I originally sent this to my business newsletter, but I liked it so much I decided to rework it a bit and post it here as well. Enjoy.
I think a lot about dirt.
And bugs.
And microbes.
We have a pretty darn big compost pile in our backyard to go along with our pretty darn big garden.
I am forever fascinated by how the wheelbarrows of yard matter and buckets of food waste breakdown into the most beautiful soil you ever did see.
I love shoving my hands deep into the compost pile and whispering, “You’re so sexy” (my neighbors think I’m totalllly normal don’t worry).
But, we had a compost problem.
We had too much compost for the system we had set up.
The ideal compost system is a three-tiered one.
- All the new stuff for that season
- Last season’s new stuff, in the process of breaking down
- Two seasons ago’s stuff, soon to be beautiful soil for next season
We just had tier one and two.
We kept piling on new stuff on top of old stuff, which meant the old stuff never really got to break down. It was like trying to bail out water from a kayak in pouring down rain.
The compost couldn’t keep up.
I knew I had to set aside a full day to totally revamp our system.
I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Not because of the manual labor (I really like totally exhausting my body doing hard things) but because I didn’t want to hurt our compost.
Which is silly, because by switching to a three-tier system, I would actually be helping it.
But… what if moving it around shocked all the sexy microbes and bugs and killed our living soil????
So, I put it off.
For a whole year.
And then another one.
Finally, last Friday, I did it.
I spent all afternoon building new troughs, moving soil and plant matter around, and ripping out the old troughs.
It was the most satisfying work.
And friends?
I did NOT realize HOW MUCH SOIL we have!
Next Spring, we get to revitalize our garden beds with dirt WE made.
The lesson?
Putting off necessary, yet grueling, work only delays growth.
That task you know you need to do but damn it sounds so hard because you have to totally rethink the flow of the living room? Or finally write that one person back? Or wash at least one dish, dang it?
Stop putting it off.
Put in the work.
It’s totally worth it.
Right now, besides our compost, we’re starting to work on our dream of a no-mow yard. It will take years, but it starts now.
You?
What’s your compost pile project?
P.S. Look at this sexy soil!
Now At A Farm 