by hatfield13

You know the compost worms are doing their job when…

…they finish eating the cucumber scraps and seedlings pop up amid the worm castings.

The kids I met during my author visit to Grand Isle School today loved the pictures I showed them of my basement worm farm (it’s research for my second Marty McGuire book!).  That reminded me that I haven’t posted a worm update in a while.

Never fear…the little guys/girls (worms are hermaphrodites) are doing their jobs well and enjoying a new layer of damp shredded newspaper bedding tonight.  The compost you see above is awaiting the end of mud season and will soon be nourishing seedlings in the vegetable garden outside.  

Meanwhile, we’re trying to decide what to plant this year – a big decision at our house since the garden has a number of raised beds, with each family member responsible for planning and tending to his or her own territory. 

Any suggestions?  (We’re Zone 4 on a good day!)  What are your favorite vegetables to grow in the garden?

19 Replies on “You know the compost worms are doing their job when…”

  1. I’m a zone 4 gardener too.

    I did really well with my italian sweet peppers- only produce one or two fruit at a time, but multiple over the course of the season. Raspberries are also delightful, but rarely actually get into the house- straight into the mouth. Green onions are super easy.

    This year I’ll be planting:
    Made it through winter: strawberries, raspberries, green onion
    Replanting former success: Sweet pepper
    Trying again: Cucumbers, pumpkin
    New this year: Chinese loofa, blueberries, maybe green beans

  2. We love Gryffindor bush beans … we plant purple string beans and yellow wax beans, and the result is a platter of crimson and gold beans that would make Harry, Hermione and Ron proud. (Sadly, the purple beans turn green when you cook them.)

    I can’t recall the exact species we plant, but I can let you know when I am back home again. Happy gardening!

  3. Hubby plants yellow tomatoes (& red, but prefers the yellow), zuchini, egplant, green beans, carrots, lettuce, scallions, cucumbers, and I can’t remember what else. LOL

  4. I’m in Zone 4, too, and the veggies my family has to have are tomatoes (1 plant of cherry and 4 or 5 slicers), pole beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Delicata squash. Delicata are small winter squash you halve and bake after scooping out the seeds. One squash is perfect for two people, and they have such a high sugar content that all they need is a bit of butter or margarine. We grow other things, but those are the constants, and the ones we look forward to every year.

  5. Hmmm, do lavender, sage, oregano and thyme count as a veggies? Mediterranean herbs are the only plants that thrive in the rocks and clay of my mountain garden.

  6. Tomatoes, for sure…some cherry, and some larger, butternut squash, summer (yellow squash), and I also like peas and scallions. Spinach is good, too, for greens, or beets, also for their greens.

  7. Tomatoes (sweet 100’s, better boys and early girls), bell peppers (yellow and red), sugar snap peas, green beans, basil (sweet and italian), rosemary, cilantro…oh geesh I’m getting hungry!

    We have seedlings and are looking forward to planting day 🙂

  8. garden

    We are doing a garden again this year after a few years without one. We are going to try corn, beets, two types of tomato, cucumber, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, snap peas, some type of bean, radishes…. I think that is all. Just a few of each since our garden is not huge. I can’t wait to start digging in the dirt!
    Jane Stupi Miller

  9. Re: I’m a zone 4 gardener too.

    We actually have raspberries growing wild by our back fence, but the birds usually beat us to them!

  14. I think we will try spinach again this year. You have to plant it early though, and it always seems like I remember that too late.

  18. I love asparagus and tried it once, but I think I planted it in a bad spot because most of it just died out. We do still have one stalk that comes up year after year and grows tall and feathery because I can’t bear to cut it down, it being the lone survivor and all…