Step 3: The Beauty of Compost... and Welcoming New Helpers

After we had unloaded all of the manure to completely fill one of the beds, Evelyn was charged and motivated.

"Let's fill the next bed with our compost," Evelyn said, as she directed Nick and I to helping her out with removing the composter. In her sweet, airy voice she repeated, "This is going to be so cool. I am so excited!"

The "composter" (that's what I call it, anyway) is a trashcan-like device that you bolt down into the soil. It allows for ample airflow and ventilation (decomposing organic waste emits lots of gasses), while having a tight-locked lid to keep out yard critters (including large, conspiring masses of wild rabbits). These devices are usually pretty expensive, so you can create a basic compost pile on your property... or go through a city program (Evelyn and Paul got this one at a fair price through the City of Nashville recycling or something... I don't remember exactly). If you do end up making your own compost pile in your backyard that does not have a protective container, be sure to take extra precautions to deter scavenging animals.  This little website offers helpful guidelines on what to include (and what to avoid) in your compost pile:  http://www.envocare.co.uk/makingcompost.htm

For the past few months, Paul, Evelyn, Nick and I have been saving all our banana peels, tea bags, coffee grounds, paper towels, leftover salad, etc. and storing it in this container. Everyone once in a while one of us takes the time to take a big stick and stir the garbage cocktail and add dried twigs and leaves. Once the composter was pulled off of the compost pile, we were thrilled to find layers of dark, rich, and altogether beautiful soil that originated from various types of kitchen waste.

Nick, Evelyn, and I stood back in awe of our decomposed fruits and veggies (and even those plant-based "plastic" utensil things from Whole Foods). Paul was at work, and unfortunately did not get to be with us when we unveiled the mound (fortunately for him, he missed the manure as well!). We broke down the stuff with a shovel and hoe and transported the healthy compost to the second straw bale bed. I felt like a kid, shoveling through the compost, completely curious about its contents and how in the world it managed to become such a great resource...

and then we saw them. 

Pink, grey, and brown; wriggling through the mess like it was a party, their accordion-like bodies slinking through the compost. "EARTHWORMS!" Evelyn shouted. We all smiled. The jewels every gardener treasures, the simple little tube of an animal that gives so much to the rest of the world.

Evelyn picked one of them up and let it rest on the palm of her opened hand. She laughed heartily, the little creature flipping around while she held it, searching for the darkness of the dirt. Nick and I picked some up, and instantly felt like children. This whole gardening thing takes me back to the wonder and innocence that fills us all as small kids... playing with bugs, in the dirt, wondering where all this big world comes from.

Genesis 1:24
   And God said "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

We are very excited about all the worms that we welcomed into the garden bed that afternoon. It is odd to think that a thing so small could be such a vital building block for so many other creatures, and amusing to consider an earthworm as a wild animal. However, this small being is a mighty, earth-shaking, wild animal. We are happy and thankful to have them working with us on our Warfield Garden.