Friday, July 29, 2016

Growing Food

Maybe it’s all the time I’ve been spending in nature lately that has catapulted me into this, but I’ve become increasingly interested in the idea of living off the earth, planting my own food, and eventually feeding many mouths from my crops. My parents have a garden, but it’s landscaped for decorative flora. When I was given the weekly task of mowing the lawn, I took it as a sign to start with my new project.




It’s been 6 weeks since my first visit to the nursery, where I bought my first seedlings: 2 different kinds of sili (chili,) eggplant, and avocado. Since then, I’d attempted to care for chives, a Malaysian chili plant, and most recently planted passion fruit seeds from my trip to the mountains, where I saw them crawling lazily on other tree trunks. 




I joined a gardening forum I found online, and I’ve learned so much off the internet; but the best teacher has been every single day of sun and rain, observing what my plants like and don’t like. Unfortunately, I also learned the hard way, and that was watching some of my plants die. The biggest lesson so far has been to plant seeds and tiny seedlings in pots first. I think most of them drowned from the heavy rains, and I’m guessing my soil needs to be better prepped. I’ve been reading up on composting, and I love that it also functions as organic waste disposal.

Losing some of my plants was sad, but I don’t give up so easy. My eggplants, one chili, and avocado are thriving and are growing new buds every week. I’ve replanted some of my chili seeds in pots (instead of directly on a garden plot,) and some have grown into seedlings. 



There is much to be learned, and I'm a willing tudent. Barely a month into it and I’ve already been rewarded with some fresh chives that I was able to share with my my two girlfriends. Best feeling.



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