Before coming to Botswana, I really knew very little about gardening. Sure I could use some knowledge from caring for houseplants for so many years but gardening in the desert is a whole different story. We really lucked out because the compound we live on is rather big and when we moved in there was a perfect place to try and garden.
At first, the ground was hard as rock, a 6 inch layer of solid, compacted sand. I took a pick ax and basically just starting tilling the dirt for about three weeks on end just to soften it up a little. I knew I would need some kind of fertilizer because of all the sand so I made endless trips to a donkey krall and gathered many wheel barrows of donkey doo to mix in with the dirt. I learned my lesson with donkey shit though. While it worked, the weeds became out of control at times so now I use chicken or goat dung which works much better. In any case, I bought some chicken mesh to fence the entire garden and starting making plots within.
Originally, I made four plots and cut them in a half, making 8 beds about 4.5 feet x 4.5 feet. The first bed is all herbs, four kinds in fact (cilantro, chives, oregano, and basil). They grow so well that I end up composting half of it because the locals wont eat it, while we use it all on a regular basis. One quick thing if you are trying cilantro. I didn’t know if it flowers the plant will no longer produce, so trim it often. I recently replanted because of this. Same goes for basil but I have that tamed for now.
The second bed we started with carrots and some arugula. Most of the carrots are pretty much done so when we want carrots for something we just go and pluck them. Ah they are tasty. There are a few photos of some of the carrots we recently harvested to make carrot cake, which turned out pretty nice. Tomorrow is carrot burgers, whatever you can do with carrots we will probably try. By the way, they have taken around 3.5 months from start to finish.
The third bed has red onions and tomatoes. The onions take quite some time, like 7 months but are coming along. Actually, I think the heat may be a bit much as some are wilting even with good watering. The tomatoes are out of control. I tried to start them in seed containers, which is recommended but it didn’t work so I just planted straight in the ground. They are up, 5 feet some of them and producing so I hope they come out, should be soon with some of the plants. So excited to have fresh tomatoes. They are called Big Ox in fact. I have also started some romas, romas as well as the tomatoes love the heat so it’s the perfect time of year.
The fourth bed has green/red peppers, which are flowering and freshly harvesting beet root. The beets were great, shared them with the family here and Peace Corps friends at Thanksgiving dinner.
Lastly, I recently extended the garden to make room for corn. Believe it or not, my wonderful mother mailed some Hoosier sweet corn seeds from a farmer and now they are about 4 inches tall. They should be knee high by the 4th of January, sounds weird to my fellow Hoosiers huh? I really hope it goes well because I missed the sweet corn so much this year. The maize in Botswana is fine for eating but not the same at all.
So, that’s what in the garden and honestly I cannot believe how successful we have been with it all. The only thing we have lost is the watermelon as the birds went to town on the leaves. Hopefully, now my ‘scarecrows’ are a little scarier. It is not easy but it surely helps that I can water them everyday, with a hose for that matter. You will also notice that I have covered some of the beds with shade mesh to help from wilting. Its hot as hell right now so anything can help.
Yeah, it is a lot of work, but really fun and quite relaxing for me. It gives me something else to do and learn about as times goes by. It is something other than the constant thought of HIV/AIDS and what needs to be done here in Botswana. Although when I am gardening, I find myself thinking about different things and projects that may or may not work. Surprisingly, with a lot of tilling, some animal manure, and a variety of seeds, we will be able to eat a full salad from our garden very soon.
Check out the pictures and I will keep you updated on future harvests. I enjoy it so much; I was thinking what I will do when we leave Botswana? I think a rooftop garden in NYC will be suitable.
Pictures posted......
