Two Analogies to Help You Groove – JP029

Two conversations we had recently resulted in two analogies to help you acclimate your fingers to the soil.

When you think of your lawn, think of your scalp, and your hairline
Allow your plants to move-in to their New Home

Check the transcripts below, or listen, to get the full context.

Asante Sana ߊߛߊ߲ߕߌ ߛߣߊ
Medase Paa ߡߍߘߊߛߋ ߔߊ
Modupe O ߡߏߘߎߔߋ ߏ

Thank you for listening to

Jìgìjìgì ߖߜ߭ߌ߬ߖߜ߭ߌ߬

Transcript (automated)

Peace,
I am Mason Olonade and this is Jìgìjìgì: Africulture Podcast. Here we believe building a healthy soil builds a healthy soul, so we share strategies for how to do both. To do both we ask two questions: How do you grow while you grow Kale, Collards, Tomatoes, and Melons. And why, do you think, the healthiest soils are Black?
I spoke to a friend recently and he was having some trouble with his lawn. He compared his lawn to his neighbors lush, uniformly, green grass, and he saw his with clovers, dandelion, and multiple species of edible weeds and turf as inadequate.
I asked him a question, “Do you want uniformity in your yard, or harmony?”
I told him that the interesting thing about having a lawn like your neighbors that looks so fluffy you could lay in it, is that you can’t lay in it because of the pesticides. So, if you are looking for a natural, harmonious, and efficient lawn, you have to work with it.
We discussed the already present nitrogen fixation in the white clovers, the natural creation of pores in the soil from the dandelion, and free food growing if you are about that life of eating your weeds.
He then pointed out a problem spot. It was bare. We could see where the weedwacker edged the sidewalk out and discovered there was only about an inch of topsoil resting on the dense, almost impenetrable orange Maryland clay.
This bare patch was just off of the sidewalk, walking up to the house. The front yard slopes downhill to the street. What we concluded is, that because there is limited growth, and that the lawn crew comes and clears it so often, that it may be that the water from heavy rains comes off the roof, and then off of the sidewalk, and runs off onto that exact spot. It looks pushed back.
Just like a hairline might be…
So I said to him, from now on, when you think of your lawn, think of your scalp and hairline. And for him, it clicked.
At the start of the Pandemic, two of my clients were eager to transplant their seedlings, expecting them to immediately start growing and producing. I asked them if they remember what it is like to move.
You remember what it’s like to move into a new home, and all your things are there, and you remember where you put them, but it’s just not familiar yet. It takes a while before you can navigate around, half asleep at 3am to either use the bathroom or get a glass of water. You may be unfairly expecting your plants to start eating snacks, in the dark, on the midnight of their move-in day.
Allowing your plants to settle into their new surroundings is the optimal caretaking and gardening strategy.
In summary, I wanted to share these two analogies to assist you as you groove your hands into the soil.
1. When you think of your lawn, think of your scalp and hairline.
2. Allow your plants to move-in to their New Home
Share Jìgìjìgì with your friends, family, and closely related Siblings of the Soil. If you have amazing analogies to help all of us groove into the soil, email me m-a-s-o-n@a-f-r-i-c-u-l-t-u-r-e-podcast.com. We’d love to have you. Leave us a 5 star review wherever you listen to and we will say then as we say now, Asante Sana, Medase Pa, Modupe O!
Thank you, for listening, to Jìgìjìgì. Peace