Mom…We’re Eating Dead Leaves!

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photo4Enjoying produce from our own garden was a family tradition from childhood.  With a father who served as a Master Sergeant in WWII and having nine kids, I’m sure it was more than a hobby…and because he knew the great taste of fresh bell peppers.  It was hard work and kept us busy weeding and working in the garden, and out of range of our Mom and a clean house.  These chores, however, were never my idea of fun as a child.  Somehow, though, the great taste and beauty of the gardens was imprinted in our brains, because today most of the siblings do enjoy gardening of some kind.

 

Today, personal health as we know starts with great fuel—the food we put in our bodies.  The old saying “you are what you eat” has proven a truism in today’s world of health focus.  Interesting statistics note that the newest of baby boomers are taking less medicine than our predecessors.  So how do we eat great and reduce the work to grow good food? The answer:  composting for our garden!

 

photoComposting is the most effective form of recycling.  Dead leaves, kitchen vegetable/ fruit scraps, etc. put in a pile, mixed together, and allowed to ferment transform into the most fertile topsoil on God’s earth!

 

In a weird way, it can actually be enjoyable.  Here is our recipe.  Involve your kids (or someone else’s…it worked for my Dad).  We gather leaves and grass from our property, or for fun, we actually pick up bags of well mown leaves from the adjacent neighborhoods and store them at our barn for use as the base for mixing with fresh grass clippings in the summertime.  You can either compost or place dead leaves directly into the garden as mulch.  Earthworms eat dead leaves and thus aerate and fertilize your garden while you are asleep. We accomplish three things:

1. Save energy of mulching our own leaves.
2. Reduce bags of leaves in the landfill.
3. Produce healthy vegetables that we share with kids that help, our friends and neighbors.

 

You can do this so easy! For more information, visit goo.gl/LM8mFF