From Lawn To Garden

BECAUSE I CAN'T EAT GRASS

In a previous post I talked about thinking of becoming a farmer, but I've had some experience at cultivating the land, even if on a tiny scale. As a young lad I used to grow some vegetables, including root vegetables, on the land around our house. My proudest agricultural moment was harvesting a couple of tubers of yam and having it for breakfast with the family. It had taken most of the year from planting to harvesting. It was my first experience of "reaping what you sow".

In fact, I think I learnt more from that experience about working towards a goal than anything I ever learnt in school. I think every child should go through that experience early on to learn that vital life lesson. It doesn't have to be yam, of course, but I think it should be something that takes a long time to achieve.

Nowadays I try my hands at some stuff in the garden. For the past few years I've been cultivating some fruits; berries and tomatoes, and at some point I want to move on to things like carrots and aubergines. Sadly, I don't have enough land for that. What was my little patch of grass has been mostly taken up by the berries.

The squirrels, God bless them, have been having a look at the plants again since the shoots are delicious to them. It does seem, however, that they know not to destroy the plants just yet. They, like me, may also have learnt that waiting till later in the year produces a better reward. I'm quite sure that juicy berries taste way better than shoots and leaves :)

One crop I have, that always does well regardless, is spring onion. It appears none of my pests like onions - not the birds, not the rodents nor insects. The shoots are looking gloriously green and pert right now. The only problem is that the crop is a victim of its own success. The bulb gets too heavy quickly and the plant collapses before time. Perhaps this is by design/evolution since it means the bumps have access to the soil and can germinate to produce the next generation. Who knows.

So, like usual, it's a race between me and the rodents, who gets to enjoy the fruits of my labour when the time comes. This year though, unbeknownst to the pesky little tree climbers, I have a secret weapon. It involves a large net and metal pegs. 🍓🫐 🐿

Peace & Love,

Adé