Storm Surge

I think it lucky that blogger auto saves every so often, as I type the wind rips through the trees. I do have a serious concern about the amount of trees that will be toppled this evening. Whether they fall on the power lines, or not is a concern for most of modern life. If it were up to me we would have temporary power outages every day, in the moments where the fridge and florescent lighting aren't buzzing I find a bit of peace. This mind altering disturbance is a constant sense dulling wall of sand bags. How good are your rechargeable batteries when there is no power coming through the lines? Without the television and radio, how will you occupy your mind?  I know the people at the Weather Channel got excited when they saw a blip on the radar that turned into a swirling mass of torrential rain and wind.  Did they excite you too? Prepare, they said, a storm is coming. Indeed, a storm is coming.

Can it be proven that this storm is a result of global warming? I think not, and certainly not to a skeptic. If historical evidence shows that Hurricane Sandy is an anomaly, unseasonable and far more powerful than previously recorded, its connection to climate change is still murky. Can we agree that the oceans are warming? This data is compelling, yet one may still wish to believe that it's not human driven. Sandy is just the manifestation of an angry planet. A weather pattern that is no pattern at all? We settle on the shore knowing full well that the mighty sea might one day come and swallow us up. Is weather not inevitable? Prepare for the storm they tell us; we should have long ago.

The Old Ways

I have become addicted to this series. The Victorians were quite clever when it came to providing a year round food supply, all from one very productive garden.

 Purposefully this program shows practices that might be somewhat out of date. Double digging for example has fallen out of favor. When soil is turned over there are many adverse effects that damage it's fertility in the long run. Amending the soil with compost, manure and other fertilizer does help restore and mitigate this action, but ultimately is unsustainable.

Imagine all the work that went into cultivating a crop for a specific genetic trait, and that for hundreds of years the produce that we eat today looked and tasted very different. Using old varieties of plants in your garden is a great way to add diversity from the garden right to your dinner plate. Although they are harder to come by some catalogs specialize in this fare. Heritage and heirloom seed exchages are gaining traction, Seed Savers Exchange has a phone book sized directory. There is such great variety out there, the only way to eat it is to grow it yourself.

Make Your Own Dirt

Everyone wants to know how to compost, and I have heard a million different approaches to it. Which is correct? The correct way for you is the important thing and depends on many factors. Your style, your location, and the materials going into the compost make a difference. With limitless ways of approaching it I could talk about composting for hours, instead I would simply like to tell you my philosophy.

Do it however you like. 

That being said, I do very little with my compost except add to it, and I add everything and anything that is organic material. I will go as far as adding a little paper, but it is all about balance.

other possible additions to my compost, but not limited to

• coffee grounds
• egg shells
• tea bags
• bread
• hair
• grass clippings
• kitchen scraps

Compost pail:
top it off, drop it off

It is my intention to do as little work as possible. Why should I? This is a job for the microbes and worms. If you want to add some instant microbes to get the digestion started off right you should add manure. If you don't have animals (don't add your pet cat or dog's), add a little of your own. Why manure? Our bodies are filled with microbes, many of which live in your digestive tract. This area freaks people out. Sure there are some dangers to adding poo to your compost, so pee on it instead.

Bacterial infection can be avoided by not adding compost to your garden before it is digested. If you can, wait six warm months before using compost with fresh manure in it.

Bacteria are key in the process, and it is our aim to give them a happy home. I do this with a balanced diet and space for air. Try adding differing sizes of material. Sticks, for example, can act as a lattice creating air pockets within the pile.

Composting is about good digestion, even microbes like to have a variety. Balancing the pile is largely about layering the material, but not like lasagna, do it with more randomness so the materials are mixed freely. Do this and composting will be as easy as taking out the trash.

Add everything and anything organic. Some people compost meat and cheese thought it may encourage pests. If you over load on leaves the pile may become slow acting, add more nitrogen rich green live plant material. If you only put grass clippings in a pile it will become a sloppy blob. It is important that dry woody material (over 70%) is the carbonaceous core of your compost operation.

A factor that will help to digest the pile quicker is having the correct amount of moisture. This you may just have to get a feel for. Microbes like it moist, that spot right between dry and wet. If you can wait the rain will come and fix the problem for you. If the pile becomes too wet throw a tarp over it to keep the rain out.

If your compost smells it may be an indication that you don't have good balance; compost piles do not have to be odoriferous. If you left kitchen scraps exposed simply cover them up with a dry material. Dry leaves are ideal for this purpose, so is straw or wood chips.

 

A compost pile can sterilize itself by reaching a high core temperature which kills weed seeds as well as soil born disease. You need to have a large pile 4ft. cubed, for hot quick composting action to occur. It can be true that turning your pile will break it down faster. Employ worms to do this work for you. Composting will take time, have patience.

Digging up the goods is a just reward. By this time you have built an impressive mound and rich dark soil is just underneath. This is the appropriate time to turn the pile over, go get that fertility. A pitch fork will come in handy. It is possible to design a sloped system, a system with a grate underneath, or a three bin system that could make this process easier. You might like a contained pile if you have a small backyard. You could simply compost in the spot you wish to fertilize, but perhaps this is called mulching.

When you end up with crumbly black loam on the other end of this endeavor you will know you have reached that magical balance. Seriously though, don't work too hard.