On a visit to my father-in-laws home in West Virginia, I noticed his garden was again in superior shape. In West Virginia, drought has stricken the region and water restrictions have been put into place. So my main question was,” how is your garden so superior to your neighbors?” His answer was clear and straight to the point,” Miracle Grow compost” he said with a smile. You see, he has planted his garden for his entire 60 plus years of existence as well as growing in the family business, The Cavalier Farm.
Intrigued by his superior growing ability, I sat down with him learn his secret. He has taught me countless life lessons over the 16 years I have been married to his daughter, but growing a garden isn’t something I have ever mastered. With pen and pad in hand, I was ready to learn from the master. My thoughts were on a scale of epic proportions. I am imagining organic chemicals, watering schedules, and countless hours of tender loving care. I also thought some of the vegetables were purchased from a local grower to give him a head start. All wrong, except for the tender loving care. My father-in-law is passionate about his gardening, extremely passionate.
Then the other shoe fell. He had two ingredients in his super growing recipe. Miracle Grow and table scraps is what made his garden grow. In disbelief, I asked how his process.
1. Have a dedicated location to put your super mixture. My father-in-law has an unused 4×4 box in his yard, so he used the contraption for his table scraps.
2. Buy regular Miracle Grow. Do not purchase Miracle Grow with any additives such as water control, specifically for roses, etc. He put a layer of Miracle Grow on the bottom and the days’ table scrapes on top.
3. He would stir the mixture at a minimum once per week. After two weeks, he added approximately six inches of Miracle Grow and continued adding scraps.
4. Once the box was full, he would continue to stir throughout the following weeks until the mixture had a “soupy” consistency.
5. When he was preparing his garden to be tilled for the planting season, he tilled the planting area once and the second pass, he adds his mixture. Finally, he tills for a third time and then plants.
No magic potion or secret needed, only a passion for planting. We always hear society speaking of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, but I rarely see the effect. My father-in-law has opened my eyes to changing the world.
