Getting our hands dirty

Wellies were the order of the day as off we tramped;

partly to take a look at how Little Red hen's wheat was coming along…..

(to which the answer is, ‘Just fine’!)

Partly to check on what is growing apart from wheat…..

(look closely; what do you see?)

But mostly to get our hands dirty.  First of all we gathered, shoulder to shoulder, around a set of 4 wooden boxes, each containing what at first glance looked like dirt;

although on closer inspection each section appeared to contain something different from the one next to it.  And yes, so it proved to be.  A handful from one section…..

felt sharp and gritty, whereas one from the next…..

was much stickier. 

A fistful from the third section…..

was damp and bitty, whereas the final handful…..

 

was richly black and crumbly, soft to the touch and wonderfully sweet-smelling.

They were:

• (gritty) sand
• (sticky) soil from the garden
• (damp) compost
• the (crumbly) perfect mixture

Our job was to use (gritty) sand, (sticky) soil from the garden and (damp) compost to make a (crumbly) mixture that would be perfect for growing things.  It needed to be just the right crumbly texture; a little bit sticky but not too tightly packed.  We would need a big plastic bucket and some child-sized tools.

Put about the same amount of (damp) compost…..

 

and (sticky) soil from the garden into the bucket…..

plus a couple of trowels-full of (gritty) sand.

Mix it really well.

 

Feel it…..

to make sure it’s just the right crumbly texture…..

before scattering it on one of the prepared flower beds.

The perfect mixture.