Busy

This has been a very busy week, the weather was very kind and helped us by sending much needed rain. T forked the land just below the beans, for new okra. He made the holes which I wet before sowing, 3 seeds to a hole, following something I read somewhere recently

"rain or wet,
wet when you set"

The basil sold well in town, T walking and selling, in the build up to Christmas, also the beans which we sold at $3e.c. per pound. The bottles of sorrel that I made were not so popular but would have sold had I made wine, something to remember for next year, however, we enjoyed drinking them and sharing with
family.




Sunday saw us weeding and clearing close by the river, where the cive, rocket and big thyme are, we also dug up the first of the 'saffron' (turmeric) and put it to dry and T cut back the big bamboo by the river to allow more light and air to pass through.

Team work

Trev cut grass for the cow and I wet the lettuce, Trev forked, made holes and wet them while I sowed, 3 seeds to a hole, we both covered them. I weeded beans and we picked them together.

Dry Season

There is a change in the air
since the previous post and
the rainy seasons' grand finale.
Now the days are shorter,
the nights are cooler
and there is less humidity. T makes
preparations by putting a pipe
in the ravine that marks the boundary
at the top of Corn Buck. Using a series
of Heath Robinson pipe and hose
connections, we will be able to water
the hundreds of lettuce that we planted
in the beds that T made on the top.
Meanwhile, the dwarf beans
are bearing so I weed, mole , mulch
and pick them









together with more sorrel
and give thanks for nature's bounty.

This week

This week we continued
picking sorrel and cutlassing
the land at the top, picked
limes, citronella, ripe fig
and okra, dasheen, sweet
potato weeded and 'bombed'
the basil, sowed some purple
okra and cleaned drains.











We don't know what this
vine is but it has a tuber
that looks a little like a
yam only smaller, so it
was spared.














The grapefruit are almost full,
first time this tree
has born fruit.
















T forked new beds for
cabbage above the
mango trees which we
dressed with the pen
manure from the old
cow pen by the ravine.
The land is still very wet
from all the rain we have had.
The basil was not happy.

Sales

T leaves for town to sell basil, parsley, big thyme,
common pork, seasoning peppers and okro.
Town is full of people selling. Cabbage, yam, sweet potato,
green fig, banana. We sell herbs. By the bag. No scale,
a lighter load and, for now, no competition.

Of Big Thyme and carrot beds

It was cool on reaching Corn Buck today
and refreshingly dry following the thunderous
downpours that we have been experiencing
recently.

I planted some more beds of big thyme,
an undervalued plant, in my opinion.
I much prefer it to the traditional bushy
thyme, both for flavour and appearance.
It is also very easy to grow.









T excelled himself, as usual,
creating new beds for carrots,
sowing two varieties at the same
time,











working on the principal
that if one fails the other will not.

The importance of drains

For as long as anyone can remember there have been drains in Corn Buck.
On a daily basis, they sometimes present something of an obstacle, when
passing from one part of the garden to another, their being quite steep in places,
but




















after five minutes of heavy rain, we remember their importance and are glad
that we erred on the side of caution and kept them clean and, relatively weed free.



















Only when the rain falls does it become apparent where a little maintenance or alteration is necessary.



















The irrigation pipe looks slightly redundant,



















luckily T took the main pipe out of the river,
just as the down pour started.



















And as soon as it starts, it stops, but we will not be crossing the river today.

Maintenance

Okra and dwarf beans being given a little encouragement after weeding and moling.

Liquid Gold

The first application of our very own pen manure.
No, not a misspelling of hen, pen manure is what you get
when you have a cow tethered in your land

This morning

T cutlassed and made new beds for sweet potato, while I sowed rocket seeds, sunflowers and groomed some fig trees.

Tania, turmeric and ginger.

With the arrival of a friend's cow, we now have no worries regarding manure. T cuts grass for it in the early mornings and our alarm clock has been altered to 4.30a.m. We were late this morning having had a disturbed sleep due to a vehicle reversing almost into the yard followed by loud cursing and getting on, for what seemed like ages, when eventually help arrived and the cursing drove away. Pre carnival festivities. The ginger plants, that T's sister K gave us, were ready to plant out, which I did, after weeding the beds for them, next to the parsley and turmeric, (or saffron as we call it even though it isn't) but I didn't fork as the beds are still good from when the tomatoes were there and anyway I feel that rooty tubers like a less sandy soil and , to be honest, I was tired. T , who was also tired, nevertheless, cut three loads of grass for the cow and then opened over one hundred holes to plant the Tania, on the top, just by where the cow is tied. There is so much weeding to be done or as a man that was passing observed,
"The bush killing you"

Rain

Rain, lots and lots and lots of rain, as I weed beans to the right of the footpath and T plants cabbage and tomatoes down in the beds where the first set of sweet potato were, the drains gush with water, a hundred little streams spring up from nowhere and the water covers the big stone ,where we have to pass to get home, in the river. T hauls me across as the torrent pours into his boots and Xena fights the current as she successfully swims to the opposite bank.
The Season is here at last.

Harvest

T organised a larger

water collector for

the hose which seems

to be working

admirably.

We have had no rain

and everywhere

is very dry.

I watered the carrots,

which are almost

ready to harvest,

T the new lettuce

and okra beds.

25lbs of beans.

dwarf,

were picked, which

makes a total

of 43lbs since Saturday.

There are nutmeg, mangoes, okra, cucumber, cabbage, basil and rocket.

Monday moments

T cutlassed behind the new shed
while I cleared below the second
mango tree. We have resolved to
spend the first hour of every day,
keeping the land clean.














After, I weeded and moled and tied
some more tomatoes, while T forked
some new beds for cabbage.
Some cocoa was cut and cracked
and put to dry.

This week's endeavours

This week
the cive
were weeded
and moled,









and a new shed
was under
construction.
We will be
spending
some nights
here, when the
tomatoes
and beans
start bearing.


New beds were
made and sown
with lettuce,
okra and
cabbage.







The dasheen
was weeded











as was the
rocket.
Some rocket plants
were transplanted
into
the small leaf
basil bed
and the drain and
land
below the Ceylon mango
was cleaned and cutlassed.



The dwarf beans
were weeded and moled
as were the tomatoes
which
were also tied.







Now all that is
needed is a door











and
a
lick
of
paint.

This week's harvest;

Cucumber, dwarf beans, okra, Julie mangoes and full fig.

So far so good.

We have tomatoes











with bamboo sticks











for support.











We have basil











and some more
tomatoes










the variety is
Heat Master
and very deserving
of the name,
having withstood
the dry season
admirably.









We have dwarf beans,









'saffron'
turmeric planted
in these new beds










two of the
purple Chinese beans
have sprouted,
( I may have planted
them a little too deep)







new carrot beds,








did I mention
tomatoes?







The siphon from
the river is working.












More tomatoes,













Oh, sorry, the
bamboo and
big stones
looked so lovely in
the late afternoon
sun,








more tomatoes,










cive beds are
doing nicely,











cabbage,













two varieties of
rocket,











Sweet potatoes,











6 week
sweet potatoes,











the original carrot beds
together with padaje leaf
as weed suppressant
and moisture keeper.









The second carrot beds
newly weeded today.












More sweet potato










cucumber growing
happily, in the ashes,











and finally,
more sweet potato.