Natural Garden Amendments

Reader Contribution by Anneli Carter-Sundqvist
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Ten years ago when Dennis first moved to where we now live the old driveway was where one of our gardens is today. In 2008, when I first came here, the trees in the area for our newer garden had just been felled. Now these areas are fertile gardens created using the natural resources that are so abundant here on the island – from our yard, the forest, shore and neighbors farms. It’s amazing, what a vast supply of materials and fertilizers that lie scattered literally around our feet. All it takes is an open mind, creativity and a way to get it and you can turn any ol’ piece of ground into an healthy and productive garden.

We never buy any amendments for our gardens or orchards. No matter how organic, the plastic bags, the obvious processing, the involvement of cash and the transport kinda’ ruins the “natural” for me. Our goal is to use as much as we can from our own farm and after that, go as short distance as possible. We really never have to go further than 5 miles to get what we need for the gardens and for us it’s well worth the drive if that means not going to the store later in the year to buy produce brought here from all over the world. We attribute much of our gardening success and by extension, our success of living with limited cash and a high level of food security to the free resources around us.

Here follows a few examples of way we use natural materials to improve our garden and orchards:

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