Had a chat with a old gardener that changed my thinking

I ran into Mr. Peterson at the community garden last Saturday. He told me he stopped using fertilizer completely 20 years ago and just adds compost twice a year. Said his tomatoes taste way better now. It hit me different because I've been dumping store bought stuff on my plants for years without thinking about the long term soil health. Has anyone else switched to just compost and seen a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_hart687d ago

That comment about the compost hitting him different is exactly what I've been seeing everywhere lately. It's like we've been taught our whole lives that you need some fancy fix from a store to solve your problems, whether it's plants or health or whatever. But half the time the simple old way works better because it feeds the whole system instead of just forcing a result. Mr. Peterson figured out that the soil does the work if you give it the right stuff, and that's a lesson that applies to a lot more than gardening.

caseys307d agoMost Upvoted

Feeds the whole system instead of just forcing a result" really sums it up for me. Reminds me of when my neighbor tried those expensive hydroponic kits and ended up just switching back to regular soil and water because the plants grew better without all the hassle. Makes you wonder how many other things we complicate when the basics already work fine. You ever notice that with stuff like that @beth_hart68?