The Importance of Fallow Ground

Gardeners and farmers know the importance of fallow ground. Allowing a field or a garden bed to rest for a bit – to go fallow – gives the soil’s nutrient balance a chance to naturally restore itself. As the ground rests, fertility can be restored. Letting ground go fallow was a common practice centuries ago, but it’s not as common anymore. As commercial fertilizers became more readily available and the agricultural industry became ever more competitive, it became less and less popular to leave land fallow. Constant production was the goal.

Constant agricultural production, however, is rarely sustainable, at least not in any kind of healthy way. And it’s the same for people. Though we can, and often do, push ourselves to constantly produce, we function best when we have time to rest, time to naturally restore ourselves, to go fallow.

With the ground frozen and the garden resting for the winter, and with the holidays nearly here, it seems only natural that we pause not just to celebrate the season but to renew ourselves. To fill the well, however you define that personally.

So along with wishing you a Happy Solstice and a Merry Christmas, I wish you time for peaceful reflection. And time for peaceful reading too.

6 thoughts on “The Importance of Fallow Ground

    1. It’s good to take time to rest, Jodie. I hope you enjoy your down time. Merry Christmas and all the best for 2018!

  1. Ah yes! And today, with snow falling, the Christmas decorations in place and food prepared in the freezer, is an excellent time to cozy down with a good book. I’m reading “A Man Called Ove” at the moment, but I have a romance and a mystery on the tbr pile beside my bed. I’m looking forward to opening some more written treasures under the tree.

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