Feeding the Soil

We decided what to plant in our garden. In order to reach consensus about the decision, Matt and I implemented a new process. 1) We brainstormed all the possible ideas. During this time, we did not comment on each other’s ideas. I know, I know, that’s the actual definition of a brainstorm, but I’m not good at holding myself to this kind openness. The judgmentalness that my grandmother bequeathed to me forces me to critique and question every idea. It’s an annoying habit. And because of it I am not much fun to collaborate with.

2) Once we brainstormed all the ideas, we agreed upon the criteria for decided which … Read More

So, remember the avocado seed that was doing well and then wasn’t? Rumor has it that we had it growing upside down.

The Moral of the Story: Put the avocado seed in water, wide-side down.

Very interesting. And here I am, blogging away, trying to inspire others to follow my gardening lead.

It reminds me of my first job. Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, FL. I was a 16 year-old, and I rotated every thirty minutes to a different part of the museum: I ran the hurricane machine, I presented liquid nitrogen shows (yes, they even had me pour it down my arm), and I staffed the butterfly … Read More

Is it really a surprise that Practicality won the debate with Purity? Well, maybe it is surprising, if we’re talking about it in the context of my own life.

Last week I was debating between the old and new versions of the square-foot gardening method. The new version seem so simplified and so yuppified; I worried I would be selling out. Process matters. Our society’s over-emphasis on product has left us in quite a few conundrums.

Actually, I’m not trying to say that process matters more than product (even though I do love Annie Dillard’s idea that “how we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives”–the … Read More