Summer in a bowl

Here is summer in a bowl. I went to the Farmer's Market today. It was nice. It is always second best to having your own garden though. We desperately wanted to put in a garden, but it seemed ridiculous since we will be moving out this summer. We didn't get to have a garden last year either since we were moving during garden season then too. Well, I guess we kind of had a garden but we didn't get to enjoy it ourselves.

About three years ago (when we lived on the farm in the Ozarks), I started a compost bin. It was nothing fancy, just a pile of decomposing stuff. My DH built it for me using 4 fence posts and chicken wire. We threw in yard waste like grass clippings and leaves. I threw in kitchen waste like vegetable peelings and coffee grounds. I also put in lots of bunny poo because we have bunnies. I stirred it up occasionally, but it mostly just sat there and fell apart.

I noticed when we moved out last spring, which was two years after I started my bin, that the bottom of the pile was looking great. It had become black, beautiful, nutrient rich soil. I was really excited about how it turned out, but I had to leave it behind. I just couldn't convince my husband that we needed to move a pile of dirt, albeit fancy dirt, 500 miles to our next home. He reminded me that we were moving to some of the most productive farmland in the world, so I finally gave in.

After we got all settled in on the prairie, I realized we had left our dehumidifier in the basement of the old house. When we returned to visit the Ozarks later in the summer, we stopped by the old farm to pick it up. As I came out the back door of the house, I noticed the compost bin. Growing on top of it was the largest, most beautiful squash plant I had ever seen. Apparently some of the seeds we had thrown into the bin after eating a squash in the spring, had put down roots and were growing in the compost bin! My organic trash pile was going to produce the best squash I had ever grown, and I wasn't even going to be there to see it.

This past year I got smarter. I put my compost into a large plastic garbage can. I would really like to take it with me to use on next year's garden. There is only one problem. A large garbage can of compost is really heavy, so I can't sneak it on the Uhaul by myself. My husband has already mentioned to me that we have too much stuff to move, and that he doesn't want to take

a can of poo. He just doesn't understand how badly I want to win a blue ribbon at the fair, and now I know how to grow giant squash from trash. Why do men have to be so practical?

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, I hope it is growing well. If you aren't, then just head to the Farmer's Market. Blessings to you.