Of Flowers and Compost

Spring has been unpredictable here in the foothills. In the last three weeks we have ranged from severe freezes to 100°, which has been tramautic for newly planted vegetable crops as well as developing fruits such as blueberries and apples.

However, the return of cool weather has prolonged these peonies and bellflowers. My friend assures me this is the lushest this flower bed has ever appeared. While the weather has played its role, we believe it to be the result of yearly compost and organic fertilizer applications. The low-dose pelleted manure not only feeds the plants slowly, the compost feeds and loosens the soil.

The compost we used this year our gardens came from Fulcrum Farm, a local biodynamic farm. In addition to their amazing compost, they have a grain CSA (community supported agriculture), raise heritage turkeys and host field trips to their farm.