Garden stuff

[velvetpage]

sassy_fae and I took a look at my back garden. The prevalence of moss and the lines of the massive old tree in a neighbour's yard convinced both of us that only deep-shade plants will manage there. However, there is a hosta there that migrated from the backyard next door, set up shop, and is now (according to Jenn) reading to be divided into six or seven smaller hostas. Can anyone tell me if I should do that now, or wait until fall, or at some other time? I'm thinking a bag or two of topsoil, a few hours with a shovel, and the expertise of a friend, and I should have an entire row of pretty green hostas in my backyard.

There's also enough sun along the edge of the garage, at least in the spring before the tree fills out, to plant a strip of spring bulbs. I desperately want some spring bulbs next year - maybe even enough to get me off my duff in October to plant the darn things. :) I want daffodils and hyacinths and crocuses. I've already got lilies - they're growing along the back fence, untouched and loving it for as long as we've been here. I've also got a good-looking Rose of Sharon that just needs some pruning. Again, advice - do I prune it now, or wait until fall?

My composter needs some attention. I've never turned compost before, and don't really know how to go about it, but there's probably some black gold at the bottom of it from all the grass clippings Piet's put in there over the years. The top layer is corn husks from last summer. What do I do with this stuff?

Comments

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

I hack my hostas with a shovel, and so far, they've always forgiven me. As everyone else has said, get them early, before the leaves unfurl.

The easiest way to turn compost is to have two composters. Then you just shovel the contents of one composter into the other composter. But if you just have one, open up the bottom door, and shovel the half-composted stuff from there into the top of the composter until you've gone full circle and you see stuff coming out the bottom that you know you've already turned. Then water it and put the lid on. If you do this every weekend, you'll have usable compost every month.

If there is a clear bifurcation in your compost layers, it's better to get all the compost out, stir everything together, and then fork it back in. A single type of input does not compost very well - the more combined it is, the faster it breaks down, so long as you get a good carbon: nitrogen ratio.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I think I'll do that latter, then. It should do wonders for the muscles in my arms!

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

I always find my compost is in two separate layers in early spring, but once I do a thorough stirring, I don't usually need to do more than the bottom-to-top type of turning for the rest of the summer. Although, in my case it's the bottom of composter A to the top of composter B so that I always have one full one (fuller composters break down stuff faster) and one open for new stuff. One thing I LOVE about the City of Toronto is their openness to helping people reduce garbage and water use by providing low-cost composters and rainbarrels. Is it the same in Hamiliton?

I was thinking about this post last night, and wanted to add (sorry for the unsolicited advice I'm bombarding you with!), if you literally meant you were going to put the hostas in a straight line, you might want to rethink that. It's a plant that looks a little goofy and sparse in a straight line, at least until it has had a chance to fill back out after division, which can take a couple of years. My border hostas are in a zig-zag pattern
X_X_X_X_X_X_X_X
_X_X_X_X_X_X_X

which looks good, but usually I cluster them in threes like this:

X.X....X....X.X
.X....X X....X

which, for hostas, looks a little better, and then they spread out into nice clumps.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I'm okay with unsolicited advice from experts in areas where my own knowledge is as sparse as a recently-divided hosta. :)

I will consider the zigzag pattern, but my backyard is truly tiny - from garage to south fence is about twelve feet, and they'll be going along the south fence. I'll have to think about how deep I want them going.