Xylem and Phloem Garden Blog: Flower and Vegetable Gardening News, Tips, Ideas and Inspiration for the Texas Gardener

A responsible graduate student would immediately finish her homework for Operations Management class. However, a graduate student with a passion for gardening can successfully find one hundred garden tasks that must be accomplished BEFORE she finishes her Operations Management homework.

This evening, my procrastination reached such a high level that I was willing to do the most banal of garden chores instead of sitting down to study. With gusto, I grabbed my garden tools and attacked the compost pile, giving it such a good turning that I nearly threw my back out in the process

After several minutes of lifting and turning, I was overjoyed to discover what organic gardeners live for: a HUGE pile of finished compost hiding underneath a thick layer of fallen leaves. I had no idea that there was so much compost under there! Teeming with worms and microbial miracle-workers, my pile of "garden gold" smelled like a million bucks. A million bucks worth of great smelling DIRT!

Now I have even more reasons to procrastinate: my garden gold needs to be spread on every surface of my garden, helping to build up the soil and get those fertile soil juices flowing just in time for spring's arrival.

You know, so many compost "experts" make all these rules about composting. "Layer green, then brown", "turn the pile once a week", "build a bin for your compost", "cover the pile to prevent it from getting too wet". While great pieces of advice and certainly things that we should practice from time to time, my compost pile is a true testament to the great results one can achieve by being lazy. Too lazy to put your leaves into bags and set them out on the curb? No problem! Just pile them in a corner of your yard. Same with your grass clippings! Turn the pile whenever you remember, and then in a couple of months after you have almost forgotten about all the yummy organic processes that are going on in the corner, rake back some of those leaves and -- LO AND BEHOLD... HOUSTON, WE HAVE COMPOST!!!! It's not rocket science, and anyone can do it. If you rake leaves and mow the lawn (or if you have someone else do that for you), you've got compost. And more importantly, you've got loads and loads of the world's best fertilizer, mulch, and soil enhancer.

Okay, I am now done with professing my love for compost. Then again, what more do you expect from a tree-hugging, dirt worshipper.