I have to start this article by giving a good friend a shout-out…I think it’s great that he pulled so many great minds together to get this online/ recycled magazine going! Go Cubs!

Now…back to the Green Virgin and “The Garden.” That term scares me to no end! A new garden is like owning a new puppy—constant watching over, training, and care. I have, however, had success with my compost and “The Garden.” If my husband ever lets me get another dog, I promise I am going to name him/her, Garden. But please, indulge me down memory lane, again!

My in-laws gave me wooden crates. Formerly, the wooden crates had been used in their backyard as a makeshift tree house for my son. And now, the “skeletons” have become a raised garden bed for me. (Please note the “repurposing” of the crates. Who said the Green Virgin couldn’t multi-task?) So, thanks to the in-laws! And thanks to my loving and very handy husband for fixing and adding to them.

With crates in place, I began to fill them with some compost I already had (I shared my compost-creating adventures in my first article which you hopefully read!). A little short on the compost, I supplemented the rest with purchased potting soil for vegetables and herbs. My plan? Start out simple with vegetables and herbs that we use regularly: sweet basil, lemon basil, early girl tomatoes, parsley, green onions, a Spanish onion, and garlic cloves from my fridge. Oh, and I actually ventured out with carrots, too.

Here’s a tip I learned: start smaller herbs out in smaller containers—leftover potting cups work perfectly. The parsley I started in a recycled and bio-degradable mini 10 pot carton. When using one of these smaller cartons, and you start to see sprouts, just transfer and plant the whole thing in the big garden—it’s as simple as that!

Now, the carrots…that was a different story. First, the pot that I originally potted them in was blown over by the wind. I tried to recover the roots that started growing, but I am not a doctor, I am the Green Virgin! I planted them anyway, so we will see if I was able to resuscitate them. Stay tuned…

-Green Virgin

Here it is…my first column about being green. I am, suffice to say, at much of a loss on this topic. As a married, stay-at-home mom of two boys, I am not exactly a “virgin”…so-to-speak, but, when it comes to being “green,” I am as innocent as they come! I want to share with you my first-time experiences and hopefully you will learn a thing or two and can join me in taking small steps to make Nevada a greener state, one “green virgin” at a time!

So, where do we start? I feel there are so many things that can be done, and small changes that can be made. One thing I have always wondered about—and been both intrigued and confused by at the same time—is composting. I’ll tell you why.

When I was little and visited my grandparents I remembered her compost pile. She put EVERYTHING in there. She was smart. She had many fruit trees, grape vines and vegetables. So, she would use this compost to grow these products and recycle scraps. Basically, before “green” became big or trendy, my Nana was recycling scraps that would otherwise go to the dump.

Fast forward to present time: my husband and I bought a home last September and I wanted grass, a garden, and all that a wonderful “white picket fence home” would have. But, I am in Vegas. The dirt is dry, dead and disgusting. We rented a tiller to break up the soil but it wound up running my husband and did very little. We had also spent a lot of money on buying soil, going back to Star Nursery a dozen times.

I, being a Green Virgin, with no idea how to take on this project, am now in a fussy. I think to myself, “Where do I start?” “What do I compost?” The answer is EVERYTHING!

I looked at how much food my family was wasting, by throwing it in the trash. Fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, etc.

I went crazy on how much we were wasting and not recycling! I would tell my boys that there are starving children in other countries and they need to finish their apples. But, to no avail, I would throw that apple away or give it to the dog. Now I throw it in the compost pile. I am recycling and reducing, and eventually reusing. It is simple. Big yard, small yard, no yard, you can recycle food and make compost. And start reusing the compost to plant your own veggies, fruits, plants, etc. I started my venture in a 5 gallon bucket.

It is very simple if you follow a few guidelines:

First, soil; you have to have a base product. So, go to Star Nursery or even Target for that matter and buy a bag of organic soil. I also used the torn-up grass soil from our yard. It is all about layers. Soil/dirt then scraps, then dirt, then scraps… Think brown then green, brown then green.

Keep it moist by watering it and turning it with a garden shovel. It also helps if you have worms. They break down the matter. I didn’t want to go buy worms so I watered a piece of dirt on the side of my house and dug up worms. Well, my two boys did.

Put soil down on the bottom and add your scraps of food. Water it. Then the next day mix it all together and add more soil and scraps. Keep doing this step.
Make sure it is in the sun. It has to have sunlight. If it stinks, it is either not getting enough sun or water or mixing.

After a while you will have compost. Plant everything you can, whether in containers, the yard, or a raised garden bed. It is free, recycled and reused.

Until next time, when we continue to turn our green dreams into reality…

- Green Virgin