You might say it’s only natural that Chuck Hensel, a retired Episcopal priest, believes so strongly in organic gardening. He’s been a fully organic gardener since moving back to Miller Beach 11 years ago because he believes we’re wasting God’s gifts if we don’t use them. To him, compost is part of the circle of life. Plus, it produces luscious lettuces and beautiful blossoms.

Chuck’s been gardening since he was a kid in southern New Jersey where his father had a huge vegetable garden—60 hills of asparagus, pole lima beans as big as half dollars. So, when the Hensels moved into their house at the corner of Shelby and Oak and found only bridal wreath, trees and grass growing on the property, Chuck got busy. He started digging a border garden two feet wide and one foot deep around the property, removing all the soil and mixing it with compost. He soon decided that wasn’t big enough so he dug more and doubled the area.

Although Chuck started with flowers and still nurtures them in the expansive garden beds (among his favorites are delphiniums and foxglove), he also raises many vegetables in the two-foot-deep raised beds he built on top of the cracked stone parking lot behind his house. He grows all the cabbage family, except cabbage itself. He plants broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, onions, snap beans, peas, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes…the list goes on. He raises most of his own plants, buying them only when he has the occasional crop failure He generously shares plants and donates them for the annual Miller Garden Club plant sale.

Chuck firmly believes that the biggest challenge and the most important thing in gardening is soil building. He says when you skip that step, gardens suffer. He continuously amends his own soil, a base of black earth (on top of sand, of course) enriched by the addition of humus. Each spring, he collects grass clippings and mixes them with horse manure. After two weeks, he spreads this composted mixture on the beds. Making compost is what Chuck calls speeding up natural processes. A well-educated organic gardener, he tells the history of composting, describes the process and gives practical advice in the article below.

Admiring his lawn, some of Chuck’s neighbors have asked for 11 years now what he puts on the grass. His answer: nothing but Annie (the family dog). He also hand digs all dandelions.

Chuck understands the challenges of organic gardening—getting and spreading manure, for example—that prevent others from joining him. But, he believes in recycling reusable resources. To him, it’s all part of the continuation of the Divine plan.

To read Chuck Hensel's article, "Composting for Your Garden", click here.