Not that I'm posting merely to cover the bare earth of an updated blog.
No, I'm thinking about mulch and what's called the Fukuoka method of farming. My man showed me some truly inspiring videos of this no-till, no-compost (except to start seeds), minimal soil disturbance approach. Basically, you establish good conditions in various ways--back to the mulch here--and let the plants pursue their own ends of growing, reproducing, dying. You leave their roots in the ground and lop off any parts you don't use to replenish the mulch.
I nearly burst into tears when I heard one particularly accomplished gardner/farmer mention that plants use only about 2% of the microelements and other soil nutrients to create their bodies. The rest is all light and air.
And they do this without knowing. Without trying. I started there... like any embryo, creating myself from two cells. At what point did I turn away from this and begin to doubt?
Shit. I have so much to learn from lettuce and leeks.
7 comments:
mr. jb spread out some eco-grass seed on our sad looking lawn (it was sad looking even before the harsh canadian winter!). we were told that the longer we use the seed, the better our grass is going to look. i know we can't force it to look beautiful (like how i can't force my uterus to carry a baby!), but i live in the hope that i can admire a beautiful, eco-friendly, green lawn in the summer!
I love this. You're right - we KNOW so much more than we "know." It's actually much more interesting that I know how to respirate oxygen than that I don't know whether I'll fit into all my skirts again by summer :).
Most people would say that making a baby is easier than gardening. Some of us would say the opposite.
And some of us don't find either one easy.
wow, that is cool! I love learning from plants!
There is so much truth and beauty in this post that it makes my head spin, Shinejil. I am sitting in my office, befuddled with the grace and economy of how you crammed so much into one little post, and my heart is just shouting, "AMEN!"
You begin to doubt when your body doesn't do what it is supposed to.
But it is now.
2%, really? That's fascinating, thank you for sharing. Nature is amazing... our bodies included.
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