Peddling and Paddling

Enjoyed a morning bike ride to town today with Tracey, via the urban network of roads. I was inspired to ride back on the nature trail, believing there to be a few inches of water to get through. Well, nature photographers near Christmas Island must have thought I was nuts when I peddled past them into the water on the flooded trail. It got deeper and deeper until the water was over my front wheel. Large fish were scared out of my way, ducks were fleeing, and my face was taking out spider webs between the tree branches. Debris jammed into my gears and cause the chain to come off. Had to stop, pick my bike up out of the water and put the chain back on. I was thankful for granny gear right then. Otherwise, the water was warm, the sun was shining and I was the first bike through the trail in a week. I arrived home with a real sense of accomplishment, and gratitude for aluminum frame bikes that drain well.

Happy to see a healthy weed

People think it's a bad thing when weeds are taking over your garden. The big advantage is all those free greens. There is another benefit - observing the weeds that are there and the condition that they are in is a good indication of the health of your soil. If you have lamb's quarters and stinging nettles, you should be happy - your soil is high in nutrients. If you have lush weeds of any kind, your soil must be pretty good. If your weeds are yellowy, stunted, twisted - you need soil amendment of some sort.

Treat your soil like a forest floor, add coarse organic material, woody debris and duff. Don't rototill, it breaks the beautiful network of mycorrhizae that protect roots. Turn by hand if you have a small area. If you must rototill, try not to pulverize the soil. Run over it quickly, retain the lumps.

Weeds are our Friends

What a great year for adding weeds to the morning green smoothie! The lambs quarters are thick and buttery, the sow thistle is tender and not too bitter, and the dandelions are - um - everywhere. I am growing some spinach, but our smoothies contain mostly wild greens. The neighbours have kindly and unknowingly donated the odd mint leaf, which adds to the flavour. Photos are of lambs quarters (at top - happy among the peas), plantain (another edible high in nutrients) and the tall sow thistle. Smoothie away - just remember to remove the stems and centre veins before you blend.