American Praries {Did You Know Tuesdays}

   Wait! What's all this? What happened to "Tips-n-Tricks Tuesday"? Well, I've decided to shake things up a bit. Sometimes we'll have a "Tips-n-Tricks" Tuesday and other times we'll have a "Did You Know" Tuesday. It'll give us a little more variety, don't you think? All you need to know is that the former is about anything in general and the latter is about gardening. I enjoy passing along things that I learn about gardening. So while I may not have accomplished or even attempted some of the things I may tell you here, they maybe be something I read about that sparked my interest, something I want others to know about gardening, or something I've learned.

   So.........here goes! (P.S. This first one is something I read in a book somewhere.)

    The American prairies were once one of the two most fertile places in the world (the other being the alps, if I remember correctly). But did you catch that word "was"? Think of everywhere in nature. The dirt is always naturally covered with SOMETHING. Leaves, grass, trees, water, etc. Do you ever think of vegetation on hills as helping prevent erosion? Well, that's exactly the point. There was once constant plowing of the prairies without adding compost and substance back into the land. By leaving so much of the ground uncovered (think of all the bare soil in corn fields), when a dry spell came, the soil had no way to hold itself together. It blew away - causing a historic event in American history known as the Dust Bowl. Now, because we didn't realize what we were doing, it's said to be one of the most nutrient-depleted areas....Yikes. Let's do better from now on, shall we?