About a month ago, I started thinking of gathering weeds as a means of speeding up my composting process.  Because I have a brand new piece of land I am working, one of the most important things is soil-building  the best way to build soil is with compost.  How can I make more compost?  Must have more matter!  Where do I get more matter?  Weeds!    I have filled square yard after square yard with weeds in the last couple of months ( a 2-week vacation in mid-July did me in- the weeds took over and I have been racing to keep up ever since…).

I know that many people find weeding tedious and annoying, but for me, it can be a mindless task that has a start and end, a task you know serves many benefits- to help aerate the soil once the weed roots have been yanked out, to allow more space for your chosen crops in terms of sunlight and also in terms of nutrient access beneath the ground.

For me, weeding is therapeutic.  It is cleaning up a mess you have been staring at for weeks.  It is accomplishing something tangible- a weeded garden bed is so satisfactory to look at.  for me, it feels like a finite project that continues to give me satisfaction for days after I “finish”.  Weeding is not finite, it is actually the opposite- but I feel like when I choose to weed a particular area- to rid this area of unwanted plants and to give the wanted plants more room, that I have accomplished something.  Sometimes it feels so  good to appreciate and recognize the little accomplishments in the midst of what feels like a series of unending tasks with never ending days.

Compost bins and sifter on smartcart

Compost!