Hello, the rest of us! I hope you all are well. What an upending year this has been so far, at least on my end! Since I have not added to this blog for so long, I will just describe some of the things I have been up to and thinking about that relate to our carbon sequestration topic. I’ve…
Stop the Fall Tragedy: Leave Your Leaves to Save the Climate
I live in a lovely neighborhood, full of mature trees and sprinkled liberally with parks. My neighbors are all friendly, and many people walk regularly, usually with dogs and sometimes with kids. People have beautiful yards for the most part. Yet every fall, my neighbors unwittingly do something very bad for the climate, for the soil, and for the trees…
On the one year anniversary of the release of Kiss the Ground
I teach four sections of 10th grade Earth and Space Science this year at a public charter school where I have been teaching for eleven years. I feel like the luckiest teacher on the planet. We get to learn about my darling planet and it’s place in the universe for a whole school year. We started the year learning about…
The Squash Bug War – and cultivating a truce with other species
Now I remember why I have never successfully grown squash in New Mexico. At our last house, squash plants were killed so early and so quickly by the squash bugs that I hardly remember having squash in my garden at all. Here at the Mothership garden, I began the season in pleasant forgetfulness, and by the end of July I…
Soil Testing for Science Hacks – Part II: The Number
After a long wait, my Year 1 soil test results are in. Note: although there are some great soil tests you can do yourself – see the pictures in this post – the soil test results I will now share are from Colorado State University’s Soil, Water and Plant testing Laboratory. All of the researching, sampling, mailing and waiting while…
Wanderers welcome: the story of Whispering Bells
I was out watering some of my seed beds this morning, eager to see new emerging seedlings. Next to a bear grass plant I planted last spring, I noticed a small emerging plant with interesting scalloped leaves. I took out my phone and took a picture of it with my Picture This app, which I use frequently to identify plants.…
Carbon Imports Part II – The Dark Side
Back in February I posted about adding carbon in the form of compost or mulch to a young garden. Importing carbon in the beginning of a new garden’s life helps it establish. But it bears repeating that the carbon you import should be local, and your imports should be ever diminishing. Why? Let’s think about all the carbon we are…
Picking Bones
Bones from your table are a waste stream that can be respected. Save your bones, and your pets and your soil will benefit! I read an amazing article recently about the element phosphorous, which is one of the big three nutrients plants need from the soil. Phosphorous has historically been a limiting factor for all terrestrial plants, and was a…
Carbon Imports
If you could listen to your soil and it could talk, you would hear it asking for carbon. The very element that is accumulating in our atmosphere and threatening to disrupt the fabric of life on Earth is in great demand below our feet. Soil organic matter is to the microbial life of your soil as grass is to cows.…
Soil Testing for Science Hacks – Part 1
Have I mentioned that I post on Instagram (and Facebook) as Sandra Mack the Science Hack? It’s a funny name my nephew Julian gave me one summer at the lake cabin, as we tried to solve the science mystery of the disappearance of frogs on the property since my childhood. Well, this post feels like a Sandra Mack the Science…