revival: part three
The changeover to Root time ushered in the onion harvest:
in the morning, I picked a few bunches of onion seeds
from the blossoms I left for the pollinators (the others I had infused in sesame oil);
and in the late afternoon, I pulled all the remaining onion bulbs that I had sown last fall,
so maybe four dozen onions, that are now curing on top of the Naturkeller.
I also harvested the remaining few garlics that had flowered
and formed tiny little bulblets (which I assume are seeds) at their tops.
I was told years ago, while at a farmers’ market in Vermont,
that if you planted these you get a garlicky tasting “grass”
that can be eaten much like the garlic scape that produced them.
So I’ve planted a few of these bulblets from the first garlic I harvested,
just to see what happens. (I’m assuming they’d eventually form a garlic clove.)
And I transplanted another orange sweet potato cutting that had sprouted;
and, because I was told to do so by Tío Bee-o, the friendly farmer in Rogil,
I snipped a runner off one of the batata doce (“sweet potato” but really a yam)
plants and replanted it in a nearby vacant spot in the garden.
This is a long, full four-days of Root time,
which gives us a nice opportunity to complete some ongoing on-the-ground projects.
Such as redoing the plumbing on the hillside to give us access to our new bio-fertilizer tank
(salvaged from the woods when Mohamed built the dam at the water source),
and laying out another old hose to be the irrigation hose for the blueberries,
so the arduous job of watering all the blueberries (& fruit trees on the hill)
is now simply switching over hoses from the junction on top of the hillside.
We set another post into the trellis for the maracujas,
because their tendrils have been spreading every which way,
and they needed more spaces to climb to envelop the chimney.
And we started working on the pergola for the front porch,
starting with the first two bamboo posts for the far end,
as we needed the support for the Violetta beans growing amidst the thyme
since they have far surpassed the small bamboo stake in their flower pot.
We’ve been setting stones to make a heart-shaped little patio in Horta Nova
next to the tadpole pond where it often floods and otherwise becomes a mud puddle.
In the shade, during the heat of the day,
we finally moved the dry composting toilet outside,
making a semi-private outhouse against the tree line.
(Mohamed always wanted an outdoor toilet,
so he’d have an incredible view while pooping.
I view our outhouse as an easier way to pee while out gardening,
an extra toilet for busy times, & super convenient for any campers or visitors.
& an alternative for when we finally undertake moving the septic system,
& finish renovating the bathroom, especially the bathroom floor.)
And we finally put an end to our hiatus from doing laundry.
But back into the garden, the lone potato plant is flowering!
I am hoping that it will form its fruit, so I can plant the seeds and see what grows from it,
as potatoes are like apples in that their seeds will express their genetic diversity
and so any resulting offspring will yield produce that won’t be anything like the parent plant.
(Ideally, the offspring would also be more suited for this climate and soil conditions,
as this is the plant’s way of ensuring its own healthy future generations.)
Everything else is flowering, too.
The calendula were grown from an assorted seed pack,
so each plant is reflecting its own rays of sunshine,
awe-inspiringly beautiful, even when drying out to form its seeds.
(I chose to grow these flowers for their medicinal properties,
as the petals can be infused to make a healing skin oil.)
The rest of the echinacea are getting ready to bloom.
And another lily is about to open, too.
Further uphill, the rose is back into full flower, with three blooms all opening now.
And the morning glories are blooming all around the house,
with my favorites being the mutant flowers grown from our own seeds.
Although not flowering, the artichokes have all been recovering
and growing stronger and vibrant amidst the ever-expanding mint garden.
And I’ve neglected to mention that the two apple trees and one pear tree downhill
are all enjoying the extra waterings, producing an incredible crop of large fruits,
so much so that a small branch snapped off of the pear tree,
so we harvested and sampled some of the not-quite-ripe pears.
And speaking of flowers, while I was watering some of the new sunflower seedlings,
one of our reptile neighbors came over for a drink!
Tomorrow evening it flips over to Flower time,
which often brings a welcomed change in the weather
(Flower time is during the Air elements, so the transition is usually windy).
co-director (s) wrote on Jul 30:
One thing we regret not to have done sooner is to make the comment section capable of posting images, as I have so many things I've wanted to show you as "parallel universe companions"! For instance, I just took a photo of our tiny blue tail lizard that seem to have been all born lately here. As we wrote on our last FaceBook post to share your last post, it really feels like so much is just starting at moonfarm as your term and our third year is ending. If we were continuing onto the 4th year, we'd love to have you as an honorary resident like we did with Milena whose on-hiatus project was organic gardening. It's just that some "projects" and "hiatus" take much longer than a year to reach a certain state of results or comprehension.