This is a subscriber-only article
In my compost heap, I have learned to expect the unexpected. Last year, potatoes – lots of potatoes – started growing in it; presumably from some peels I had thrown in. They grew to a good size and I ended up getting a good amount of potatoes from zero effort and cost. I had planned to grow pumpkins in the compost heap – I have heard time and time again that the compost heap is the best spot for a pumpkin patch. While the pumpkin seedlings I planted failed to provide me with even one full-sized pumpkin, it was made up for in the amount of potatoes which grew from practically nothing.
I usually put a good amount of effort into growing vegetables each year. I get great satisfaction in growing things from seed. This past year, I grew nothing. The reason? We had thought the landscaping in our backyard would be completed this year. In fact, we were promised it would be done by May so I was hopeful I would still be able to get some veggies growing once I put the raised beds back on the new lawn.
While the pumpkin seedlings I planted failed to provide me with even one full-sized pumpkin, it was made up for in the amount of potatoes which grew from practically nothing.
We have been in our home for about two years, now, and the kids don’t have a safe space to run around. The backyard is very spacious, but during the building process the soil became compacted and, as a result, for ages, the only thing which grew were massive thistles. There are also huge holes in the yard which are invisible until you actually fall into one.
Unfortunately, we were ghosted by the landscaper who had promised a flat, grassy lawn by May and now, nearing the end of the year, the lawn is still looking as uninviting as ever. We have since found another landscaper, but the bad weather this year combined with him being busy with other jobs means we are looking at 2024 for our lawn. I suppose it will happen when it happens!
While I know the lawn will eventually come, I still missed growing our own food this past year. Speaking with GIY’s Mick Kelly and seeing Dee Laffan’s own GIY (Grow It Yourself) experience, I was really feeling the FOMO (fear of missing out). Maybe the universe was sensing this. The pumpkins - which refused to grow in my compost heap last year - have returned this year with an absolute vengeance.
I planted out absolutely nothing, and once again the compost heap has provided. As the patch has extended well into the yard (still full of weeds and thistles) it has been difficult to get out to count the exact number of pumpkins, but between the ones I’ve already picked (two) and the ones still ripening on the vine, I believe I will have between 12 and 15 good-sized pumpkins before the end of October comes along.
Mick has been vocal in recent weeks as his series Food Matters has had its second run on RTÉ, saying we need to do more to support vegetable growers and that as a nation we need to be eating more vegetables. Even though we’re dairy farmers, I couldn’t agree more. Vegetable growers work long, hard hours and produce a product every bit as nutritious and high quality as our other agricultural outputs - and yet they remain among the most undervalued. Growing small amounts for your family is one thing – and it’s achievable – but growing as a means of livelihood is a different beast.
Next year, I am hoping for a big backyard with no death-trap pot holes and a safe space for my kids to run around – barefoot, if they want. I am also hoping for my first-ever polytunnel, a few more raised beds and a boundary of native fruit trees (I don’t ask for much, do I?!). Until then, I will keep dreaming of a smooth lawn and let the compost heap continue to provide.
SHARING OPTIONS: