Compost happens
Our lawnmower has been finicky and I’ve used a drill, plyers, turning it to get the air bubble out of the way, taking the top off and trying to repair the spring to crank and taking the crank casing off and wrapping a cord manually to get it to run. This has all been with limited success. I’m good at preparing a meal, good with back pain and yoga/bodywork but when it comes to small engine repair, I’m still learning.
Patience in this area doesn’t come easy for me and the second day after another section of the yard was mowed I knew it was time to rest. I pulled the lanwmower aside, considered my job well done and while chatting with my friend who’s in town, grabbed the pitchfork, wheelbarrow and bags of leaf mold. Time to mulch the garden beds.
The onions need a heavy mulching as they sit in the ground and the bed is round making it more difficult to get to the center. I pulled up a bag or two of leaves that are riddled with holes and earthworms were eating through the leaves and organic matter. Into the wheelbarrow they went, an old bale of hay tossed on top and away we go.
Last summer was rough, I almost wanted to give up gardening. My redworms died in the heat and I decided to let the garden sit fallow. No use in struggle or fight, nature will do what it does.
This spring the garden is extremely productive. Sugar snap peas, radishes, mustard and turnip greens and swiss chard are all plentiful with more things planted and coming along. Heat will be here before long but I’ve learned not to fight, just go with. By that time most of the garden will be southern peas, yard long beans, okra and malabar spinach. No use in struggle.
Planning, preparation and building soil takes time. I’ve harvested leaves, made compost, hauled wood mulch and keep working on things season after season. Over time you see the soil fertility build, seeds sprout more easily and plants grow stronger and faster. All that from a suburban lot that used to be just grass.
Plant seeds where your bliss lay and watch them grow.
Remember: compost happens.
