The Swamp

We have a little area at the edge of the property by the road. The land there is sinking. Probably because it is really close to the creek and the water table is high there. And as it sinks, it gets wetter and wetter. After the first year we were here, Don stopped mowing the area because the lawn mower just kept getting bogged down. Pretty soon we started referring to it as "The Swamp". Actually I called it "The Marsh" but it didn't stick, 'swamp' did. Left to its own devices the area grew madly every summer. Lupins, hay, oats, bulrushes all florished in there.

One of the things we'd like to do is get some fill and raise that area up. Then we could do something with it. But that's probably not going to be happening any time soon. So the swamp stays and adds a little wildness to DaM Farm. So do the two teenage kids, but that's a different topic.

When I started raising chickens, I had an abundance of their manure mixed with wood shavings, straw, hay and the occasional feather. I decided to dump it in the swamp. It might take twenty years but the manure would add a little lift to the area. So for the last three years, that's what I've been doing. Hasn't raised the ground one iota as far as I can see. But this year I made a "duh" discovery. I have the most beautiful, aged, crawling with worms compost out there in the swamp. Whoot. Areas of The Swamp are nothing more than a great big worm bin.

All Spring I hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of this heavy, water-sodden compost from one end of our place to the other. I also recruited Don and the kids and they did a fair amount of the transporting. The compost was so wet, it smelled. But after drying out in the gardens, it looked rich and dark and didn't smell any more. I put most of it in the area of the veggie garden I let go fallow last year and planted my carrots and beans there. Having another ready source of compost is always a good thing.