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What mundane things excite you? (lemmy.today)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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[–] 8 points 7 months ago (6 children)

At the minute, composting. It's my first Spring having a house with a garden so I can finally do all the eco-friendly gardening projects I could never do while living in a landlord's mouldy house. So watching garden and food waste slowly decay is surely the most mundane, but exciting for me, although it's nice to have a few projects on the go like growing a wildflower patch, having a bed of pollinator-friendly herbs, and planting clover among the grass so it isn't a monocultural suburban hell

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    I totally get it. I used to own a house with the perfect patch behind the garage for a raised bed organic garden, and it was glorious. Of course, I had a big compost pile that I was really proud of.

    Twice a year, I would go out to horse farm country, and get a big truck bed full of horse manure. I'd spread it on all the beds in the fall, and the rest in the compost pile, and let it rot over the winter. In the Spring, I'd mix another batch of manure with the compost, and turn it into the top foot or so.

    That garden produced so much produce, and quickly. I would lay in bed at light and listen the rain, knowing it was giving my garden and my compost pile a deep-soaking. It's weird how proud we can be of a pile of decomposing organic material.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    I bought my house in 2021 and its been so fun to take care of the yard, garden and everything else. I have been doing sheet mulching (composting in place) in my garden for a few years now and it turned from terrible soil with potential into something wonderful. I am doing a large scale native install in my front yard this year after getting a grant from the state. I am so excited.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Nice! I've had no luck germinating my native seeds yet but it is only early Spring and the last frost here isn't for another few weeks, but there is at least some campanula and primrose out the front that early bumblebees have been feeding on. We bought this house off an ex-landlord so the garden hasn't been looked after at all - it's taken me ages finding and digging up all the plastic plants, and there's glitter in the soil from cheap garden decor that should never have been sold in the first place. Next big project is to build this greenhouse since my home office is so filled up with seed starters I can no longer work in there, then by the summer I should have some usable compost to replenish the plastic contaminated border.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    See if your city has compost pickup. It's usually located where brush and yard waste gets dropped off in the early spring. I load up on gallons of it each spring for my gardens.

    Native seeds (assuming you are in North america) are harder to germinate. Most need to be cold stratified for at least 30 days and then they have a low rate. The best method is either directly sow in the fall (which is what I do in my wildflower section) or winter sow in a container. I usually buy mine as starters except for my wildflower section which I do from seeds.

    Gardening is a long term project so it's going to take time. Spring is the best with the anticipation and potential in the air

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I think it's just sold on privately here unfortunately, the council collects food and garden waste but doesn't allow residents to collect the end product. I'm in Ireland but I believe the same advice applies here, it's just we moved so late in the winter that autumn sowing wasn't a possibility. But yes I'm trying to be patient and remember this isn't a temporary rental, I'm here for the long haul and it doesn't need to look perfect right away.

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