Monday, 11 June 2012
Peddling and Paddling
Enjoyed a morning bike ride to town today with Tracey, via the urban network of roads. I was inspired to ride back on the nature trail, believing there to be a few inches of water to get through. Well, nature photographers near Christmas Island must have thought I was nuts when I peddled past them into the water on the flooded trail. It got deeper and deeper until the water was over my front wheel. Large fish were scared out of my way, ducks were fleeing, and my face was taking out spider webs between the tree branches. Debris jammed into my gears and cause the chain to come off. Had to stop, pick my bike up out of the water and put the chain back on. I was thankful for granny gear right then. Otherwise, the water was warm, the sun was shining and I was the first bike through the trail in a week. I arrived home with a real sense of accomplishment, and gratitude for aluminum frame bikes that drain well.
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Happy to see a healthy weed
People think it's a bad thing when weeds are taking over your garden. The big advantage is all those free greens. There is another benefit - observing the weeds that are there and the condition that they are in is a good indication of the health of your soil. If you have lamb's quarters and stinging nettles, you should be happy - your soil is high in nutrients. If you have lush weeds of any kind, your soil must be pretty good. If your weeds are yellowy, stunted, twisted - you need soil amendment of some sort.
Treat your soil like a forest floor, add coarse organic material, woody debris and duff. Don't rototill, it breaks the beautiful network of mycorrhizae that protect roots. Turn by hand if you have a small area. If you must rototill, try not to pulverize the soil. Run over it quickly, retain the lumps.
Treat your soil like a forest floor, add coarse organic material, woody debris and duff. Don't rototill, it breaks the beautiful network of mycorrhizae that protect roots. Turn by hand if you have a small area. If you must rototill, try not to pulverize the soil. Run over it quickly, retain the lumps.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Weeds are our Friends
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)