Buzzing

Chris and I inherited a landscape that was in the throes of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Yes, everything was green, but there was no life in the soil, and the weeds loved being overwatered with the automatic sprinkler system.

Enter Katie & Chris, August 2006

We use organic gardening methods and are constantly looking for ways to close the loop with raw materials here on our property - brush, leaves, and spent foliage becomes mulch, and water from our sinks and showers helps water those plants in need of a little more TLC. Our food becomes compost and food for other creatures, and even our paper and cardboard becomes soil during the sheet mulching process.

We usually let bugs live because I've heard beneficial insects usually show up at the height of an infestation to take care of the problem, and the harmful insects have something like a population that's 10x that of the beneficials - it's easy to get freaked out and apply something before letting nature take her course.

Take ants for instance. They have their role in the garden as detriment cleaner-uppers, and we leave them be. Unless they show up in my house, I consider them a beneficial insect. You can tell if you're not watering something enough just by the presence of ants in the soil (or you can tell if your compost is too dry just by the presence of ants). Recently I found a dead lizard carcass on one of our paths swarmed by ants, and I let it be. Jake The Dog didn't have access to that area of the yard, and 24 hours later the carcass was gone. The ants had recycled the lizard back into our ecosystem.

It's been fun to see the natural relationship among the creatures here on our suburban lot. We have a whole brood of lizards, tons of bees, hummingbirds, bumble bees, birds, rolie polies, worms, hover flies, wasps, and ants (and an occasional turkey). There's a ton more creatures we never see that work tirelessly doing their job here too.

Our backyard is in full bloom right now, and vegetable production is in full swing. The backyard is always buzzing. Whenever I go out to pick produce or take pictures, there is buzzing all around me, yet I am not scared. All of these creatures are doing their jobs, helping me grow the food we eat on a daily basis.

I've never felt so connected in my entire life.

It amazes me what organic gardening methods can do. My backyard is teeming with life after only 2 years with us at the helm. The soil is coming to life, and all creatures are benefiting. I would have never guessed that organic gardening makes all the difference, but our backyard is living proof.

Has anyone noticed a change like we have when switching to organic gardening?