So we started a new activity in our household yesterday and we're calling it everyday nature. In order to get us more into the spirit of things, and get us even more used to working with the elements, we have decided that we must do something, anything, oriented toward the natural world every day. Doesn't have to be much, but it has to be something that will further our understanding of the earth.
I started with a bang yesterday. There has been this clump of iris in the back, just on the outside of the fence by the garage, in a tiny space of maybe 2x2'. How long they had been there is a mystery to me but I don't think they had ever been divided, which really wouldn't be such a problem if they had room to grow somewhere. Since they were so compacted and overgrown they could not bloom anymore and there was just a big sloppy mess. Now I have never had to divide iris before but being rhizomatous I figured it would be pretty easy to work with them. I had no idea what I was in for.
Honestly the entire space was one giant rhizome. Seriously. I have never seen anything like this before. There were three layers of rhizome laying on top of one another, roots growing every which way, and feet upon feet of spent bulbs. It took me almost two hours to dig it all out, then another hour to sort it all and snag the useful bulbs. The entire time I worked all I would think about was how sad it was to let a plant suffer like that for so long. This poor yard has just been abandoned for so many years that all the existing plants are suffering and in decline. There is a huge difference between natural gardening and torturing your plants, hopefully we'll be able to rehab this yard enough so that it can maintain itself through neglect and become more of a natural garden when we no longer occupy this space.
What's on the agenda for today? Just a little thinning of the radishes in the planter out front and a little experimentation with using the native clay soil for seed bombs. I am really excited about both actually, I am super happy radishes came up, thanks to mulching, and I can't wait to spread some seed love with native plants and soil. Woohoo! What are you going to do today that's nature related? How are you bringing yourself closer to the natural rhythm of things?
Kudos for the new permie! If you want any additional info, you can check my experiences on http://salicacid.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's always great to see when others are working toward the same goal of shared information. The great thing about permaculture is that though we may be able to use some similar techniques and projects it will always be unique to the location. There is so much to share and unlearn, love it!
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