Spring has not yet arrived in lovely sunny South Africa but up north in the country, where I am currently visiting my girlfriend, the weather already feels like spring. So I told myself: why wait when I can already plant something now? I chose a patch of grass that looked particularly sad and decided to turn it into a garden.
For many months now, I was unable to garden due to travelling and writing on my PhD, but this weekend I decided it was time to do some gardening. The mind was willing but the body said no. I forgot how hard and physical work gardening is. And with the soil being so hard, I literally worked myself into another state. I thought I would do 4 square meters, but ended up doing only half of it.
I decided to plant 5 things, with one of them most likely to die anyways. I choose:
The salad rocket will most likely not make it in the intense sun. Maybe it will produce some leaves but I know it will quickly bolt and go to seed.
The amaranth is something I really hope will take as I am craving fried amaranth leaves with some rice. A favourite dish of mine, I can only make it when I grow it. Harvesting wild amaranth is not possible in the city as you never really know the state in which the plants grow. Plus, you never know who will confront you as it can be dangerous in the city where it grows; it is not safe to concentrate on picking the right plant thus neglecting to watch what is going on around you.
My girlfriend requested that I grow some garlic chives as she loves them. They bolted at home (in the south of the country) and she helped me sort some of the dried out seeds. She loves the flowers, as decorations and to eat them! I really hope that they will grow as well.
My other favourite, the Swiss chard, is always a winner to have on hand when you want to make a quick pasta or side dish. It grew so well in the south (Cape area) and now I hope it will grow up north as well. We will see.
And I also hope that in watering this little patch regularly, that some other wild herbs might spring up. Living in a new area always presents itself with useful plants. Maybe some dandelions, as I would love to make dandelion wine/beer/fermented drink and to add the leaves to my salad.
The before and after photographs is the only evidence to what I did. Hopefully the hard work will pay off!
Before:
After:
In the future, I want to dig a bit more and plant more. But for now, this must be enough.
In any case, hopefully in two weeks’ time I will be able to write a follow up in which I show the growth of my plants and not the disappointment that nothing grew. Stay tuned!
For now, happy gardening and stay well!
The writings and musings in this post are my own words and creations. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 camera.
