A Hymn for the Compost Heap
Decay as a creative act, and why the least glamorous corner of the garden is the one doing all the work.
Nothing in the garden is treated with less ceremony than the heap in the corner, and nothing in the garden is more essential. It takes what we've finished with and hands it back as something that can begin again.
We've been keeping notes on a single heap for two years now: what goes in, how warm it runs, how long the middle stays sweet. The findings are unglamorous and completely convincing. Turn it more than you think. Keep it wetter than you think. Add more dry material than feels reasonable.
The wider lesson is about attention. A heap is a small, forgiving system that teaches you how bigger systems behave — inputs, heat, time, collapse, renewal. Learn to read one and you start reading everything else differently.
