Garden

I think we have the best compost heap I have had in 20 years of composting. We pulled two loads out of it this spring. The first one was stuff that had been going for about a year, so no surprise that something was in there. The second load came when had made a sifter and could get more stuff than what we could eyeball. About three weeks ago, I added fresh grass clippings and turned it. This past weekend, we mowed and added new grass clippings, turning it. I noticed that there is a lot more stuff that is finished or nearly so. At this rate, we’ll probably get about half a 5-gallon bucket every week.

And now (5 days after I wrote the above paragraph) I checked the heap, and it is on fire! Steam comes out of it when you move it a bit. And it doesn’t stink, so it has hit the sweet spot where the bacterial decomposition is raging. I stuck my meat thermometer in (not the good one you gave me, mom, the one I got at Kroger), and it read 130 degrees, and that’s just about four inches in. So at the core, it’s probably at that nice 160.

Miguel Mazariegos delivered the dirt for our raised beds in the backyard, so we’re ready for summer planting.

Jessie’s grandmother gave us about 10 sweet potatoes to start plants from. Each one is producing ten or more plants, so we’ll have lots of sweet potatoes. These are an old variety handed down for at least 5 generations, grown from “seed” potatoes stored under the bed each year. So I guess they’re ours to keep passing on.

Jim Embry brought some nice greens by to transplant. It’s going to be a good year in the garden, that’s for sure!

Todd Clark plowed the ground at Andover. We have about 17,000 square feet there. It is going to take all of us working hard! But the prize is rich! So many people to feed and so much good food!