Monthly Archives: April 2019

The Return Of Human Compost

Another reason for my rumination is that, at the last obit writing session, I learned that a “new” way of dealing with empty bodies has become possible. Until now, human bodies in Washington had to be embalmed or cremated. Last week, the Washington State Legislature passed SB 5001, legalizing both alkaline hydrolysis (“water cremation”) and human composting. The impetus for this bill came from research done at Washington State University using bodies donated for this purpose by green burial proponents. The research team developed technology has been developed that involves burying a body in a box filled with wood chips and straw. Treated just like any compost, the mixture eventually becomes about a cubic yard of soil that can be used in home gardens. An eco-conscious company called ReCompose hopes to be in the human composting business by 2020. Continue reading

Posted in composting, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Filling A Tiny Garden

Though the old wood fence is sagging and rotting, I love the weathered look. Indeed, I’m considering lifting the panels off the ground and hanging them in sturdy frames like artwork, so they help screen our space from the neighbors but aren’t rotting from soil contact. One section is already gone; when I was discussing ideas with my clever house contractor (the uncle of my long-time garden guy), my neighbor popped her head over the fence and said her elderly mother loved to grow tomatoes but this section of fence blocked her light. In response, Jorge simply lifted the 8-foot panel away. Poof! We’ll replace that section with stockade wire and build out a bed to hold my three-way espalier apple tree, which I’ll train on the wire. Continue reading

Posted in Annual Color, Drainage, Garden Design, Health & Wellbeing, Pets & Pests In The Garden, Pollinators, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Tomatoes | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Tax On Plants

Manipulating Deer Today is tax day and the local deer seem to have figured that out. The deer tax is paid in foliage and flowers, sometimes fruit, but as with all taxes, it would be easier to bear if we … Continue reading

Posted in Garden Design, Health & Wellbeing, Pets & Pests In The Garden, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Gardening Without Plastics

Replace plastic with reusable woven row cover cloth Because Every Day Is Earth Day Plastic. Say the word and someone will start talking about Dustin Hofmann and The Graduate. Actually, that used to be a typical response. Now, the very … Continue reading

Posted in Garden Prep, Gardening With Children, Health & Wellbeing, Planting & Transplanting, Recycling Nursery Plastics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments