Hi there. Thanks so much for hosting me and offering
one of my favorite topics to write about – gardening! I have a micro flower
farm on Long Island,where my grandparents farmed a hundred years ago, selling
veg and raising chickens.
Earth-based
magic
I practice an earth-based spirituality, so putting my hands in the soil is healing and the source of great ideas. When I am struggling with something I get my hands dirty and ask Mother Earth for help. The calm is instantaneous, kneeling on the ground restores balance – and ideas or solutions come flowing in. Try it!
A
Dirty Little Garden A-Ha
I want to write about my biggest gardening “aha,”which
actually only came this year as I started to learn about permaculture. I want
to spread the word on this because it’s something that most of us overlook:
DIRT.
Well, not dirt so much as soil. Did you know the
earth is actually losing soil every year? It’s hard to believe; where does it
go? It runs off, erodes, is polluted, paved over and more. But soil is key to a
garden (and a planet!)
Make
dirt
When I first heard this I got serious about
composting and I told everyone who would listen to do the same in order to make
soil.
I still haven’t found the perfect counter-top compost container so I would love suggestions! You can send them to my farm website: www.yourvintageblooms.com. And thanks in advance!
Keep
your compost close…
Composting issimple (a list of compostables is at the end of this post.) I use a vintage enamel pot which at least goes with my décor. I shouldn’t say this butget fruit flies in the summer and overflow in the winter. That’s because whatever season, it can be a drag to hike out to the field where the compost piles and bins are.After a long day writing, then working with writers, then gardening… I’m tired! So, word to the wise, keep yours close to the house so emptying it is not a hassle and you’ll keep doing it!
So,
compost everyone!
You’ll save the planet (a little.) I used to think
my mother was old fashioned and crazy for doing it. She was into “eco-action”
before it was cool. None of the families around here did it. We were “weird”
because we were an organic farm…a kid’s perspective on something I am so
thankful for today.
Oy,
back to my big aha:
As I tried to decide where to put my flowers, herbs
and veg this year I realized was focusing on the wrong thing: the plant. We have
to look at the whole system, starting with the SOIL.(At first I typo’d “soul”
which sort of fits. The soil is the soul of the garden.)
My soil is depleted (probably yours is too unless
you amend it a lot with humus, compost and mulch,) so what was I supposed to
do? Dump fertilizer full of nitrogen? Bring in a ton of fresh soil from
somewhere which could have all sorts of herbicides in it?
Permaculture
is organic, so, no.
Did you know there’s no way to test for herbicides
(but you can send a soil sample to your local Cooperative Extension and they’ll
test it for you, but they won’t normally test for herbicides -- so ask.) AND
even organic compost and bagged soil can be contaminated. The herbicides can
come through the manure if the livestock has eaten corn, wheat, or anything
that’s been treated.
This
was cool: I taught the local Agway guy that! He’d never heard about herbicides
in organic fertilizers, manures, mulch or potting soil. Now he knows.
What’s
a witchy farmer to do?
I was really stressed.How to improve the soil if I
can’t bring something in? I looked at the weedy mess of my soil. Thin,
depleted, hardly a place to plant my precious little baby seedlings.
Then, at the height of my frustration: I was reading
my permaculture sources and I discovered the answer.
I
cried when it all came together…
Mother Nature has the solution and it’s built right
in. It’s the weeds! The problem arrives with a solution! (Which looks like
another problem, but isn’t.)
Nature knows what the soil needs. It restores the
soil by growing weeds. In soil that is really lacking the weeds will be out of
control. That’s because big medicine is needed. So, the solution to a depleted,
weedy garden is this: don’t pull the weeds out. Trim them and leave the
clippings to fertilize the earth. (Get them clipped before they go to seed
though…)Plus, the roots will break up the soil, which aerates it and lets it
retain more water too. Magic!
It
all fits
It’ll take a while to enrich your garden naturally and organically but it’s a worthy investment. Over time you’ll have a rich soil with few weeds and healthy plants. In the meantime, compost for your own garden so you can keep things clean and safe for your plants and seeds.
Here’s
a list of what to compost:
Table scraps that don’t contain oils or meat/chicken
Egg shells
Whatever you trim off produce, such as pineapple
skin or orange peel
Coffee grounds
Tea bags
Expired cut flowers
Anything from your vegetable drawer that passed its
prime, etc. soft broccoli you don’t want to eat
Shrimp shells
Corn cobs
Peanut shells
And
outside, add these to your compost pile
Raked leaves
Cut grass (untreated)
Should you use garden clippings or the dead plants
from your garden? Some say no, in order to prevent introducing pathogens or
fungus into next year’s garden.
I used to say newspaper but now so many pages have
color ink so I don’t recommend this anymore.
I hope this inspires you to literally save the
earth!
Happy
Gardening,
Diane
Riis, The Belly Witch
WRITING PROMPT From Midnight Pages:
Close your eyes. What do you hear, smell, taste? What do you sense at an energetic or intuitive level? Spend some real time. Find at least twenty-five things. When it gets hard to add to the list is when it gets interesting…”
Excerpt:
VIGILANTIA
Vigilantia: lying awake, sleepless, vigilance. The silence and stillness of midnight might feel suffocating, dense, and thick—heavy with foreboding. It might have you lying in bed, heart pounding, afraid of the dark.
Under the cloak of night, your hearing is heightened. Sounds startle you awake as you drowse. Your mind can ramp up: haunting memories, recriminations, regrets, and stuck thoughts keep you from your rest. Some “insights come up as well and sensations: the surge of adrenaline, pricklings on your neck. You might feel the weight of the dark bearing down on you or you notice movement in the shadows. Maybe you have the sense you’re being watched. Something lurks in the dark that’s imperceptible during the day. You might feel like you are not alone, and that subtle presence over your shoulder seems familiar. You wonder if it’s been there before, maybe even always. During the day, with music blaring and people talking, you just don’t perceive it. Ask what message all this has in store for you. Don’t reject what you hear. Don’t dismiss. Allow.
Night belongs to the spirits. –Proverb
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment