Friday, June 17, 2022

From Weeds to Wonders. Greens for Breakfast.

 Coconut daisies.
Please Don't Eat the Daisies.

Sassy wants her morning walk, but I want some morning pour-over coffee, which is like a software editor that draws a red line under typos. I rely on spell-checkers, too, though not as much as freshly brewed black coffee (no sugar).

My morning exercise has been outsourced, from the gym to the backyard. Tiger lilies have claimed a patch where I want coconut daisies to grow. I understand colonists brought the lilies over, and the flowers took off. I included their remains in a compost pile once, and they spread around the yard in New Ulm, surviving and thriving with the compost.

The solution is fairly simple. I cut down the greens, lay down cardboard on top of the greens, and use wood mulch to hold down the cardboard. That will block the sunlight, and turn the greens into food for the Creation critters - worms, sowbugs, pillbugs, ants, etc. This compost pile in situ breaks down the nitrogen and provides additional fertilizer for the coconut daisies.

I watered yesterday, so the clay soil will still have moisture to speed the decomposition.