The humble farmer struggled with his boney soil and stunted plants, despairing of ever growing enough to feed his family. He had no idea what to do to improve matters, this being long before the time of garden supply centers or computers and world-wide-web accessible information. In the farmer’s time, if a person were lucky, he had good soil, his plants grew and he prospered. If not… well, maybe he starved. Life, although sometimes harsh, was simple and direct.

This farmer had not been lucky. His soil, what there was of it, was filled with rocks and between the rocks there was nothing much but sand.  He had worked hard, but the results were sorely disappointing. He wondered if there was any future at all in continuing. What could he do that he had not tried already?

It was then, right at that moment, the Compost Deva materialized in his garden. The air in front of the farmer shimmered and got very bright, and there she was. She was large, dark brown and beautiful. She radiated good health and smelled of earth warmed by the sun after a long soaking rain. The farmer was somewhat frightened by her appearance, but she did nothing threatening, so his fear eased a bit and he managed to ask her what was happening.

She explained that his persistence and hard work had not gone unnoticed and that it had been determined he should have help. She had come to show him how to make his poor soil healthy and his plants flourish. In exchange, he was to share this information with others.

The first thing she explained to him was that he could learn a great deal by studying the world around him, the natural world, in which all things had a place and a purpose; in which every single thing was in relationship with every other thing. She suggested he study those relationships and told him about the great cycle of birth, growth and decay, which lead then to rebirth and the continuation of the cycle. Specifically she asked the farmer to consider the leaves of the trees; their spring growth, summer lives, and death in the fall. The Compost Deva then pointed out that the dead leaves decayed and, in decaying, added nourishment to the soil which helped the trees grow yet another crop of leaves.

This, she explained, was where she came into the picture, holding the energetic pattern for the magical transformation of apparently dead stuff into future life. “This”, she told the farmer, “is what you are going to do to transform your pathetically malnourished and over-used soil into healthy, life supporting earth. You are going to make compost, but much more quickly than the trees and leaves and all the little bugs that help with that process can. You are going to stop always taking from the earth and begin to develop a new way of being in relationship with her. You are going to begin sharing. You will both take and give back. Although there are many ways of going about this, simple is probably best in the beginning.”

The Compost Deva pointed out to the farmer a level spot in the sun on a slight rise, where it seemed safe to assume water would not collect nor roots of trees intrude.

There she told him to begin by marking out two areas, each no smaller than four feet by four feet. He might enclose these areas with some of the many rocks at hand, just to keep things tidy. Then he could choose one of the two areas and place some dead branches that were half an inch to an inch in diameter crisscross at the bottom of what would become his first compost pile. The sticks would allow good air circulation. Then, bit-by-bit, as appropriate vegetation became available, she instructed the farmer to layer brown plant material with green and juicy plant matter, adding a little dirt as he went along, making a pile. If the farmer had kept animals, she would have told him to add their soiled bedding and manure to his pile as well. She suggested he think of building each pile as making an offering to his future vegetables, a layer cake for the green and growing ones in his garden.

The brown material, dead leaves, pine needles, plant stalks and other vegetative matter, would add carbon to the pile. These items she told the farmer to moisten with water as he included them. The green and juicy things; grass, green leaves, spoiled fruit and table scraps would supply nitrogen. The dirt would contain microorganisms and macro-organisms necessary to the composting process. As the pile grew, the farmer might keep the center area slightly lower than the sides to catch and hold rain to help keep his pile properly moist. Not soggy, moist. If there were a great deal of rain, he might cover the top to keep the pile from getting too wet. When the pile grew to a height of four or five feet, he could begin a new one. Perhaps each one would take a whole growing season to complete.

The first pile would slowly continue to decompose over the winter and throughout the following season while the farmer built his second pile. The following spring, it would be ready to use. By then the pile, which the farmer would discover had settled quite a bit lower than it had been upon completion, would contain dark and rich material, with a pleasant earthy smell. Any uncomposted sticks could be separated out and placed on the bottom of his next pile. Each growing season he was to repeat this process. After the first two years, there would be a mature pile waiting for him each spring, right when he would need it most.

“This” the Deva said, “is a bit slower than some methods, but very reliable. Remember, people laughed at Tortoise as he plodded along, but also remember it was not the flashy over-stimulated hare who won the race.”

The finished compost was to be added to the farmer’s gardens. Because his soil was so poor, he could mix it right into the ground with a gardening fork to a depth of six to eight inches. There it would supply nutrients, add good texture to the soil and organic material to absorb and hold moisture for his crops. In time, as the soil improved, he could add just a few inches of the finished compost to the surface of his garden each growing season.

He could also make a special brew by soaking a shovel full of compost, wrapped in porous material like burlap, in a covered bucket of water. After a few days he might use the resulting “tea” to soak the soil at the base of certain plants or dilute the liquid until it became the color of weak tea and then spray it on leaves to help his plants grow. After several batches of “tea” the compost, minus the burlap, could be added to the garden soil.

“You will do these things, and you will be pleased with the results” the Compost Deva told the farmer. “Not only will you improve your impoverished soil, you will be sequestering carbon as you garden in this way. Furthermore, you will be able to pass along your land to the next generation in far better shape than you received it.”

The farmer did as the Deva had instructed and he was pleased. Each year his soil improved, the gardens grew nourishing food, his family became healthy and they prospered. The Earth was also pleased and all was well for many, many years.

© Pat Foley, 2010