Compost Queen!

Alli had quite the triumphant day in the garden. She was getting her green thumb on no doubt! The reason for her lovely smile in these following photos is well worth it. Let me explain: the soil around here just ain't that grand. All of the sand and heavy rains washing nutrients away make it a struggle to grow more than a few standard crops (banana, papaya, tapioca, okra, cucumber and coconuts do well, but not always). Throw in some ravenous bugs, snails and monkeys, and a lot of what she plants gets devoured. I've seen steam shooting out of her ears in frustration on more than a few occasions. But not today.

Compost Queen rockin' the second compost bin scene.

Since the soil is mostly sad we have a few wooden compost bins lying about the project, three to be exact. These stupendous contraptions speed up the process of turning leaves (dead and alive) and other organic matter into dirt. Check out my earlier raking post if you want more of the low down on this. And today that dirt looked incredible!

Fine soil indeed, oooooo-weeeeee lay it on me!

That's right, we celebrated having some solid dirt around here on this fine Sunday. Many high-fives were given and "Hells yeah" were spoken (well maybe only I still use that silly phrase). Whatever the form of celebration, it was a joyous moment, especially for Alli, to gaze into that wooden box and see a low pile of attractive brown soil staring back at her. It has been a long time coming. She's been churning that pile for some time now; raking, stirring and keeping it well soggy with water when needed.

What a compost bin looks like filled up (also occurring today, the morning raking scene was busy). You can see from the other photos how much all this stuff be breaking down.

She plopped some in the wheelbarrow and let it slide into a new bed she's gonna plant. Papaya, amaranth, eggplant and cilantro are soon to find a new home in there. Hopefully we'll be munching on some of these crops in the near future. If not, then I'm sure we'll be cursing those previously scorned bugs, snails and monkeys. It's funny when you live here how quickly the monkeys go from a mesmerizing mammal to stare at, to dirty rotten thieves who plunder all your hard-work and snatch that delicious looking papaya you've been eyeing for some time. But regardless of the outcome, at least our soil will be looking high class!

Moving that fine lookin' dirt!