When the Log Becomes Earth

Tip toeing through the forest with my little one, we came across this camouflaged treasure. To walk quickly through this area without paying close attention, one could easily miss it.

Right before our eyes was nature's exquisite example of how it naturally replenishes itself....the circle of life, through the symbol of a tree melting slowing into the earth from which it grew.

Can you see the faint outline of a fallen log?  The mystical and scientific process known as 

decomposition, or "composting" in more suburban terms.... had begun to break down the mighty fallen tree

into a luscious  brown earthy soil.  See the chocolaty shade of the dirt?

I love composting, but i love it even more when nature provides a real life example of what it has done by God's design for thousands of years. This is how the forests and swamps and wetlands continue to create nutritiously rich soils from which to grow more vibrant foliage and trees to house wildlife.

Without this cycle of growth, death and renewal, the soils would quickly become sandy like the desert and there would be little flora and fauna to boast about. And so it was a lovely classroom in which to teach my young one about this precious truth of how God made the earth to replenish itself, without any interference or "help" from mankind.

Peaceful  Day,

Carla

Indoor Food Gardens using Repurposed and Compostable Items

This photo is of my first successful indoor food experiment and contains healthy young green beans hanging from the plant.

 Dryer lint is an untapped recyclable material available in plenty in many households. Add one layer of lint
to the bottom of your planter/seed nursery before you add soil on top.
Cardboard egg cartons are a great tool for starting seedlings. Cardboard can easily
assimilate into the garden soil if/when you choose to replant your plants outdoors. Cardboard is easily cut with scissors and soaks up the water well while helping to keep the seedlings hydrated.

 The re-purposed soil has been added on top of the dryer lint and seeds planted
into each pocket of soil. Water added after planting seeds.

Collect lint
every time you use your clothes dryer and save it in a coffee can or zipper bag

It has become an interest of mine to see what kind of food plants will grow successfully indoors. And so, I tried to grow some green beans indoors this winter and have had some success. I also made of point of using compostable and re-purposed items to set up these plant nurseries. Growing things needn't be costly other than the time and tlc required to nurture them to health and full bloom.

The items I have used in creating these planters is lint (yes the stuff from your clothes dryer) as the
first layer which will help retain moisture and provide a cushy bottom for the seedlings to grow in.
Secondly I used cardboard egg cartons as planters and place them into my own glass and plastic shallow containers so that they would not leak water.
On top of the lint I placed soil that I repurposed from wilted Pointsettia plants given to us at Christmas time.
Whenever you receive a flowering potted plant as a gift, if you find that the flowers have wilted and you are tempted to throw the whole pot, plant and soil into your garbage....think first. The soil is recyclable and you can either add it to your planters and indoor or outdoor gardens. ( be careful not to reuse soils that you suspect has contained a sick or diseased plant, as you don't want to spread the plant disease through the soil)

Enjoy this thrify "Green" experiment. Children also love to see things grow and will watch enthusiastically as
their indoor garden matures.

Peace.


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