Frodo and Bilbo Baggins Birthday
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are some of my favorite books. I have read them multiple times as well as watched the movies many times. I still cry when all the people bow to Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin at Aragorn’s coronation in The Return of The King.
I was able to spend some time today in my garden harvesting and watering. It is so satisfying to pick the green beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos (lots of those), okra, cantaloupe, and dig up a few potatoes.
I also spent some time working on getting my garden expansion area ready by digging a trench for the fence to go and putting in some bricks that will form the base the fence will rest on.
I pulled weeds in the backyard. We had few weeds because it had been so hot and dry until it rained last month and then, like magic, many green weeds appeared. Water is truly lifegiving even for weeds.
I am learning to be a soil scientist, at least an amateur one, by listening to Youtube videos, TED talks and participating in Kiss the Ground Advocate training. The more I learn about what constitutes healthy soil and how to make rich, organic, alive soil that grows multitudinous vegetables and fruits..the more humbled and awed I am by the creative intricacies of sunlight, dirt, water, rock, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, etc. It is an extremely complex process that has been going basically under our very feet for thousands of years. Scientists are just barely starting to really figure it out.
Here is a link to the Kiss the Ground documentary trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-V1j-zMZw
I got earthworms, Red Wrigglers, mailed from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm in Pennsylvania, this summer. I am using them to eat my food waste and create worm castings which will help regenerate my garden soil. I also bought a composter from Amazon and the compost is almost ready to put into my garden expansion. Becoming a worm farmer and composter has been a very interesting and somewhat messy process. I am learning a lot and am excited to keep learning and growing in my understanding of how to utilize the amazing food waste that I used to just throw in the trash.