Tree Hugging, Dirt Worshipper... (Make That Compost Worshipper)
Though I'm planning to rip out most of my water-hungry lawn soon, I feel better about having grass when I know that it will eventually produce nutrient-rich compost.
Since the current cold weather has kept much of my gardening activity to a minimum, I've been focusing on maintenance recently. Today I covered my bare vegetable beds with a generous layer of compost and partially decomposed leaves that will enrich the soil for summer planting while inhibiting weed growth over the winter months. If I had the time and forethought, I would have planted a cover crop of hairy vetch or some other nitrogen-fixing legume.
Practicing sustainable gardening activities like composting has really changed the way I see the world these days. For example, I get sick to my stomach when I drive by homes with trash bags full of fall leaves piled up out front for the garbage truck to pick up. To think that these leaves will go straight to a landfill! I wish that Dallas would enact a municipal composting program. It could provide a HUGE revenue stream if they eventually sold the compost back to residents at a discount over retail prices. If only every resident would compost their leaves..
Here is an "action shot" of one of the veggie beds getting piled up with compost and decomposed leaves. (I can see next year's juicy tomatoes growing now.)
I decided to do a little research on the history of composting. The University of Illinois Extension Web site notes:
The ancient Akkadian Empire in the Mesopotamian Valley referred to the use of manure in agriculture on clay tablets 1,000 years before Moses was born. There is evidence that Romans, Greeks and the Tribes of Israel knew about compost. The Bible and Talmud both contain numerous references to the use of rotted manure straw, and organic references to compost are contained in tenth and twelfth century Arab writings, in medieval Church texts, and in Renaissance literature. Notable writers such as William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Walter Raleigh all mentioned the use of compost.
