We say Organic-ish, because we do use Wasp Spray. Other than that, we don’t spray anything on our garden, no chemicals, no weed-killers, and it turns out, that’s a really good thing. Our animals love all those weeds.
At first we were pulling weeds, now I’m out every morning Clipping Weeds. That’s right, I clip them because I need them to grow back. Our turkeys, chickens, rabbits, goats and pigs love the weeds we bring them every morning.
Yesterday as I was filling my three big buckets full of weeds, I realized how my attitude towards weeds has changed since we started this adventure. Weeding used to seem daunting, like a never-ending, overwhelming chore. Now it is part of a robust, plentiful and generous food supply.
I hear people talk about using chemicals on their lawns or gardens to combat weeds, and I wish they could see what I see.
Today over at a favorite blog, there is discussion about the beauty to be found in what is missing. The bowl that is made on a potter’s wheel has a shape and lines that can be beautiful, but what makes it useful and helpful is the hollow inside – the missing part.
What is lacking in my garden, the neatness perhaps, the tidy rows, is what gives my animals delicious, crunchy, nourishing greens each and every day.
What is missing from my gardening moments in the morning is the contempt and frustration I used to feel for the volunteers sprouting up all over the place. Just yesterday I realized that there has been a slight change in my weed harvest. There are different sorts of weeds now than there were two months ago. There is variety built in, and different sorts of smells. I am amazed and delighted by the bounty I get to provide to my animals.
This is one of those things I never would have imagined I would feel. Delight and joy over weeds! And perhaps it’s more than that – it is delight and joy over my ability to provide for those in my care with the work of my hands.