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| Malabar is a vine, not a true spinach, and has a different name for each country where it grows. Asians love it for making soup. |
Instead of just writing about Malabar spinach seed, I ordered it today - with real spinach, radish, and lettuce seed.
Malabar spinach is really a vine and goes by many names. It needs support, so it will be planted along the fence. It is just the opposite of true spinach, which loves cold and bolts (goes to seed) in hot weather. Malabar loves heat and hates cold.
My helper wants to expand the garden too, so Sassy and I picked up a load of mulch - cypress this time. The black mulch dyed my hands for days and had a special car-sick aroma. My neighbors need to donate more newspapers to put under the mulch.
I read about the fraud of fabric weed barriers. They last for a short time and become a real burden in getting rid of the weeds that grow on top of them. Newspapers rot and feed the soil, a definite advantage. If I had the rolls of newsprint that used to cover church luncheon tables, I would be very happy.
This garden will be stage left from the back door, to see how well plants grow where we have late afternoon shade. Full sun is over-rated, because it also means "dries up quickly and needs water." The sunniest planting area so far (tomatoes, pumpkins, sunflowers) looked parched yesterday. Rain is almost covering Oklahoma, so we will get some today, tomorrow, and beyond perhaps.
Absent a strong wind, garden expansion is easy. We put down a layer of newspapers and cover it with mulch. Gusts of wind complicate the newspaper stage. The only digging comes in the area for new plants or seed. That way, the rotting sod will feed the soil life and lead to a productive garden. The greener the compost, the faster it breaks down. Therefore, sod itself is the best compost material and most abundant. I have no idea why people confuse it with whipping cream and rototill it.
The effect of composted sod lasts for a long time, especially since rich soil is self-renewing, according to the design of the Creating Word. Earthworms improve soil, and they are far more abundant in soil with plenty of humus, beneficial bacteria, and soil creatures.
When earthworm numbers increase they make the soil even better. As the Greeks wrote, "worked ground is more productive." Most of the work is done by the soil creatures, not man, but certain adjustments make their lives easier. They respond with gusto.
I have already seeded the entire backyard with red wiggler worms. I started with the compost pile, worked around the fenceline a bit, and placed them along the base of the house. Uncle Jim helped by sending me a second shipment when the first one was late.
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| Uncle Jim's Worm Farm |
Here is Uncle Jim's list, reasons to raise earthworms:
- Worm Composting or Vermicomposting
- Vermiculture
- Compost Bin
- Worm Tea
- Organic Fertilizer
- Lessen Garbage
- Vermicompost Bin
- Fishing Worms
- Attracting Wild Birds
Feeding- Pet Birds
- Turtles
- Iguanas
- Aquarium Fish
- Pond Fish
- Salamanders
- Snakes
- Frogs
- Raising Trouts
- Raising Worms at Home
- Worm Farms
- Worm Bins
- Worm Kits
- Can o Worm Composters
- Nourishing Garden Soil
- Vermicompost or Worm Compost
- Gardens (Bigger Tastier Veggies)
- Organic Gardening
- Lawns (Greener Healthier Grass)
- Flower Beds (More Colorful Blooms & Stronger Stems)
- Fertilize House Plant soil
- Hanging Plants
- Potted Plants
- Garden Plants
- Soil Enhancing (Black Gold soil)
- Eliminating Chemical Fertilizers
- Food Additives and Red Worm Recipes ...Really
A major reason for more gardening is raising fresh produce. Grocery costs will continue to increase, and we love fresh produce.
Fun fact about seed - the little packets displayed in stores are many times more expensive than bulk buys. I can order a lot of bulk seed for $12-20 while the same amount at the store will purchase very few items in pretty packets - pretty pictures on silken envelopes with a pretty price.
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
1 Corinthians 3:6
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.\
Paul's horticultural examples teach us to sow the Word of God carelessly - without anxiety - because the Word will grow.
Only the dimwits from Fuller think we need to "test the soil." They have to be city-slickers to imagine that. Have I once mentioned testing the soil in all my posts? In The Wormhaven Gardening Book? And yet people tell me how beautiful my roses are. And an agricultural expert from Dow Chemical was agog at the health and size of my Silver Queen corn.
Not found in the Bible -
The Sower went out to sow - after testing the soil.
I tested the soil, then planted. Apollos created some graphs and watered. God looked at us in wonder.
Your thoughts are in fact My thoughts. Your ways are exactly like My ways. That is why I bless those who study at Fuller, Willowcreek, and Trinity Divinity.
