Today we reached a milestone in mulching. With Sassy watching from the middle of the garden, we used the last bag of wood mulch with many editions of the NW Arkansas-Democrat flapping in the breeze. The papers were ready to fly throughout the neighborhood, like the balloon follies of Cleveland.
Remember the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, when the ice cream cone was supposedly invented? The vendor ran out of dishes and reached for waffles from his neighbor, thereby inventing the ice cream cone.
Today will be remembered for doing the same with Peat. We scooped it onto the newspaper foundation - fast, easy, and effective. The directions on the package will be simple:
- Peat on the newspaper base.
- Re-Peat.
I vision-cast an IPO with gratifying results. Thrivent will back it - they look up to The Wolf of Wall Street.
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| I knew a businessman who tried to make a mint with manure - Barnyard Gold! Too soon - he was far ahead of his time. |
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| Thrivent bragged they had a fraudulent, drug addicted, immoral financial cheat as their main speaker. Surely they would back my Re-Peat business! |
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| Buckwheat holds down weeds and builds the soil, seeding itself, as I learned to my sorrow last year, two crops engulfed the rose bushes. |
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| Gabe Brown says, "Leave living roots in the ground as long as possible." |
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| Two area physicians have said, "Greg, your roses are in a different league." Yes, Creation League. |
Counter-Intuitive
I thought about how Creation methods are counter-intuitive for city folks:
Fertilizer? - no!
- Mulch with leaves, grass, hay, newspapers, cardboard, and shredded wood.
Till? - no!
- Let the earthworms and soil creatures mix, tunnel, fertilize, and aerate the soil. Moles are also handy for soil mixing and earthworm moving and storage.
Spray the insect pests? - no!
- Entice the birds with toxin-free plants, abundant watering places, perches for preening and spotting food, various kinds of food and shelter.
Kill the weeds with herbicides? - no!
- Mulch over the weeds, which become compost. Ignore some for their rooting value, until they need to be cut.
Soak the roses with fungicide? - no!
- Let's talk frankly about blackspot. The colored roses introduced this problem via the Grandpappy Persian Yellow rose. Unsprayed roses will spot somewhat and still do well. Sprayed roses will harm beneficial soil fungi and yet the blackspot will still be around. Ignoring blackspot is free and helps the soil. Plants need healthy soil a lot more than they need manufactured chemicals from the hardware store. Hint - smell the chemical aisles. Walk down - take a deep breath - gag.
Birds Entertain Us All Day
We are expecting a storm Wednesday from the enormous system moving north from the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. Our second kitchen window overlooks the various bird baths and a feeder. The kitchen window faces a thistle feeder, currently a favorite spot for all species.
I clean the baths and fill them every day. The algae builds up in the sun - as designed during Creation. The formation of algae feeds the plants, because it is a rich source of nitrogen and various nutrients. Some people collect pond scum for their gardens. I have it in my back garden, as a byproduct of birds, birdpoop, and sunlight.
When I was interested in having a big pond in our yard in New Ulm, I read up on them and saw how the creation of algae was an important first step in pond ecology.
This is another foul up - pun intended - in the theory of a Creation stretched out over millions of years. Strictly as an observer, I wonder how God would manage to coordinate the creation of algae with the sunlight, pond plants, and animals, and so forth.
Bird poop is a great fertilizer. I consider it interest earned - or perhaps a deposit - on the wealth of food I have donated to their cause - earthworms, bugs, berries, and seeds. Besides that, they sing to us and entertain us with their amusing antics. Starlings are great pest eaters and very intelligent. They bathe with great energy and trade places in the three main baths.
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| The birds eat our berries, so we get them from Walmart. |
