GROWING FOWARD

A Sustainable Food Culture Journey to Africa

Last Minute Plantings July 14, 2008

So that little jungle of seedlings I wrote about earlier are nagging to get into the ground before I leave and they are a top priority, along with some cuttings I started a few weeks ago. My irrigation methods are quite primitive which I like because I get to hang out with my plants and monitor their progress, HOWEVER when you leave it is all in jeopardy. My husband is good with the watering, but he will need help and the boys are not very helpful when it comes to that.

They turn the nozzle to jet which is traumatic for the plants, but fun for them. I let them start a little 3 sisters plot (Corn, Beans, and Squash), and we spent so much time getting it ready, from sifting out compost, double digging, beautifully spacing and organizing the seeds….The first time I watered it in and turned over the hose, for them to keep up. Well, when the beans, corn, and squash popped up all in the same spot I was a bit baffled.

Being the detective that I am I noticed an irregular amount of mud splats on the wall behind the plot. I said nothing but waited and spied the next time they watered. The jet stream had dislodged the germinating seeds and  because of the huge puddle it formed they all floated into the same spot and replanted. I let it go…hey, it’s their plot, they can do what they want. I was tempted to fix it but they need to understand that life requires patience, you rush it and it just won’t turn out the way you want it.

I guess I do need to get other types of irrigation to be fair, water wise, and more effective. Leaky pipes will probably do the trick but I enjoy hand watering, I can see whats going on.

So  anyway the little seedlings had been moved out recently to harden off and adapt to the great outdoors, and much to my delight the tray is swarming  with bees. I was really happy about that. There is plenty of lavender, sage, salvia, and such already established but there is like a bee for every flower. There must be a hive nearby. Hopefully at a friendly home or at mine.

There is a passage in a book that I like but don’t remember, when the author describes honey oozing out of someone’s walls and the room smelling sickening sweet and practically vibrating from the buzzzzzz. To me it is a comforting image.

just buzzy looking for distractions…

dan de lioness

P.S. Any book suggestions for a flight that lasts 23 hours??? (fiction)

 

One Response to “Last Minute Plantings”

  1. Janet Says:

    Lol you probably didn’t mean me, but try Mandela, Mobutu and Me by Lynne Duke http://www.amazon.com/Mandela-Mobutu-Me-Newswomans-African/dp/0385503989/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216074324&sr=8-2

    Or
    Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World by Weisman, Alan
    or

    Stolen Harvest : The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply by Vandana Shiva

    or

    Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Shiva, Vandana

    or

    The Illustrated Alchemist : A Fable About Following Your Dream by Coelho, Paulo

    These are all books that I have personally read and heartily recommend, as you know my wish list is LONG….


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