compost diversity 什麼都加的堆肥

December 9 Nursery

 Beans planted on December 1st grew almost as tall as beans planted on November 24th. According to elders, beans should be planted directly in the soil. A bigger space may be more easier for beans to germinate.
看完一本關於土壤的書 (台灣的土壤，陳尊賢，許正一著，遠足文化) 之後，發現我們苗栗的土有許多都是酸性的紅土，貧瘠的很。本來還想研究加些什麼堆肥材料好幫助土壤酸鹼平衡，但這實在不是我現在的程度可以解決的問題，寫 email問農改場又沒回音。後來看到書上說多元化是堆肥成功的關鍵，這讓我下了一個輕鬆的決定，就把先前的五種堆肥和在一起吧!!!
I just read a book and found out that the soil in Miaoli is acid red soil lacking organic matters. It took me a while to think how to improve my soil and what compost materials would help.

December 10 Nursery

Seedlings were watered at night. Hope it's not too cold for them to sleep.

 Seedlings of lettuce started to get 3 seed leaves.

December 11 Nursery

 Turnip seedlings rose dramatically They were more than 10 cm tall. 

大頭菜的苗猛往上竄，要飛起來似的。

December 12 HT garden

 Beans transplanted to HT garden grew well.

 After reading books about the soil in Taiwan, I decided to make five compost piles into one pile.

 Compost were moved in a bag. 

 Insect larvae were found in the compost.

這就是所謂的雞母蟲嗎?你是誰的孩子呢?金龜子?鍬形蟲?獨角仙?不管怎樣，看到牠們讓我對這堆堆肥很安心。

 Lots of earthworms helped to make soil healthier.

蚯蚓更是多得不得了，有那麼多雜質要清理嗎?

Many of these black worms also live here. I have no idea what they are.

這黑呼呼的蟲就不是很喜歡了。嘆，非別念還是很重。

  I started to believe diversity is the key to make great compost.

 Compost was moved to the corner of the garden.

靠著我那把五公分寬的小鋤頭，花了一輩子的時間才把所有的堆肥和在一起。工欲善其事，必先利其器。受教了。

 Compost piles made the soil underneath darker.

December 13 Nursery

 More beans called for transplantation.

 One bean seedling broke its stem. Will it survive?

 Beans losing leaves started to get new leaves.

 Leaves of lettuce seedlings grew bigger and bigger. 

 All seedlings couldn't wait to leave their cells.

 The slow growing spinach seedlings suddenly rose into the air.

菠菜苗好像芭蕾舞伶，正往空中一躍。

 The Cruciferous vegetables were all more than 5 cm tall.  

十字花科的菜苗都有果凍般的色澤。

 8 bean seedlings were transplanted to HT garden.

 These seedlings were planted on the spot where compost piles were.

 I wondered if they would grow better than their sibling transplanted on December 5. 

 To observe more easily, I placed a label for each seedling. 

December 14

 Rescues 11 lettuce seedlings from small cells and transplanted into bigger cells.

 As usual, I recorded dates of transplantation on labels.

 9 tiny seedlings of crown daisy magically germinated. 

However, I found one problem. It might be a tough task to transplant them due to the shallow tray.

PDC Garden

This Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) was planted last June. It bloomed in November and started to dry from the edge of leaves. 

五月初從大黃老師手上接過一塊薑黃後，等到發新芽後，就往園子裡種。乾燥的夏天反而讓來自南亞和中國南方的它開花結果。現在好像開始要枯萎了，葉緣都開始乾了。你可要撐住，不然明年哪來的咖哩吃?

This plant may be planted by a bird. Almost all leaves were bitten by insects in November. Gradually, it recovered and grew new leaves. The self-healing ability of plants is unbelievable.

這顆疑似小鳥播種的植物原本已經差不多被蟲啃光葉子，不到一個月的時間竟然冒出新葉，難道復原了?植物的自癒能力真是不可思議。

This Aloe was planted last June, too. It was dying before I left for Canada but survived and grew well.

另一個從乾旱夏天存活下來的強者，蘆薈。我媽已經割來煮排骨湯好幾次了，還是依附身強體壯的樣子。來自非洲和地中海的它不知能否撐過冬天，尤其園子裡的土有點黏性，要是積水可能就不妙了。