When we first arrived here, we were impressed by the way everyone lives off the land by growing their own vegetables and herbs and raising goats, cows, chickens, and sheep. Although we were impressed, we never thought that we would attempt to do any of those things. I grew up most of my life on our family farm on Wadmalaw Island, so I am used to this lifestyle, however I myself have never tried to plant anything in my life. I watch these people here plow, rake, plant, and harvest an entire field with their own 2 hands: no tractor, no combine, and no machinery what-so-ever. My back hurts just watching them.
When we first arrived, we were overwhelmed with getting used to just BUYing food here. I couldn't fathom growing our own. Well, four and a half months later, we find ourselves getting a little more comfortable and a little more adventurous. We started out with a small planter we had built for some herbs. I had it put right outside the back door over our patio so that we had something nice to look at when we sat on the patio, and so that I can just reach over the railing and pick some fresh herbs while I'm cooking. Our neighbor supplied the fertile soil and the seeds, and we crossed our fingers and hoped our little babies would sprout. Here's what we've got so far!
From closest to the furthest we have: dill, basil, and cilantro
They have actually grown even more than this. I took this picture a few days ago. We ate a few basil leaves with our supper last night and they were delicious. Fresh herbs are SO much better than dried.
So after having some success with this project, we have grown a little bolder. We decided to make a small garden in the yard. Another reason for this is if Newman doesn't have a house project, he gets a little antsy. (even though he is crazy busy already...go figure)
I took a few pictures of Newman prepping the ground by slashing the grass, hoeing the dirt, and raking the weeds out. Wilson came by Saturday morning and had a look at what he had done. He approved and offered to help more which was nice. We always run everything by Wilson to see if we are doing things correctly. Us mzungus don't know what we are doing half the time when it comes to this stuff. Here are some pictures of phase one.
Newman slashing
Newman Digging
After working for a little while, we had some visitors. Our
little neighbors, who we’ve gotten to be good friends with, came over for a
little Friday evening soccer or football as they say here. My mother-in-law Lynn sent us this ball, and
these 2 little boys have enjoyed it immensely. Sorry for the bad quality of the
pictures. The sun was going down, and this is not a fancy camera.
Newman headed back outside early on Saturday before it got
too hot to do some more work. Our friends joined us again for most of the day.
I did some reading with the little one, Walter, and we played some tag.
Walter reading Mother Goose
Wilson and Newman then got on a little bunny trail and
decided that we needed a compost pit too so that we will have good soil for the
garden. They took turns digging. I just watched J
We will start planting this week I think, and hopefully will
be able to harvest a few things by October. I think we will start with some
lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and jalapenos. We’ll keep you posted! I’ll
be excited if we only get to eat even just one tiny carrot.
Thanks for following along with us!
Love,
Trish
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