Here are my ‘gardening lessons learned (part 3/4)’ I’m a gardener. I do it for pleasure. It’s also great exercise. There is nothing like getting down on your knees for twenty minutes, bending over a row of something, and pulling weeds or adding more mulch. It will strengthen your back and legs. If you do it too long at first, it will make you sleep on your own side of the bed too. Picking up and moving pots around the yard and turning the old compost pile is better than going to the gym. The same can be said for carrying bags of mulch or potting soil, all this, and no gym membership. What a deal!

Every Gardener Should Make Compost

First, a couple of paragraphs on compost and making it. This seems to be one of the favorite subjects of YouTube vids. It’s pretty easy, mix a bunch of organic stuff, water it, and watch it rot, that’s it. That’s about right too. Getting enough compost to replace purchased potting soil, now that’s a different story. It’s hard work too. If you’re not used to using a shovel or pitchfork, you’re in for a treat!

An early problem you’ll soon notice is; when do you stop growing that dad gum compost heap! No kidding, the word on the street is to keep dumping your yard waste and kitchen bi-products into the compost pile. When does it end?? You’ll never get a completed pile of new dirt if you don’t stop somewhere and let it cook down. Does that mean you need to start a second one? You decide. One is enough for me and my old back. I do it, I’ll continue to do it, but it is not a dependable short term source of new soil.

Size Does Matter

Next time I will also be more mindful of the size of the organic matter I incorporate into my compost pile. Sure anything like sticks and twigs will break down. I would just like it to break down before I do, that’s all. I find it is hard to get enough compost for all my needs. Consequently, I have had to buy topsoil, cow manure, and such. So, compost has not been the answer to reducing my dirt budget. Next year should be a little better as I recycle this year’s dirt and compost. Speaking of my gardening budget, if I didn’t have one, I would buy an electric shredder/ grinder from the big box home improvement store. They’re not all that much, less than $200. It will turn all my stems and pieces into cereal size pieces that would break down much quicker. Like they say, size matters! I’m still having a hard time justifying it seeing that one of the purposes of my vegetable gardening was to save money. No kidding, I have already spent almost that much on store bought dirt.

Click Here For Part 4.