Switched to a compost bin last spring and now my garden is way too happy

3 comments

3 Comments

Stop calling it "too happy" like its a bad thing. Your tomatoes and zucchini are probably just bolting from the extra nutrients, which means they taste more bitter and go to seed faster. You need to balance that compost with more carbon-heavy stuff like shredded newspaper or dried leaves. My neighbor went overboard last year and his kale turned into a weird, woody jungle.

phoenix24620d ago

It's funny how we do this with everything, not just gardening. Like when you finally find a workout routine that clicks and people are like "oh you're getting too obsessed" or you start eating cleaner and suddenly everyone's an expert on your diet lol. My buddy got real into fermenting stuff last year and his family kept saying his kimchi was "too sour" when really they just weren't used to the tang. I think people just get weirded out when something is working really well and they can't wrap their head around why you'd push past the normal limits.

grays1319d ago

Your buddy's kimchi story hits close to home. I read this article once about how our taste buds actually change when we eat fermented foods regularly - you start craving that funk because your gut biome shifts. Same thing happened to me with sourdough starter. My neighbor kept saying my bread was "too tangy" but man, I was chasing that real San Francisco flavor. I think people who haven't done the deep dive on something just don't understand the learning curve. It's like when someone tries your three-year aged hot sauce and says it's "too spicy" when really they just haven't built up that tolerance yet.