Monday 11 April 2011

The Brown Earth Society.

Nutty Gnome is pleased to announce that, having spent the past few weeks preparing, she is now ready to open up The Brown Earth Society to all comers! The Society welcomes applications for membership from anyone who adores the transformation of weed-covered areas like this:

or vegetables that haven't survived the winter, like this:

or grotty untidy weedy areas like this:


into a brand new vegtable bed like this:


or a cleared bed (except for the over-wintered spinach and chard) like this:

or this, with the last of the leeks and the newly sprouting globe artichokes:

or this - my brand new herb and salad bed, finally created after hours of clearing weeds, mint, wild strawberries and the world's deepest set muscari and bluebell bulbs! :

by the simple virtue of using this: Compost ...I just LOVE compost!

The Brown Earth Society is open to all people who enjoy that brief transition period every Spring and Autumn when, after distributing vast amounts of compost around the garden, manky weed-ridden soil is magically transformed into smoothly raked beds full of nothing but clear brown earth... albeit for only a few days before weeds start to grow or crops are planted!

Membership is free providing you can prove your love of beautifully composted weed-free soil. There are sod all benefits to joining other than letting me know that I'm not the only sorry soul who stands in happy admiration of a bed of evenly raked brown luciousness at any opportunity!

Applications are accepted via the comments box.
Don't delay, join today - you know it makes sense!
(and applogies for any huge gaps or weird word wraps around photos in the post - Blogger doesn't appear to want to save it properly at the moment!)

28 comments:

Rob (ourfrenchgarden) said...

Count me in.

Similar to you, I make it in palette containers at the bottom of the car park area.Last year I lined one with cardboard and it heated up better.

Yours looks really good stuff. I got to admit, making compost is hugely satisfying.

Liz said...

Hi liz,

So you are alive! I was beginning to wonder ;)

I admire your love for the soil, it is wonderful when you have a nice bed of soil. Sadly most of mine are heavy clay and a nightmare to dig!

Pondside said...

So nice to see you here again - and you have been busy!
Please accept, herewith, my application for membership in the society. You'll know my credentials are good because I immediately enlarged the photo of the compost pile in order to better see what it looked like. I love compost. We live on a rock, so compost is essential - we make our own soil
I know that , at home, there is a nice new pile under a tarp, just waiting for me to come at it with a shovel.

Gordon Mason said...

I wanna join
I wanna join

Please Nutty, can I join?

That's a damn fine compost heap. Our friends in Poland have one very similar and I'm deeply envious. But I have a big heap of manure (well, not personally you understand).

And good to see you back. I came close to emailing you a day or two back to ask if Big Bud Mite had got into thi keyboard. But I hung on, knowing you'd be back.

joey said...

So awesome 'busy-bee' you, dear Liz ... a garden journey/journal! Always beside you wherever/whenever ... count me in!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Rob - compost never fails to amaze me!It's natural magic!
I've never tried lining the bins with carboard. I've mixed cardboard in with all the green waste to give it some bulk, but I'm going to try lining the newly emptied bin - I'll let you know how I get on :)

Hi Liz - yep, I'm still very much around - I just wasn't around the computer very much as I was digging!!!
We are very much spoiled with our soil - I think we're benefitting from 40 years of hard work by the previous owners! Andy's parents have clay and they have had to work very hard to get it something like! I do feel for you with that!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Pondside - now you know why I was MIA for a while! You are now officially a member of the Brown earth Society - how could I refuse you with those credentials?! :)
My compost is garden waste, kitchen waste, paper, card, grass clippings and horse manure - fantastic stuff!

Nutty Gnome said...

Rob, I forgot to say it but yep, you're in!

Woody mate - go on then, you're in! Haha - I know all about your big pile of manure too :)
I wasn't far away - only up the garden knee deep in black gold for days on end and not safe to let my hands anywhere near a keyboard :(
Having got that lot sorted and my hands finally clean (ish), I'm back and will be around a bit more often again!

Nutty Gnome said...

Joey - how could I bear to leave you out?! feel free to pop over and help me barrow compost around any time you feel like it! <3

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Liz, Composted dirt? Of course! It was the darling subject of several local gardeners lately! In fact, Mr. Shady built me a home-made tumbler that now stands besides my compost piles... should keep things happy around here, I'd think! So.... Can I play, too? ;-)

Nutty Gnome said...

Oh Shady my friend and fellow compost lover, of course you can play too....welcome! :D

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

Sign me up - though the moments of triumph don't last, do they. The couch grass, dandelions and annual weeds are growing MUCH faster than all the lovely sown and planted things up at my allotment, with the possible exception of the potatoes. Impressive job on the clearance though. Enjoy the triumph while it lasts ;-) Blimey I sound jaundiced! Must be the hour's weeding I did on the bean bed earlier...

O.I.M said...

