Greetings,
It's the end summer, removing weeds is easier when they are dry. I have been adding a few more plots. Most lettuces have gone to seed, I am leaving them alone because I don't have more to plant now. There are a lot of birds in the garden, they are probably getting some of the seeds. After the first few weedings, there are hardly any weeds in the beds. Companion planting seems to be helping a lot.
Water conservation is good for me because I often forget to water. Heavy mulching and letting weeds grow around the bed seems to help a lot. I've planted near a few fruit trees, on the sunny side. Close plantings of vegetables, which start small and grow large after a few months, surrounded by greens. Greens become bitter the more you pick from them and as the season warms up. By keeping lots of life in the garden it takes longer for the water to evaporate between watering.
I'm working on potatoes right now, I'll clear the area of weeds and plant on a shallow layer of harder aged compost. I'll bury them with a mixture of mostly dried grass (like the hay method) and some soil.
Cooking has been something that also comes in handy when growing a vegetable garden. Some things really aren't that good straight from the garden. I've got Swiss chard and kale growing. They can use light cooking with some olive oil. Things like fruits can be cooked in many ways; juice concentrates, fruit strips, or even made into sweet sorbets. When I had a lot of lettuce growing, Ceaser salads were a staple in my diet.
The healing power of gardening. Digging in the dirt with your hands is healthy, it draws toxins out of your hands. Having a safe and peaceful place to go lowers stress levels greatly boosting the immune system.
Growing lettuce is very difficult. It is sensitive to heat as it has a small root system. A balance of some shade seems to allow more full flavored greens. When cutting I would switch off cutting every other plant allowing an extra close planting. Saving and replanting seeds can save a lot over buying starts. Especially because these are short lived plants. I recommend planting varieties separately both to make cutting faster and to keep the seeds more true to the original plant.
I went Wwoofing abroad last year. It was a wonderful experience filled with adventure. It brought to reality how much opportunity there is to help communities worldwide through agriculture. I got to learn many thing from olive oil processes to using herbs in many dishes. I got to help plant a huge vegetable garden and was able to share things I've learned in the past while learning new things about building irrigation systems. I was met with great kindness everywhere I went. It was terrifying when I got off the plane, because I quickly realized I couldn't read anything and not that many people spoke more than a few words of English. I made up for it by taking things slowly. There were times I felt uncomfortable, was followed, and didn't have plan.
My primary means of transportation was by foot. After three days with a relatively light pack, my feet were blistered so bad I was having trouble walking. So I found a pair of flip flops. It helped a lot. Another time, I had just enough budgeted for a hotel that night. When I got there, those rooms were sold out. So I dug through my bag and had just enough to pay for the next one up.
One thing that left me speechless was, I sat down to roll a cigarette, when a group of kids near by came up and gave me a cigarette. That created a huge shift in my mind to realizing I was finally in a safe place. Then I was able to get where I was headed easier
