First things first..turning this alkaline clay into viable soil with extensive and ongoing composting and mulching efforts, as seen in our previous “Building Soil” post. This organic process, meant both figuratively and literally, is springing latent seeds to life, including red clover, wild lettuce, purslane, mallow and native grasses, as well as a host of other imported plants.
Our first small garden utilizes the water runoff from our second larger toolshed. Here we have planted elderberries, mulberries, hazelnuts, irises, apple trees and datura, amidst a local cover crop mixture and the organic wheat straw that rises up from its use as mulch. In only a year, we’ve witnessed fervent growth and an ability for plants to gain a foothold where there were previously only compacted, inhospitable conditions.
Over the winter, further composting efforts continue to be made in more and more areas on the land, creating nutrient-rich, densely populated micro-gardens. As springtime conditions return to the land, we’ll eagerly wait to see which native and imported lifeforms decide to rise and shine.