When things seem to fall apart and cannot support itself anymore then something happens as if by magic, have you ever noticed that? It is almost at the last minute or maybe at the last second something happens out of the blues to save the situation. You then wonder if its a miracle or just a coincidence, you may even forget these things in the long run as they are too trivial. However, at this moment it is a crisis and you need a miracle. Maybe I sound as if I am talking in parables and beating around the bush, but you will understand my point of view as you read.
The weather has been dry and scorching, spring rains which should arrived in April haven’t made their appearance yet. Right after posting my last blog post about the water scarcity and lack of rains it rained and it felt like a miracle had happened. We had a couple of days of moderate rainfall, but that didn’t take us too far. Once again we had to face a similar situation leading to major problems in the garden.
Flowers which had bloomed in the pomegranate and Barbados cherry bushes started to drop. The passion fruit vine too seemed to let go of her young fruits. At that time my main focus was only to save the plants, even though these are well established bushes this kind of weather could kill anything.
Flowering plants like the rose, hibiscus, geraniums, marigolds etc. which put on a great show around this time have also started to show signs of stress. Yesterday, we had buy water once again to water the plants. Funnily enough right after I had watered the plants it started to rain. It wasn’t much but it was enough to refresh the plants.
The gourds are hanging like dry garlands from the support wires. I just left them there as reminders to life. Death is a part of life and so is loss.
As if all this wasn't enough there are these these flies that drill holes into all the gourds and spoil whatever produce is left. I see these on all my tomatoes ivy gourds and cucumbers. Spraying neem oil and soap doesn't seem to work for this, so I tried baking powder which I hope will save some of the veggies.
Cabbages are also under attack from aphids, I have been able to save all of them by spraying neem oil, soap and baking powder solution on them.
Pomegranites which had abundance of flowers have dropped most of them. I hoped that a feed of fish emulsion would help retain the young fruits, but to no avail.
The green beans I had planted had just started to bear some nice succulent beans and these dried up as well. I have one plant left from which I hope to collect seeds and plant them once the monsoon sets in.
With the heat I also had to tackle the problem of ants in all our containers. I sprinkled cinnamon powder which usually works, but this time that failed. The ants seem to have become immune to borax powder as well. Now, I am spraying fresh turmeric extract with salt and it seems to help. All the turmeric which I had harvested is now being put to good use.
Spinach, fenugreek greens, a few tomatoes are all I have left in the veggie garden now. These seem to be doing okay. The battle continues, but I know that this too will pass. The monsoon will soon be here and we will surely have more veggies growing in our garden.
I had a big batch of aubergine, tomato seedlings and guava saplings which I had planned to plant. I just dug them out and gave them away to my friends who wanted them. Now there are less plants to worry about.
The weather man has predicted more rains for this week, like always I take these predictions with a whole spoonful of salt. Face each day as it comes, this is my motto. Worrying has never been a part of my mental make up, I refuse to worry, I do what I can and just go about my business.
I can now truly empathize with the farmers in my country. There are so many farmers committing suicide due to various problems they face, one of which being water shortage, a perennial problem for most farmers who depend on the weather for the success of their crops. Most farmers here are uneducated, poor and hold very small pieces of land, they have no motor, machinery or technology at their service. When crops fail all their investments (most of which is through loans from banks) is lost and it leads them to bankruptcy and the only escape route most of them see is suicide. I only used to read about these in the news but now see its harsh reality. For me it isn't a matter of survival for the farmers their life depends on their crops.
In all these years of gardening I have learned to take everything in my stride. Loss hurts but you cannot wallow in hurt and sorrow. Life goes on and hope gives it momentum. Hard work might fail, but not all the time. There are good times and bad times and right now it seems we are going through tough times. The tough get tougher through each period of testing. Testing proves our mettle.
Hope is what makes us thrive in difficult situations. I am waiting for the rains to plant the turmeric tubers and ginger which is already sprouting in the fridge. I have okra, green bean seeds to be planted. I won't be trying to plant anything else until September. Then it would be time for broccoli and other cruiferous veggies.
I hope, I believe, I toil and that makes me happy. Happy gardening everyone, hope your garden is doing much better.
