This week a friend shared a delicious treat with us. His mulberry tree is overflowing, and we were happy to help harvest and enjoy these sweet warm weather berries!

The day before he had laid a tarp under it, shook the tree, and hundreds of mulberries fell. But when I arrived the following afternoon, we were all surprised to discover the pile had already begun to rot in less than 24 hours.

We lifted the whole tarp and tossed it into his homemade compost bin, where several berries spilled out from the sides. Remembering he had issues with rats last year, I told him about the Earth Machine composter Fertile Earth now has available for sale.

He shrugged and said he was happy with his system. It's big enough for his kitchen scraps and yard waste. And if rats show up, he just grabs his pellet gun and takes care of them...

His wife added that they don't really use much of the soil from it, and that they haven't really had any more issues with the rats since they found the nest and removed them.

"Do you have any other pests?" I asked, genuinely curious how they manage this common issue.

"Coffee [their dog] takes care of the iguanas and keeps the raccoons and possums away. And if we see rats, I just get my pellet gun and shoot them."

I notice the tiny smile behind his nonchalant attitude. "You kinda enjoy shooting the rats with your pellet gun, don't you?"

He shrugs, "yeah." We laugh and I reply, "well then don't let me deprive you of the simple pleasures in life."

To each their own. No judgement, remember?

I on the other hand, do not enjoy shooting rats, nor do I own a pellet gun. Which is why I have not one, but two of these composters in my backyard. One for adding my kitchen scraps and yard waste while the second is resting and curing - the term we use when the microbes and beneficial critters are doing their magic and transforming "waste" into rich, fertile soil.

Unlike my friends who have been at their home for 10 years, building up their garden beds for a decade, we have only been building up the soil on our land for a year. And it was pretty terrible soil when we bought the place. Even our cuban oregano (an herb known for growing easily in our climate) was struggling to thrive in this depleted dirt.

If you can't or don't want to compost at home, know that there are lots of other options now available in Miami Dade and Broward counties. Services like Renüable offer residential pick ups, while Fertile Earth has 4 Community Compost Hubs where you can bring your food scraps and let the pros handle the rest for you.

Whatever you do, please keep your food scraps out of the trash can. Up to 60% of what gets tossed in the trash can go back to the soil. Miami-Dade farmers are the largest buyer of soil in the country, yet the county spent $62 million hauling our waste to landfills in 2024 after the incinerator burned down in Doral the year before. The county is now promoting the Scrap App since better recycling also helps to reduce the burden on the waste stream.

​Frustrating politics aside, if you spend the extra money on organic food, fancy herbal supplements, and pasture raised eggs, finding food grown in real compost is the secret sauce you're after.

It's the secret to nutrient dense foods, and plants full of the trace minerals we seek in supplement form. The microbial life in the soil is the foundation for the healthy microbiome in your gut, which many scientists now consider the second brain. Though I would argue the heart is the primary intelligent organ, the gut is second, and the brain third, functioning mostly as an electric panel.

Either way, support your local farmers. Join a CSA. Grow your own veggies. Not because it's cool, but because it's the ultimate act of love for yourself, Mother Earth, with a dash of 'sticking it to the man' for my fellow rebels.

If you're interested in learning more about those options, let me know and I'll make it next week's post, a complete resource guide for finding fresh foods, grown by farmers who use not only sustainable, but regenerative practices as well. There are plenty!

Love & Light,

Pri

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This 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246

If you're curious, the above address is just an automated anti-spam feature. I'm still in Miami, but this newsletter software says using a real address here is best, and I didn't want to use my home address.

Feeling like this doesn't resonate at all, no worries. You do you boo, and we'll cross paths again when the time is right :-)
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