Many gardening books are inordinately fond of NPK - the three main ingredients of modern inorganic fertilizer: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. They always list the low NPK rating of compost and manure.
Some even suggest adding NPK fertilizer to the compost, to make it "really" work. I suppose the compost itself is a placebo. "There, there, you nostalgic geezers. Compost all you want, but add NPK to it - so the chemical firms keep paying me."
A pumpkin germinated in the compost. I was pleased to see the first two leaves pop out. But the plant is growing faster than when the ones along the fence, faster than the ones in the sunny garden.
The medium is perfect for the plant, which is a heavy feeder. The roots reach down into decomposed leaves, with some grass and soil. The composted material holds water but also lets excess moisture drain away. The leaf mold (as Darwin called it) is easily penetrated by roots.
Root hairs carry out the delicate transfer of water and minerals to the plant.
Since root hairs are single-celled, they are delicate. The root itself drills down, but the root hairs feed and water the plant.
My plant is to water the pumpkin and compost once or twice a day, just to see what happens.
Abundance in Many Forms
Our helper is learning agriculture, week by week. He looks at an abundance of weeds and sees a problem. I view the same patch of vegetation with pleasure. "That will be green manure, right on this spot. Cut it, cover it with newspaper, weigh it down with mulch for the winter. Exult in the spring."
The formula may not be exact, but I consider each pound of newspaper, mulch, or plant material to be a pound of composted soil. That will be the result by spring of 2015. I know from past experience that placing organic matter or pure compost on top will result the soil rising like a chocolate cake in the oven. The soil creatures pull it down, mine its food, and create their own food.
In the old days, farmers saw their land the same way. They knew that gradual work done year after year would produce good results. One book told about the author's grandfather in Ohio who put all his organic material (manure and crop trash) in pits for composting, then spread the worm-rich compost on his land. He prospered, never had a crop failure, and divided his land among his heirs.
Lyle Schaller observed that ministers used to take a call and serve a lifetime in one parish, which was almost always a thriving parish at the end. Now church executives move their pawns around, and those pawns vie for the choice parishes by punching the right tickets, often ignoring their parish work for visibility roles. The regular labor of visiting, teaching, and preaching original sermons has been supplanted by the quick fix of NPK from Fuller, Willowcreek, or Mars Hill.
Funny Birds
I watered all the gardens today, since we were days out from that wonderful cloudburst. That brought the robins to the rose garden. When the mulch is dry, a robin will poke hard into the shredded wood, look around for danger, and try again. That is why the rose garden is always sprinkled with bits of newsprint.
When I water, the earthworms and creatures are higher in the soil or easier to reach. Mr. Robin will hide behind a rose bush. "I'm not here." I walk around and prune a few roses. He dodges again. "You can't see me." I clip a few more and leave him to feed and to bathe. At that point perhaps six birds will light and begin bathing and feeding.
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Borage flowers are simple to raise and good to eat.
Bees like them so much that they are called "bee bread." |
Borage is blooming daily and beans are forming. I delivered the latest beans to Mrs. I, saying "I have never eaten cooked beans from my own garden. You and Little I eat them all raw." She promised to save some, but there will be plenty when the bush beans fruit. They are all blooming now.
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