The earth

I learnt recently that there is more life under the earth than living on top of it!  It's amazing, the life-giving resources that lie in the ground, the multitude of micro-organisms going about their business unseen and largely unknown.

The other day I got into the garden and got my hands dirty (need new gloves!).  It felt so good to work the soil, turning it over on top of the remains of last summer's tomato crop, mixing in some old straw from the chookhouse (chicken pen), and planting some winter crops.  [Above: peas next to the leeks; below: red onions and a couple of beetroot.]

The weeds have been uprooted and mixed in (except a few nasty ones which I removed altogether); the dead tomato vines are decomposing underneath; the micro-organisms in the soil have received oxygen and are hard at work.

I love the simplistic nature of this type of gardening.  It's messy and raw; and it relies on nature to do most of the work.  It makes me feel very connected to the earth, and I love feeling that way - like I'm participating in something bigger than myself.

Previously I have always followed the traditional method of gardening which involved meticulously weeding around the veggies, throwing all the old crops into the compost bin, and mixing in the compost and turning the soil once or twice a year.  This was a lot of work and now that I have a little one, I have no time for this kind of gardening!

It also doesn't make sense to me anymore... why not let the goodness of the old plants return to the earth while the new crop slowly draws up what it needs at the same time?  Why throw the old crop in the compost bin, only to have to shovel it onto the garden later?   And I've learnt that some plants, which we call weeds, actually put nutrients into the ground instead of taking them out.  [Clover, for example, puts nitrogen into the soil!]

I know I'm not doing it all 'right' and there may be negatives to leaving some of those weeds there or letting things decompose under the new plants, but I don't care.  I'm experimenting and learning as I go... and I'm loving it!