I'm almost an organic gardener

Yes, I agree. The photo on the left is by far the most disgusting one I've ever posted on my blog.

But wait'll I tell you what it's all about....

Since our deep, deep snow disappeared almost overnight (Yes! It's gone!), I've thought of little else besides getting my vegetable garden planted.

With that in mind, I've begun collecting crushed egg shells, pistachio shells, coffee grounds, and banana peels.

These will go into my garden for the following reasons:

1. Crushed egg shells placed around green pepper and tomato plants discourage slugs from taking a liking to the tender plants. The slugs don't like the feeling of the sharp shells on their "bellies," apparently.

Placing the crushed shells around the plants and also in the planting hole will help to prevent blossom end rot. I've dealt with blossom end rot on tomatoes in the past, and the experience was far from fun.

2. Pistachio shells also discourage slugs and, perhaps, my least favorite of all garden pests, the dastardly cut worm. (Actually that's not true: My very, very, very least favorite garden pest is the disgusting hornworm.)

3. Coffee grounds are a rich source of nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. I'll scatter them on the ground near the plant seedlings to enrich the soil. In addition, I'll mix about 1 cup of grounds with 2 gallons of water and use this as a liquid fertilizer on the plants.

4. Banana peels, which are currently stored in my freezer, will be placed in the planting hole of my tomato plants to provide a rich source of potassium for the growing plants.

A trick I learned last year, and one that certainly seemed to work, is that of spraying my tomato and green pepper plants with a weak epsom salt solution. I sprayed the seedlings soon after putting them into the soil, then I sprayed them once more ten days later. I had so many tomatoes and green peppers that after I'd frozen and canned and roasted and frozen some more, I gave away the rest because we had more than we could possibly use.

I read recently that the epsom salt solution is good for roses, too, so I'll try that this summer to see if I get more blossoms that usual.

Of course I have a compost bin, too. I have two of them, in fact. I enrich the entire garden's soil with compost before I do any planting.

It has taken me years to figure out just what I like to grow in my little vegetable garden and what I don't want to bother with. This year I'll have the tomatoes and green peppers, but also cucumbers, kale, and zucchini. That's it. That's enough to keep me busy.