Gardening is good. Even city-folk can set up a few planters and other containers and raise a satisfying micro-crop of good veggies. And there are other benefits that accompany even the most modest and humble back-porch Eden; the smell and feel of the dirt, the pleasure of watching the progress of the things you plant, the satisfaction of knowing that you did something, eating food that you raised, certain spiritual rewards of the process, and so on. And for us Kinists and White Nationalists, there's another VERY important reason to grow a garden, and you can read about it here and here. I say again, gardening is good.
For able-bodied folk, there's just no excuse for failing to raise a few basic veggies for a salad. It's simple, satisfying, and cheap. Pry yourself away from these blogs and anything else that has a screen, get off your arse, and grow some food. Make a list of some of your favorite salad makin's, go to a local garden center, and ask an associate to help get you started. Or ask for help from a friend who raises a garden. There is certainly someone you know who will be glad to share the joy with you. Or get a book. You can do it.
A few days ago, I began helping a nice lady start a little garden, and I decided to set her up with a compost bin. Compost is gardening gold, and I'm proud to be proficient in the manufacture of the stuff. Yes, I know, you can just start throwing kitchen scraps into some dirt that you've turned and make compost. But it will be slow going, and varmints are likely to make off with the scraps. A little extra effort on your part can produce superior compost that's garden-ready in as little as two weeks. And doing so adds an extra dimension of joy and satisfaction to your urban agrarian efforts. There are a lot of books about making compost, and it's a very interesting study for OCDweebs like me, who simply must know everything about everything down to the sub-atomic level. But most folks will simply fade out when confronted with discussions on the minutiae of carbon/nitrogen ratios, ammonia ppm's, the Indore method, biodynamicism, inoculation, anaerobic/aerobic, etc. The nice lady who I'm helping certainly did. After a few minutes of my talking about such things, I gathered that she was sorry she had asked me about it and was ready to hang herself. So, I told her I'd show up at her house the next day with the necessary materials and no discourse. She thanked me.
Here's what I did for that nice lady: I bought one of those coffin-sized plastic containers, drilled a few dozen holes into the sides, top, and bottom (I think I used a 5/16 drill bit), and I filled it with equal measures of horse manure (from a nearby public stable) and detritus/humus I gathered from a nearby wooded area. I used a garden fork (a.k.a. "spading fork") to mix and turn it, while occasionally misting it with water so that it was like a damp sponge. Here's what it looked like:
Beautiful, eh? I truly think so.
I put the lid on it, asked the Ever-Living One to bless the effort, and began looking forward to posting regular progress updates. I told the nice lady to put all her kitchen scraps (except for meat products) into the bin. I also told her to rake up some grass clippings and save it for me after the kid who mows her lawn finishes the job; I'll use the grass clippings for another batch of compost. I'll turn the material every couple of days for her, making certain it stays moist (but not wet), and I'll check the temperature. (Like I said, I'm an OCDweeb about such things. I think it was Kelvin who said, "If you can not measure it, you can not improve it." Words to live by.) I'm looking for it to heat up to between 120° F - 140° F, proof that the little microorganisms are doing their noble work. I love thinking about what goes on in a compost heap. By the way, a properly-made compost heap or bin doesn't stink, and in fact has an sweet, earthy odor.
Well, there it is. It was pleasant work, physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. I highly recommend it.
I put the lid on it, asked the Ever-Living One to bless the effort, and began looking forward to posting regular progress updates. I told the nice lady to put all her kitchen scraps (except for meat products) into the bin. I also told her to rake up some grass clippings and save it for me after the kid who mows her lawn finishes the job; I'll use the grass clippings for another batch of compost. I'll turn the material every couple of days for her, making certain it stays moist (but not wet), and I'll check the temperature. (Like I said, I'm an OCDweeb about such things. I think it was Kelvin who said, "If you can not measure it, you can not improve it." Words to live by.) I'm looking for it to heat up to between 120° F - 140° F, proof that the little microorganisms are doing their noble work. I love thinking about what goes on in a compost heap. By the way, a properly-made compost heap or bin doesn't stink, and in fact has an sweet, earthy odor.
Well, there it is. It was pleasant work, physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. I highly recommend it.
This is fantastic. We Kinists/White Nationalists/Christians, etc. really need more practical info like what you've presented here. The news, info, and cultural critique blogs are good and are needed, but you're filling an original niche here, Winston. Many thanks for the article and photos, and I'll be looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch, Bro. Wheeler. I agree with you that our people need more than news commentary. I look forward to posting many articles about all my pursuits, and I hope to encourage our people to work with their hands, their hearts and their mind.
ReplyDeleteMy mom had the varmint-attracting compost heap when I was a kid. Kinda put me off compost. Is there anything to the claims of the expensive, turning the barrel kind of compost makers? I might try it if I didn't have to use the garden fork. (I put a garden fork through my toe when I was a kid and have had my reservations about it ever since.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good info,
Laurel
Sister Laurel,
ReplyDeleteCrimony! You've had some bad experiences with composting, and I can understand the emotional baggage that you must be carrying. Let's try to set you aright.
The compost tumblers you mention do work, and they are mighty convenient. And you're correct about them being expen$ive - store-bought convenience co$tS. I've even seen models that have a solar-powered turning mechanism. Sweet mother of sasquatch! A person too lazy to stroll into the backyard to give the compost tumbler a shake must have been bitten by a radioactive three-toed sloth, and he now has the laziness of ten couch potatoes! Anyhow, part of what I want to do with this blog is to show our people how to do neat and useful stuff on the cheap.
If you want a really nice homebrew compost tumbler, then there are plans for such all over the internet and in gardening books. They usually involve a 55 gallon drum mounted on a 2x4 frame. I don't know how much it would cost to make one, but you'd have to factor in the cost of a welding or machine shop fitting the drum with a hinged hatch.
In keeping with my "on the cheap" philosophy, here's what I did: I bought a regular ol' vinyl trash can and two bungee cords (I'll say a more about the bungee cords a little later). I drilled a bunch of holes into the trash can, filled it with compost makin’s like I describe in the article, put the lid on it, and secured the lid with the bungee cords. I then pushed the can onto its side, and rolled it around the yard. Voila! A varmint-proof fork-free compost tumbler is born. The only possible disadvantage that I find with it is it might be a bit too heavy for the fairer sex to throw around. But none of the estrogenites in my house seem to have a problem with it. Just make sure you don't fill it to the point that it's too heavy for you. I told one family about this kind of tumbler, and now they have six of them, all containing compost in different stages of progress.
A word about the bungee cords: make sure you get ones that are tight enough to hold the lid on the trash can, but not so tight that you have to struggle to put them on the thing. If they are too tight, then you're liable to let go of the free end while you're struggling with it. And believe me, those things hurt when they slap you.