Manidestiny

I made and exciting discovery a few days ago that i'm still gushing over.....

This is the palm tree looking thing I bought when I first moved into this apartment.  Now, let me explain that I have ALWAYS been a complete failure at keeping any sort of houseplant alive; I can't tell you exactly why, but I think it had to do with my complete disconnect (partly due to disinterest) with the entire plant kingdom.  I would over water, under water, never provide the right amount of light... etc, and always end up with a dead plant.  Knowing this, I bought this tree anyway, and hoped to at least keep it alive, because this spot in the kitchen looked really empty.  I was extremely proud of myself when a year passed and I had managed to keep it alive.  I was even more proud of myself when I was able to cultivate a (very humble) small garden this past summer.
But it wasn't till recently, when I became enlightened on the current state of affairs in this world, that I realized the ability to grow things, specifically to grow your own food for self sustainability, is soon going to be what separates the secure from the desperate (that and money and power, both of which are most commonly attained at someone elses expense... more on that another time).  I set a course for achieving some level of self sustainability, a level higher than most Americans but not expecting to become a farmer overnight......

 Fast forward just a couple short months:

This is just a couple examples of what I have growing now, these are veggies (top) and herbs (bottom).  My compost project, while it won't yield quite enough to fertilize my entire garden, has been a success; 2 large bins full, worms eating away and holding steady at only one bag of garbage per week.  What's even better is I started using the compost "tea" from the bokashi bin to water the household plants (I now have 4 total) and you wouldn't believe how much they've grown and are sprouting new growth!
Now, back to my discovery.  I added a bit of the compost from one of the worm bins to my palm tree.....

What is THIS?!!  It's like as soon as I deemed it a life or death matter, and approached plant growing with survival instinct, I became frickin mother nature!  I spent some deep thought on that.... trying to pinpoint the exact feeling, the thought, the brain cell, that manifested these results... it's "The Secret", which even after having read the book remained a secret to me.  But, I think I may have just used it; I truly believe I am willing these plants to thrive. I haven't really learned anything about how to make things grow in the last couple months, it's only my attitude that has changed..... "Food for thought" ;)
TTFN

best of both worlds

I'd like to start off by saying I really think I need a new name for my blog; my life is currently not all that "adventurous".  A year ago today it was quite adventurous and exciting as I was living the single life to the fullest (as full as a single mom could live it anyway).  Now my life is much more introspective, focused and purposeful.  I'm realizing I need to find some balance though and add a little fun back in.... I'll figure it out.  In the meantime, catchy blog name suggestions welcome.

So Mission Waste Management got off to a rocky start.  Bokashi bin was working great, but a week after starting my worm bin and a few days after adding 500 worms I ordered online I noticed my worms were trying to run for the hills!  I put them back in and mixed the contents of the bin (which is very smelly and disgusting and large rubber cleaning gloves only offered so much protection) but the worms were still desperately trying to escape the bin.  I Googled for a solution and the only one I found was that the bin may be too acidic, possibly due to citrus scraps.  Grapefruit was on sale for 2 weeks in a row, and I didn't realize it was bad to put too many citrus peels in!  One site suggested adding garden lyme; I found the last bag available at Home Depot.  I added some, had no idea how much the website didn't say, and mixed it all up again.... worms still unhappy. 

I had a moment of "Forget it, I give up, I fail at anything that requires skill with nature, I'm putting on my shiny red heels and stomping down to Boeringer to apply for a job as a pharm rep... I surrender!"  I quickly remembered the grim reality that in 5 years time I won't have options such as this.... Survival driven, I decided to re-do the bin; dumping all the contents into a separate bin, picking out some of the still intact citrus peels, laying down fresh bedding (damp, shredded newspaper) and then adding the contents back in.  This was a messy, smelly endeavour- by now we had put the bin in the garage due to the smell.  Next morning I checked the wormies....... Success!! They were staying in the bin and seemed content.

I was reminded of my youth; living in northern CA and playing outside, in the streets, in the woods, learning by experience, trial and error, and the determination I had to produce the result I wanted whether it was building an elaborate fort out of tree brush or riding my bike without holding on to the handlebars or making a "potion" that you could dip your finger in and remove it dry (true story, it involved rubbing alcohol and face powder...).  This whole thing has me rediscovering my ingenuity; a wonderful human quality which modern day technology has caused most people to discard. But how lucky are we now that concrete, researched information is so accessible?! A little know-how via books, google and youtube, and a little trial and error and wha-la!! 

I feel great awakening within myself; like I was always meant for this.  I've always felt intuitively that I am a creature of the earth; hearty, sturdy, thoughtful, creative, adaptable.... carnal...  This is the next evolution for mankind; to find balance between spirituality, carnality and mortality.... between technological and primordial. It is scary, but exciting... like how Eve must have felt right before she bit into the apple.... which only reaffirms that I need to get that tattooed on meh!!  OK folks, happily hopping off my soap box, off to clean my house :)

Ta-ta for now,
Mizz Z