Great Big Garden Update

Using the steam generated in writing the big blog on rain collection. We continued into writing the other big missing blog, the garden. Sorry if it's boring, but it's an important part of our life and time here, and we'd love to share it with those interested.

There have been a few people interested in checking out the status of the garden. We've been dedicating time to it as possible over the past couple of months, and I feel like it is really coming along well. Getting this garden started was one of our priorities for this first year here. The goal of this garden is to demonstrate that it is possible to cheaply produce food in a small area as well as the importance of erosion control. In the future, we'll be incorporating more vertical space, intercropping, and other space efficient methods. So, here's a basic rundown of what's going on in our front yard.

1. Erosion Control
As we mentioned in the post on rainwater collection, we receive nearly 100 inches of rain here annually. As a result, controlling runoff and splash erosion are crucial objectives for preserving the quality of the soil here. Intending to keep this technology cheap and simple, we're using a combination of contour lines and cover crops.

The contour lines are created by determining a level line at every one meter of elevation change. The resulting lines are then dug out to a depth of 18 inches. The dirt from each ditch is shoveled upslope to create a mound that stretches the length of the ditch. This mound forms a physical barrier to water flowing downhill. Because the mound follows a level path, the water does not flow to either side, but instead is retained in order for it to saturate into the ground. Over time, the soil from uphill slides downhill and is stopped along the ridge. Once the ground along the ridge is filled, the plant species planted along the ridge grab the soil as it moves downhill and allows the water to continue through, thus creating a terrace from natural materials, anchored by deep roots. Along these lines are planted the three species we've chosen to help with erosion: Leucana, Vetiver grass, and ornamental peanut.

  • Leucana is a fast-growing, leguminous tree with an exceptionally deep tap root. The leaves can be used to create excellent, nitrogen rich organic fertilizer and the wood makes outstanding firewood.
  • Vetiver Grass throws a thick bundle of fibrous roots up to thirty feet down into the ground. The cut grass makes a good mulch.
  • Ornamental peanut (an arachis species) is a leguminous cover crop that spreads and covers rapidly with fairly little root penetration. It will be used to cover the entire growing areas in order to retain moisture and prevent splash erosion. It also makes great compost.

Leucana seedlings.
We're also doing some more basic control using crude cut pine boards. Both methods are working very well.


 2. Food

We currently have a variety of food growing. Since we have no reliable way of testing the soil for nutrient content/pH etc. we've decided to try a variety of crops to see which fair well. We currently have garlic, cantaloupe, green beans, lettuce, peas, cabbage, beets, radishes, cucumbers, papaya, and tomato.

Radishes, cucumbers, and cantaloupes.
In addition, we have a few trees with edible leaves growing along the fenceline, including chaya and moringa. In the future, we'll begin incorporating these dried leaves into tortillas, rice, etc. These particular plants are extremely high in protein, which is really lacking from the local diet.

All of the beds have been prepared by double-digging each bed and mixing in composted chicken manure (Readily available in the area by 100 lb bag. At 40 cents, it's a deal).

We're also fertilizing with a chicken manure tea, which is the nastiest substance I have ever dealt with. The smell is enough to wrinkle even the hardened nose of the Hondurans. We make it by submerging a 20lb sack of manure in a 35 gallon barrel of water and then let it sink for a week. From there we use it to water the plants once a week. Thus far, were seeing great results.

3. Education

A lot of the community kids have been involved with the preparation and maintenance of the garden. I've been focusing on the importance of protecting and improving the soil we have. A few of the kids are getting it, some are definitely not. However, the older ones that are more likely to actually use it seem to appreciate and understand it to an applicable degree. Let's hope it stays that way.

In addition, some of the men from the community are starting to stop by, seeing a little success. Some of them are starting to ask how they can apply some of these ideas to their crops. This, to me, is a huge success. Stay in prayer that a few of the crops continue succeeding enough to keep interest high. We'll start teaching some of these principles to the folks in town over the coming months.

Damos gracias a Dios por: una buena ciembra y el conocimiento para protejer y mejorar la tierra que nos ha dado Dios. (We give thanks to God for: a good crop and the knowledge to protect and improve the soil that he has given us.)

1 comment:

  1. Wow. This is a dramatic change. (And -- NO! -- it was not a boring read.)

    I'm glad to have visited with you in July, because it gives me a better understanding of this project. I cannot imagine how many man-hours of hard labor you've invested in this, Kaleb. It hurts my back, just to think about it.

    What are you doing about the dog? It seems to me that he'd make mincemeat of this carefully-executed project, if let off the leash. Also, what about other critters, chickens and rodents and such. Won't they munch away your plants?

    I'm sure you've thought through all of this. I'm just curious as to how it will all work.