something from nothing
June GreenWay article for
Hazelwoodhomepage.com :
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Creating a healthy garden
Our world has always been changing, but now the changes are coming faster. The changes are interacting. We need to start taking care of ourselves first. I don't mean that we should become more selfish, just more self-reliant. We each have to work on problems from within our own unique situations.
Pollution is making our soil toxic, and destroying the life in it on which we depend. Not only our food but also our air and water quality depend on a healthy soil. Construction of buildings and roads over soil is limiting the land's ability to provide these services upon which the human species has always depended. And the transfer of waste organic material to landfills, incinerators, and waterways - rather than it's being returned to the soil - is resulting in diminished capacity of all types of life to flourish on what land remains available.
How do we deal with such a gigantic mass of related problems? By starting with one thing at a time, one step at a time. And by using our imaginations to enjoy the future we're making.
If the piece of land you want to turn into a garden has rocks, think how removing each rock frees up valuable turf for life to flourish. What could you build with those rocks? If you've got lots of garbage to clear for your garden, think of how your neighbors will like you better (or dislike you less, as the case may be) if your place is cleaner. If you own this particular chunk of Earth, think how it's sale value will increase the nicer it looks. If you're a renter (like me) and so gardening on land you don't own, realize you still look good working on something positive. You're getting exercise, decreasing pollution, and likely to enjoy a more beautiful and well-fed future.
Rather than get discouraged at how big the project is and with how many obstacles, think of each problem as a challenge. Rocks, along with salvaged Christmas tree stems, old bricks and blocks, railroad ties, poles, fencing, and pieces of wood can be part of the structure of the garden. You can turn an old bathtub into a pond. Old tires (without the rims) can be stacked to make a little round raised bed of whatever depth you choose.
Waste cardboard and non-color newspaper is organic carbon and can line the bottom of plant pots and planting beds. Roots will grow right down into this biodegradable waste. Boxes (both wooden and plastic) and drawers can be planters as long as they have drainage holes. Immovable concrete and metal structures look a lot better when they have plants coming up out of them.
Rather than trying to control everything in your garden space, use what already exists by letting flow the life that's already there. Yes, there are grasses and weeds, so much stronger than the tame plants you want that they always threaten to overwhelm anything you try to grow. But use their life force to your advantage - compost them. You'll never be free of weeds or plant diseases in a compost-fed garden (or in any kind of a garden, for that matter), but, by encouraging as much a quantity and variety of the kinds of life you want you indirectly successfully compete with the weeds and disease. After some admittedly strenuous and meticulous work to separate out the "bad guys" - such as mosquitoes - and encourage the "good guys" - such as a variety of bugs, which work together to keep each other under control while feeding the birds - you'll find your preferred plants bigger, stronger, and (if they're food plants) better tasting than ever.
It's putting your energy toward encouraging the good rather than fighting the bad that distinguishes the organic gardener or farmer from the embattled chemical grower. Rather than chemical warfare with the mosquitoes, either inoculate your pond or birdbath with a virus that keeps them in check (available from garden stores) or nurture creatures that eat mosquitoes (birds, bats, frogs, some kinds of fish).
It's an attitude of flexibility, humility before Nature, and willingness to go with the flow that makes for a successful garden. Old biodegradables are not just garbage - they're future plants if you handle them right. Most of the living things around us are our friends, not our enemies. From the bacteria to the bats, recognizing your fellow life forms as your neighbors will result in a more balanced, productive, and safe community. Stop and think before you cut down that tree, or kill that groundhog, or spray that bug, or mow that lawn. Think what you're doing. Are you helping the community of life or acting on some unnecessary fear? As we are finding out in the international arena, life isn't as simple as constructing a border in your mind between the good guys and the bad guys. We are either going to kill each other with chemicals and warfare, or we're going to learn to love the whole community of life.
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Hazelwoodhomepage.com :
======
Creating a healthy garden
Our world has always been changing, but now the changes are coming faster. The changes are interacting. We need to start taking care of ourselves first. I don't mean that we should become more selfish, just more self-reliant. We each have to work on problems from within our own unique situations.
Pollution is making our soil toxic, and destroying the life in it on which we depend. Not only our food but also our air and water quality depend on a healthy soil. Construction of buildings and roads over soil is limiting the land's ability to provide these services upon which the human species has always depended. And the transfer of waste organic material to landfills, incinerators, and waterways - rather than it's being returned to the soil - is resulting in diminished capacity of all types of life to flourish on what land remains available.
How do we deal with such a gigantic mass of related problems? By starting with one thing at a time, one step at a time. And by using our imaginations to enjoy the future we're making.
If the piece of land you want to turn into a garden has rocks, think how removing each rock frees up valuable turf for life to flourish. What could you build with those rocks? If you've got lots of garbage to clear for your garden, think of how your neighbors will like you better (or dislike you less, as the case may be) if your place is cleaner. If you own this particular chunk of Earth, think how it's sale value will increase the nicer it looks. If you're a renter (like me) and so gardening on land you don't own, realize you still look good working on something positive. You're getting exercise, decreasing pollution, and likely to enjoy a more beautiful and well-fed future.
Rather than get discouraged at how big the project is and with how many obstacles, think of each problem as a challenge. Rocks, along with salvaged Christmas tree stems, old bricks and blocks, railroad ties, poles, fencing, and pieces of wood can be part of the structure of the garden. You can turn an old bathtub into a pond. Old tires (without the rims) can be stacked to make a little round raised bed of whatever depth you choose.
Waste cardboard and non-color newspaper is organic carbon and can line the bottom of plant pots and planting beds. Roots will grow right down into this biodegradable waste. Boxes (both wooden and plastic) and drawers can be planters as long as they have drainage holes. Immovable concrete and metal structures look a lot better when they have plants coming up out of them.
Rather than trying to control everything in your garden space, use what already exists by letting flow the life that's already there. Yes, there are grasses and weeds, so much stronger than the tame plants you want that they always threaten to overwhelm anything you try to grow. But use their life force to your advantage - compost them. You'll never be free of weeds or plant diseases in a compost-fed garden (or in any kind of a garden, for that matter), but, by encouraging as much a quantity and variety of the kinds of life you want you indirectly successfully compete with the weeds and disease. After some admittedly strenuous and meticulous work to separate out the "bad guys" - such as mosquitoes - and encourage the "good guys" - such as a variety of bugs, which work together to keep each other under control while feeding the birds - you'll find your preferred plants bigger, stronger, and (if they're food plants) better tasting than ever.
It's putting your energy toward encouraging the good rather than fighting the bad that distinguishes the organic gardener or farmer from the embattled chemical grower. Rather than chemical warfare with the mosquitoes, either inoculate your pond or birdbath with a virus that keeps them in check (available from garden stores) or nurture creatures that eat mosquitoes (birds, bats, frogs, some kinds of fish).
It's an attitude of flexibility, humility before Nature, and willingness to go with the flow that makes for a successful garden. Old biodegradables are not just garbage - they're future plants if you handle them right. Most of the living things around us are our friends, not our enemies. From the bacteria to the bats, recognizing your fellow life forms as your neighbors will result in a more balanced, productive, and safe community. Stop and think before you cut down that tree, or kill that groundhog, or spray that bug, or mow that lawn. Think what you're doing. Are you helping the community of life or acting on some unnecessary fear? As we are finding out in the international arena, life isn't as simple as constructing a border in your mind between the good guys and the bad guys. We are either going to kill each other with chemicals and warfare, or we're going to learn to love the whole community of life.
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posted by St. Jim the Composter at 8:32 AM
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