On composting and saving seed
· 3 min read
Looking back, the shady approach was the right call. Compost is slow magic, and it cannot be rushed. Every spring I revisit the same questions about tomatoes. Saving seed means next year’s garden starts this autumn.
The process
It is not glamorous, but it holds up. I like wildflowers that shows the marks of how it was made. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. Every spring I revisit the same questions about pruning. A cold frame extends the season by weeks at either end.
A friend once described cover crops as quiet work, and the phrase stuck. Leave some corners messy; the insects will thank you. Between sowing seeds and pruning roses, the second one taught me more. I keep coming back to tomatoes, mostly because it rewards persistence.
Half of gardening is noticing what grows on its own.
Closing thoughts
The soil is better every year, mostly because I stopped digging it. The slugs got most of the lettuce, but the beans did well. The first two weeks were mostly about unlearning. Here is what altered, and what stayed exactly the same.
Where it started
The trick, if there is one, is to leave plenty of room for missteps. Thanks for reading, and for the generous jottings that keep arriving. For a long time I treated seed trays as an afterthought. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years.
I altered my mind about wildflowers twice while writing this. I keep a short list of things to try next; composting is near the top. Nothing here requires a rain barrel, though it does make things easier. The first twelve weeks were mostly about unlearning. Between composting and saving seed, the second one taught me more.
Half of the work is deciding what to leave out. This is less a manual and more a record of what worked for me. The shift showed up slowly, then all at once. Nothing here requires a hand trowel, though it does make things easier.
- Note the date and the weather
- Ask someone at the back garden
- Give composting a full summer
- Revisit mulch after a week
Getting started
Looking back, the overgrown approach was the right call. In May the light changes, and so does the work. This got going as a quick note and slowly turned into something longer.
I altered my mind about herbs twice while writing this. I like mulch that shows the marks of how it was made. What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed.
It is easy to overthink sowing seeds. It is harder to just start. I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things quickly. I wrote most of this on a quiet Wednesday morning. Looking back, the seasonal approach was the right call.
- Stop before you are tired
- Keep a hand trowel within reach
- Budget twice the time you expect
- Do less composting, more sowing seeds
mulchseed trays