We've Moved
We're townies now...
Apologies for the hiatus in chats.
It’s been a big month!
We’ve moved in to town.
Despite what I thought I’d feel, I love waking up in the new house.
Looking out to the surrounding mountains of Scone, their cloud capped beauty.
Turning on the air conditioning.
Drinking milk just bought from the shops.
There are multitudes of benefits to living in the country, my heart is always there, but right now I’m relishing the benefits of a small town.
Yesterday I walked from one side of town to the other to collect my car from the mechanics.
I walk to the shops to buy singular items without a care of what the rest of the week will bring.
“You’re a townie now”.
I thought the works would sting.
They don’t.
The moving was a big process despite us having very little when we first arrived in February 2023.
In actual fact, there wasn’t much to move inside the house. It was outside the house that posed a challenge - approximately ten tonnes of black, delicious, compost rich soil.
I couldn’t leave it behind.
When you lovingly nurture soil, it becomes part of you and you it.
I began to transplant living vegetables into pots. Removed those that were dead or not going to make a comeback into the compost heap.
Pulling up remnants of packing tape embedded into the soil, their cardboard skeletons long decomposed.
Staring up at me was an inconceivable microsystem. Roots laid out like lungs.
Worms - big fat wrigglers. Teeny, hair thin ones.
Down on my knees, hands flat on the ground, the soil holds other critters.
Ones I don’t recognise. And billions and billions of things I couldn’t see.
Although the house was packed, the garden was going to take longer.
I moved backwards through the garden beds, leaving the earliest laid down until last.
Recognising the soil which had come from a local horse stud.
The grainy sand soil from a landscaping business.
Rich in composition. Dark and crumbly. Heady smells.
Potatoes loved the sand. Tomatoes, marigolds and pumpkins grew like Triffids in the black soil.
No dig gardens are so simple and cheap to start.
Lay down cardboard directly on to the ground. (The thicker the better).
Lay down compost. (I made mine a metre wide, 20cm deep)
Plant your seeds or plants directly into the compost.
(And if you have to move, you can scoop up your soil and bring it with you, the grass or lawn will grow back soon, healthier than ever).
My soil has moved to the Community Garden in Scone where I’m in the process of beginning another garden, this time to share with other people.
It’s just across the street from where we live and I love the idea of sharing seeds, soil and stories with other gardeners.
Thank you for following along on this journey with me.
Kylie x
Reminder - my book Soil Sister, Farming for our Future is not just for kids. It explains, in simple terms, how regenerative farming works and how it can help heal ourselves and our planet.
You can purchase it here on Amazon.
And I’m also on LinkedIn.
You can contact me here
if you would like me to speak at your event.
Upcoming Events:
August 31 - Seed Swap - Green Seed Grocer, Kelly Street, Scone NSW Australia
November 23 - Smallholder Long Lunch with Paul West, Scone Race Club, Tickets available through LLS here.
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