I noticed I don’t have to water as often
Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the whole world. According to WHO, over 6.5 million people died. Everybody’s lives have been disrupted. The news in every media is full of tragedy.
Here I dare focus on the silver lining. How many can I find in my life?
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I used to pluck every single weed that was sprouting in my back yard. With no more than 13 feet by 15 feet, my back yard is so tiny that I never thought it much of a burden.
My plants were lined up neatly on the ground. The dark brown soil was exposed, with no untidy greenish weeds shown. I used to feel a little sense of accomplishment each time I completed weeding.
What did I do with the weeds I plucked? I dumped them all into the yard waste bin. Every Monday the city truck would come, collect the yard waste, and carry it to a compost location somewhere.
My plants need nutrition. I was advised to add compost to the soil every year. So I used to purchase a couple of bags of compost from the nearby nursery and spread it on the ground.
Then Pandemic hit.
I was too afraid to go to the nursery. What should I do? As so many people would have done, I browsed videos on YouTube to learn how to take care of my plants. There I ran into a Japanese YouTuber who was practicing natural farming.
His advice was not to pluck weeds! Cut off the top tip of the weeds, but leave the root untouched. Don’t take away the discarded part, but simply spread it on the ground. That will become good nutrition.
I thought that’s brilliant! Why do I have to throw weeds away as yard waste, fill up the yard waste bin, have the city truck collect them, carry them to a compost location far away, have an commercial entity make compost out of them, and buy the compost from them? Instead, I can simply return the discarded weeds back on the ground on my yard.
The video suggested that I should not expose the soil to the strong summer sun. The UV light would kill microorganisms living in the soil. Make sure to cover the ground with fallen leaves and weeds. Those microorganisms are vital to turning weeds and fallen leaves back to nutrition of soil.
Instead of going for shopping, I spent time cutting (not plucking) weeds and spreading the cuttings onto the ground. The spring rain helped weeds grow faster, and again I would cut weeds and spread on the ground.
I used to water the flowers twice a day during the summer. Not in the last three years. I watered only twice a week, or three times when it got very hot. My plants didn’t die. The soil covered with weeds and fallen leaves seemed to be holding water much better.
What was I doing all through the years? By plucking all the weeds, I must have been damaging the soil all along, whereas I could have fully recycled in my back yard.
I learned the real power of sustainability and the wisdom of nature.
That’s all thanks to the pandemic.
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What’s your silver lining?