I'll join! A freshly raked, composted, weed-free bed is one of the prettiest sights in the world. The Brown Earth Society is awesome!
irena

Caro said...

Oh yes, I'll join please! I love a bit of digging, it shows when there's been hard work done and people start to say Oh, you've been busy (like the sight of me bending over a fork for hours on end doesn't count!). Glad you found my blog because now I've found yours! Looking forward to following your adventures! Caro xx

The Weaver of Grass said...

I am a fully-committed member of your society. All veggie beds are cleared; peas, broad beans, sweet peas, beetroot, lettuce are planted; strawberries have been well fertilised and weeded; there is a smart row of parsley. Oh yes, I know that once the peas come through the chickweed will grow at the same pace; the little wild pansies will cover the garden and who has the heart to remove those? So, wonderful, friable brown earth - let's rejoice in it while we can!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Janet and welcome to the Society! You don't sound jaundiced at all, honest! :)
I'm on holiday for Easter now and have spent the last 4 days gardening in the sun ...pure joy! (except for the fact that my beautiful brown earth will soon be covered in plants - but as they're vegetables, I can cope with that!)

Irena - I'm glad you think so...you're in!!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Caro - I'm with you, I just love all that positive feedback from other people ...and all the goodies I grow! :)

I'm glad you like my blog as much as I like yours. Welcome to my world and the Brown Earth Society :)

Weaver! Nice to see you again - gosh but you've been working hard, it all sounds lovely! You've certainly earnt the right to be in the Society :)
I've planted potatoes, onions, garlic, peas, mange tout, runner beans, dwarf beans, salad leaves and herbs. Today I get to plant out more peas and beans, sweetcorn, squashes, pumpkins and courgettes. Oh, and some flower seeds in my mixed border!
I haven't got wild pansies, but I've got loads of wild violets which I adore but Himself hates as they get in the lawn!
Happy days! :)

Casa Mariposa said...

I LOVE compost! My worms have a jug of tastiness coming their way tonight. I have less probs with weeds than I do a hyper-invasive trumpet creeper. I'm constantly pulling shoots out but the beautiful flowers attract so many hummingbirds, it's worth it!

Nutty Gnome said...

You're in then Casa Mariposa ...how can I resist a jug of tastiness?!

I wish we had hummingbirds over here, I love them - they're so sweet. I'd dither about pulling up shoots if they attracted humming birds! :)

Kathryn said...

Oh, dear. Will I EVER belong to such a club? Maybe. Not this year, that's certain. But I'm ever so admiring from afar. GOOD WORK, Liz!!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Kathryn. Thank you! I'm sure you'll have been a memeber of a club like this in the past with all the gardening work you've done! I know you've been somewhat busy with your wonderful book this year, so I'm prepared to offer you honorary membership in lieu of gardening instead!!! :)

Diane said...

Hi Nutty Gnome, thanks for your visit, love your blog, I will be back :-) Diane

fer said...

Count me in too! I just had a couple big planters to clean up tho.
You did a great job on your garden. I am sure all you effort will be rewarded.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Diane, I'm glad you like my blog - thank you! Looking forward to seeing you again soon :)

Hi Fer, you're in! Thank you - I do enjoy the gardening, which is perhaps as well really given that we've got an acre to go at! The work in the garden has continued daily over this past fortnight as I've been on holiday ...prepare for some exciting posts coming up about what I've been up to!

MrBrownThumb said...

Wow, that's a lot of work, but the results sure look worth it. That blooming tree in your header is amazing!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Mr. Brown Thumb, nice to see you. It was a lot of hard work but you're right - it is worth it!
The tree in the header photo is a Labernum - native to the UK, poisonous but beautiful!

All parts of the tree are poisonous: roots, bark, wood, leaves, flower-buds, petals, and seedpods. The harmful part of the plant is the seedpods which are mistaken by children for peapods, usually after they have been shown how to eat fresh raw peas straight from the plant in the vegetable garden. HOWEVER, providing children are told the trees are poisonous and not to eat the seed pods, they're not a problem ...and the tree is so beautiful that it's worth the minor risk of having it in the garden!

BilboWaggins said...

A full compost bin is a wonderful sight. Please Miss, (sticking hand up a the back ...) can I join?

Making compost is A Big Thing at Bag End, 40 years of neglect means much of the soil here is impoverished and needs lots of help. Thankfully I've made friends with nearby horsey people who are glad to have me take away lots of their muck.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Bilbo, I've seen the wonderful things you've been doing with compost down at Bag End so of course you can join! :)

I've just filled my 2nd compost bin this year and am about to start on the 3rd one. The big bin is ready for use in Autumn, then I'll turn the 2nd bin into the big bin ready for next Autumn - it's all go on the compost front here!

A colleague of mine has horses, so me and my muck-shovelling mate, Big Dave, go up there every so often and do a couple of Land Rover-fulls worth of bags - a load for his lottie and a load for my bins - black gold!