When we moved in to this place I started a compost bin and blogged about it in naturalista, I think. Anyways, this spring i moved it to a more hidden and less space occupying location. I turned the dirt the the patch of ground where the compost bin WAS and sowed wildflower seeds. This part of the story might be familiar.
So anyway, there were lost of sprouting things and a big mess of pumpkin volunteers that I dispatched in one way or another. I left two in there, for kicks. And now that it's two months later, there was a lovely verdant patch of plants about knee high and I was anticipating a bower of wildflowers. Well, I ignored the fact they looked a "little" like tomato plants. But of course, they ARE tomato plants, tonnes of them, all volunteers that sprouted up long after I started all my precious little heirloom seeds indoors. I weeded them out, since I want wildflowers there and not tomatoes, but here is the kicker.
The tomatoes are like FOUR times the size of my starts. I kid you not. and the pumpkins I left in there? About 6 times the size of the ones I moved. That garden bed of mine that I so lovingly and backbreakingly amended apparently does not compare to the power of hard compacted clay soil that has had compost happening on it for a year.
Volunteer cherry tomato. The result of the seeds from fruit that was composted last fall of a start plant purchased at Home Depot last year. This plant and it's ilk grew this big in one month. Maybe 2. Same with the pumpkin.
My cute 3' high heirloom tomato lovingly sprouted and tended and transplanted beginning in march.
So the lesson here to day is, compost! Not only that but maybe USE the compost instead of move it to add to your dirt like I will next year...*sigh*
2 comments:
What a great story! Ol' mother nature sure has a sense of humor!
We should move the compost bin around the garden every year, that way it's in the soil no matter what.
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