garden organically

everyone learns in different ways. personally i always excel in hands on learning through charettes, workshops, anything applied- but when it comes to learning theory or history or anything that involves things that i can't see clear relevance to my greater purpose or passions in life- i'm so gone. this is why school (and all of its conventions) was not something that i loved.

so at the ripe age of 34- i, by total fluke, am going back to school. okay, maybe not school- but i am taking a course. a course that is useful and exciting and that interests me wholeheartedly...organic gardening!

hosted by Slow Food Miami, it is being taught by south florida's organic farming-guru, Andres Mejides. he owns Elfin Farms in Redland, FL and he grows over 30 types of tropical and temperate fruit, row-crops, herbs, microgreens and ornamentals. his farm is certified organic and being in florida- he is blessed (and always busy) tending to crops all year round.

aside from his farmer-hat, he also teaches organic horticulture and organic gardening at Miami-Dade community college and has an innate passion and enthusiasm for his profession. i always love to meet people who are doing what they love...these people are always usually positive, happy-go-lucky people that are honest, good-natured people. these are the people i like to surround myself with.

today we learned about composting. how coincidental that i am in the middle of shopping for one! i decided on a small drum barrel to put in our yard. the barrel composter is great because it's mobile, and you can turn your compost- which increases aeration and overall compost production/cooking time. in 4 weeks or so, you will have fabulous useable compost fertilizer. as opposed to the traditional standing composters which can take months to produce useable compost.

imagine how fun you can have- spinning the composter, pretending you're the bingo caller! get the kids involved! pets will love it too! okay, i digress.

in all seriousness- it just makes sense because we eat a lot of fruit and veggies on a daily basis. it makes sense because we live in a sub-tropical climate where weather is favorable for 'cooking' compost- so it's ridiculous to NOT compost.

i hate miami for being so behind in so many things...don't get me started- but how come the county hasn't figured out a household composting program to coincide with the recycling program is beyond me. in toronto they have implemented a fabulous recycling program which includes a composting program. i think miami is sadly light years away from such enviro-sophistication and lack an understanding of eco-nomics- so in the meantime, it's up to the people- YOU- to take action.

composting is easy if you take the time to read about the basics and how to's. check out www.composting101.com to start learning. and then do the earth and your children a favor. buy a composter today and start learning about this very simple and natural act.

back to class...so after learning about the perfect nitrogen to carbon ratios and different ways to lay down compost in your garden- we finished off the class with a fabulous organic meal of freshly made baba ganoush, hommus, wheat berry salad, quinoa with lemon olive oil, roasted carrots and delicious apple oat bran muffins made by my friend ginny of mindful organics. yum.

five more classes to go. can't wait.

ps. if you live in florida- go buy your composter NOW.
it's the best money you will ever spend...and the earth will love you forever. http://www.gardeningwithkids.org/17-1501.html