i want to write about my little project. My vegetable garden. this was part of our holiday activities since during the Pesach holidays we don't get out of the house. during this holiday every piece of national park, sea side or shopping mall in Israel is packed with families on vacation. since standing in lines and sitting in traffic jams with 3 impatient kids is not my cup of tea, Pesach is time for the indoors or rather for the backyard. this holiday we recruited the kids to work in the backyard and recover the lawn from the winter damages. The kids helped us to uproot weeds, scatter compost and plant flowers beds. we have a very small backyard but we try to keep it nurtured. in our attempt to turn our home to an autarkic farm in the future we grow vines, olives and pomegranates. we try to make it our haven with lots of hammocks and rocking chairs and little places to hide and be surrounded by vegetation.
our house has also a huge porch that is connected to our bedroom. i know, it sounds great, and we had great plans for the place but somehow they always dissolved to neglect. the only thing that survived a year of not opening the door to the porch were our pear trees.
but i decided that this holiday we'll turn this unused plot to my own organic (no pesticides or herbicides) vegetable garden. working with mud and soil is great fun, (my two year old adores it) and i found that physical work in uprooting weeds and grooming trees is more relaxing then Yoga. the establishing of the "bedroom porch organic vegetable garden" was lots of fun to kids as well, we planted in 4 planters tomatoes, pumpkin, coriander, and eggplant.
i think it's good to show the kids that food grows and comes from soil and mud and not from sterile supermarkets. the inspiration to my little project came from a book i recommend: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Now I'll need to be dedicated and hope that in a few months I'll eat my own grown tomatoes in the sandwich I'm taking to work.
Wow, that's a great idea, I keep my herbs in the front yard so the dog can't get to them. Since being stuck in the house with hyper boys was not an option, I learned that waking up early to start the day (and sticking to the less desirable areas of Israel) helps to avoid the crowds.
ReplyDeletecan't wait for the eggplants to grow. their fate is to become Babaganush and Albondigas. The coriander will go to the seviche and the pumpkin will turn to soup.
ReplyDeleteGreat expectations...
Asamiau