans. I’ve seen this at Sebastian Inlet, and it is not only appealing, but attracts native pollinators.

I would be remiss if I failed to mentions that Canavalia rosea is a psychogenic herb. In other words: People have used it to get high. I cannot vouch for this quality, but I have noticed that my bay bean plants are conspicuously absent insect damage. Maybe the bugs take a bite and then forget where they are? Whatever the reason, this plant is thick, healthy and exuberant, despite the root knot nematodes and abundance of destructive insects in my garden.

I’ve also discovered a treasured Carolina anole living in its canopy, as well as a marked reduction in the number of aggressive brown or Cuban anoles.

Today I found an exception to this generalization as I was following a small, blue butterfly with my macro lens; hoping for it to light on a blossom for a photo op.

Before the butterfly could land, it was snatched up by a juvenile brown anole, which proceeded to dispense with it in a few hearty gulps.

As healthy as is the bay bean, the rest of the garden is struggling. My best producers are the Jalapeños grown from the seeds of a produce market pepper. I’ve shared many of these peppers and have made some hot sauce that I think is pretty darn good. Despite the obvious damage of pests and the dreaded root-knot-nematodes, these plants continue to offer up their picante prizes.

Today, I was reminded that insects and nematodes are not the only culprits responsible for the weakened plants in my garden.

Smokey makes sure everyone knows these are his plants.

The heat, drought and root knot nematodes have conspired to ensure that we pay cash for our produce.  The bamboo fascia around the Oasis is also rotting and falling over. This repair is one of many projects on my procrastination list.

In hopes of getting our own place in the near future, I’ve let things go to seed (literally). The amaranth you see in the foreground is a volunteer from last season’s experiment. But something I learned today has given me a new found sense of encouragement. In order to find out what this is, you’ll have to read my next post. I warn you to avoid eating immediately before or during such reading.

For now, have a look at some magnificent mangoes bequeathed upon us by Mike. These represent half of what we had yesterday (before gifting them to the neighbors and making the frozen mango rum drinks that entertained us last night.)

Thanks Mike!

Sad Riddance to Good Neighbors

We don’t have any bad neighbors. Sometimes I complain about the consequences of living in such close proximity to so many people, but even the people with annoying habits are all goodhearted and likable folks.

Every once in a while we get a great neighbor like Captain Kym. I was apprehensive when Kym’s motor home appeared in the spot next door. We had gotten used to our big open space; as it had been vacant for a long time. “What kind of neighbor was he?” I wondered. My imagination ran the gamut of all the different type of aggravations we might encounter. “Did he have a noisy dog? Did he get falling-down drunk and have scream fights with his significant other? Would he take issue with my ever-expanding garden, which had already encroached onto his lot?”

It wasn’t but a day or two before AJ had met Kym. He quelled my fears and assured me that he was “a really cool guy”. He went on to inform me that Kym was a treasure hunter who had hit a few bumps in the road, and a guy with a lot of great stories and life experience. A robust guy with a preference for tropical print shirts, a great sense of humor, the spirit of a jovial pirate and some of the best stories you could hope to hear; Kym is the life of every party.

I don’t recall the exact date that Captain Kym pulled in, but I know it was at least two years ago. Over those years, we’ve had the privilege of living next door to a fascinating, funny, thoughtful and generous neighbor. We’ve had cookouts, helped each other in times of need and shared the things we have to share. Heck, Kym even looked after the cat crew on the occasions that we went out of town.

Over the past year we’ve been so caught up with life and work that we didn’t hang out with him as much as we might have. In the meantime, a beautiful lady and longtime friend of his (Marie) came in and swept him away. He moved out of his rig a few months ago, but didn’t really seem gone because his friend Cokey was staying there, and Kym and Marie would drop by every so often.

Yesterday, as Kym’s rig rolled out, it struck me that our neighbor is really gone. Although he now lives just up the road, it seems such a shock to have that empty space next door. I’m glad that Kym is moving on to bigger and better things, and I think that he and Marie make such a fun pair; but I sure will miss my favorite neighbor, Captain Kym! He’s still my favorite neighbor, only now I have to get in the car and drive to visit.

Cokey and Kym on moving out day.

Cokey and Marie. Two more awesome people I know because of Kym. Cokey was also an awesome neighbor; but luckily, he’s house sitting right behind us for a few months.

The Breezeway Buzz

Although AJ and I have been doing well, all is not happiness and light in the park.

In July, Gary passed. He was suffering from cancer, which took over his entire body before he relinquished. Gary was a quiet and seemingly peaceful man who lived in the back of the park. He was only in his mid fifties when the disease took his life. We have heard that Gary was a rough and tumble guy, with a penchant for hard drugs, in his youth. However, the man we knew was a gentle giant who cared for his mother at the end of her life and always took our neighbor, Carrie, to the store until he was no longer able to do so. Rest in Peace, Gary.

Jack, the atomic veteran and hoarder, who lives behind us, is in the hospital. He had some discs removed from his neck; and I am told that when they were transporting him to the rehab facility, three paramedics dropped him and fell on top of him. Word is that he may be sent to a nursing home, instead of returning to the park. I think this would be in his best interest, as his living conditions are far beyond unsafe and unsanitary. I’m hoping that he gets placed in a nursing home nearby, so that I can go visit him. He really is a fascinating guy, and I’d love to document some of his stories in a more comfortable setting than the cluttered heat of his yard. My hope is that he finds comfort and cleanliness at the end of his life; and in a fit of selfishness I find myself wishing that his accumulations will soon be removed from our back yard. Although my anti-clutter trellis has managed to disguise much of the junk, I still have concerns about wandering roaches and rats, which will be rendered homeless when he is gone.

Carrie is not doing so well. We feel so helpless as we witness her gradual deterioration. Her mind seems to be holding fairly steady, but her physical state continues to decline. Last week she fell on her way to the bathroom. Her tale of crawling (first to the kitchen table and then to the living room chair) to right herself, was mortifying. What do you do with a strong-willed, independent woman who professes that she would rather die than go into a home? The worst part is that her air-conditioner has completely quit. So, while we languish in our cool environment, she is roasting in the sweltering heat! I am sickened by the thought, but am unable to help her. AJ spent half the day trying to fix her AC, and I have posted an ad on craigslist in search of some window units. If I can’t find something in the next day or two, I will have to call social services and see about getting a case worker assigned to her. I feel like such traitor, but I don’t know what else to do!

The garden is pretty weak. The pepper plants are hanging in there. The stevia is doing OK (although, I’m not sure what stevia is supposed to do). The weedy greens like Okinawan Spinach, Purslane and Amaranth are doing great, while the green onions and basil are limping along.That’s about it for the Oasis, as the nematodes have decimated everything else.

O2 is not doing much better. I have harvested quite a few Jalapeño peppers, and another, smaller pepper given to me from my cousin Alan. The Culantro continues to produce, as well as the rosemary. Because of the nematodes I have all but abandoned the garden. AJ has taken over with planting pineapple tops (mostly donated by our neighbors, Jane and Barry.) The pineapples and the sea beans seem to thrive, no matter what. The sea beans are a wild native ground cover that produce pretty, round leaves and purple flowers. As you can see in the photograph, they have filled up the trellis and are doing a good job of blocking the view of “Hoarder Haven”.

Well, that catches me up on the park business. I have one more post to share the recipe of a hot sauce I made today. I’m not too shy to admit that it might be one of my best concoctions, yet!

Come back tomorrow for that recipe. Better yet, come on down for a taste of the real thing!