Spraying Life, Not Death

By Josh Singleton | Founder, The Neighborhood Garden Project

People ask me all the time, “What are you spraying?” Some ask because they’re worried. Most just assume I’m spraying pesticides or herbicides—because that’s what this tool looks like. It’s what they’ve done themselves. A lot of people have used a sprayer like this to kill bugs or weeds, so when they see it, they don’t even ask. They just assume.

Today, a couple stopped by the garden. The man looked over, saw the sprayer on my back, and said, “Oh, you’re spraying today?” He didn’t ask what we were using. He just made the comment like he understood—like he’d been there himself. There was no tension in his voice. Just familiarity. Like he knew that tool, and what it’s usually used for.

He wasn’t asking a question. He was recognizing something he’s done too. And in that moment, I realized how deep this pattern runs for so many of us. We’ve been trained to use the same tools for the same reasons. Spray the problem. Kill what doesn’t belong. Move on.

We didn’t get any deeper than that. But sometimes, you don’t need a long talk to feel what’s underneath. You can see it in someone’s eyes, that quiet mix of curiosity and habit. Like, part of them might be wondering if there’s another way, even if they don’t say it out loud.

What we were actually spraying was Super Sauce, a natural mix of compost tea, fish emulsion, seaweed, molasses, vinegar, neem oil, and a few other ingredients that help restore life in the soil. It’s not designed to kill anything. It’s meant to feed. It brings microbes back into the soil, helps plants grow stronger, and builds up what’s been broken down by years of chemicals and quick fixes.

That sprayer on my back? It’s just a tool. What matters is what goes in it. Most folks use it to fight nature. We’re using it to work with it. Same tool, different purpose.

And maybe, in the long run, moments like that, where someone sees something familiar but senses it being used differently, are enough to plant a new kind of seed. One that might grow later, when the time’s right.

Same tool. Different Purpose. Different Kingdom.