Seven out of the eight GAPV podmates met at 10:15 Monday morning to compost most of what is in the DeKist 2 front yard garden, in order to to then plant greens for the fall garden.
We decided to compost all the plants, rather than throw them, cut up, back on the garden as mulch, since most of them are now with seeds, which we may or may not want to sprout!
‘Twas a perfect morning to do this kind of work, since after the hard rain of the weekend, the wet soil easily yielded all but the most stubborn roots. Plus, it’s fun to work as a team. Lots can get done in a very short time, and we all learn from each other and from the plants themselves — which ones come out easily, which must be shoveled out, etc.
As for learning from each other, for example, Justin learned what poison ivy looks like (there was some, and Rebecca dug it out); Nathan learned that we have some “toothache” plants (actually, I planted them at Rebecca’s request along the outside fence line a few years ago, and forgot) — he saw them while taking the wheelbarrow to get the compost, chewed on a leaf and voila, his mouth went numb!
— I learned that burdock seeds can get in my hair, not just the dogs’ hair (note the top and sides of my hair, seeds about the same color as hair! Rebecca dared me to wear this “do” downtown;)
— all sorts of other things, both on topic (planting, mulching, composting), and off: can’t remember what we talked about otherwise, but it was interesting enough that the entire experience held me spellbound for nearly two hours.
Here’s me, digging down to get the roots of a stubborn poke plant that had graced the top of a hugelkultur bed.
Before not very long, the beds were cleared, and our precious thoroughly cooked compost was laid on the new beds, in prep for planting.
