Dung to vermicompost, New Beginnings

The dairy farmer across the road from my son’s land in the country has been too busy to deliver a load of cow dung and cow bedding to the site where we will try to turn cow dung into ‘black gold’ or worm castings. However, since I am here with the worms I outlined the two beds this morning with a layer of saw dust delivered by another neighbor and some composted cow dung from a previous year that we had on the site. We are ready for the big load of cow dung and the new beginnings.

Tonight I took my four year old granddaughter to her first soccer practice of the year. She played soccer last year, but a number of the young children were there for their first experience. A few of the children were very bashful and just stayed with their mothers afraid to join the group. I started to play with a couple of them, kicking the ball around before the official start of the practice. They slowly got into it, less afraid, and at the beginning of practice they were ready for a new beginning as a soccer player. One boy I did not get to before the practice, was very bashful, despite all the good efforts of his mother, until the very end of the practice.

Gardens in spring are new beginnings. If I could win the lottery or have access to funding, I would hire a group of experienced gardeners or farmers to form community gardens on as many of the numerous vacant lots in the city of Milwaukee as possible.

My experience with the DMZ community garden says there are many central city residents who would love to grow renewable affordable food (G.R.A.F.) but just do not have the access to the land, supplies and advice needed.

In my Pilgrimage to India I noticed that all the rural institutes were geared to helping farms grow organic foods. In the USA, with all our talk about victory gardens and healthy food for the city residents, there is little money and effort directed this way.

One such effort, coordinated by unpaid volunteers, is the Victory Garden Blitz of garden building in the city on Memorial Day weekend. The DMZ Community Garden will be participating. It will be a chance for a new beginning to many urban gardens.

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