There is something so indescribably satisfying about watching plants & children grow side by side. Only parent gardeners can know this feeling.
While this may be my fifth year as a father it is my first year growing food, so please excuse my excitement and ongoing desire to share pictures of vegetables with you ;)
I will at least try to offer wisdom from our experience, along with a few pics of my family.
At the moment we are eating pea leaves, shallot leaves, spinach, radish, strawberries, mint, parsley, coriander, rocket & dill. I also like to add some wild sorrel leaves, dandelion flowers & violet flowers to my salads at this time of year.
Here are a few pics taken over the last two days:
In recent weeks Esteban has been enjoying preparing me small salad bowls which I eat at home for my dinner. You can see him holding it here during strawberry harvest time.
Luna approves.
The magic purple potatoes (magic because the purple potatoes I ordered from amazon never turned up and these ones appeared without anyone planting them!) are getting special treatment with extra soil on top to encourage growth. I will keep on adding soil until I can add no more because I have seen in our courtyard how potatoes seem to like this.
The Experimental Lettuce Bed
Newly transplanted on the left (with correct spacing & good weeding), verses direct planting in the middle (intensely bunched with pruning required) verses planting single seeds at the correct distance apart on the right (with less weeding). I like to make comparisons. Helps me learn.
Feel like the transplant method will be the most effective in the end at best utilising the space without wasting plants. Doesn't feel right pruning healthy lettuces, while the row on the right has too many gaps in it.
As for weeding I really don't know at the moment. Let's just say it is a lot of work keeping things under control.
We have learned however that when things are covered, nothing grows. One of our few remaining empty spots seen covered here.
So if we cover everything which isn't being used this winter, this should kill off most things and our weeding will be greatly reduced next year. We will also be adding a load of compost to the top before covering for the winter.
Half a row of baby beetroot here. Can't wait to eat the leaves in salads.
The other half row is rocket. Alongside a full row of carrots.
Beans, spinach, freshly transplanted lettuce & peas.
The randomly placed lavender plants help detract certain insects apparently.
Our first bean, looking very proud!
The army of tomatoes were grown from a few fruit I found in January on a dead looking vine in a neighbour's allotment. The freshly sprouted line in the middle are radishes which I know will be ready before these tomatoes take up all the light.
Loving the raised beds we made though I do keep catching my toes on the ever more disguised edges. Running around like a nutter most of the time doesn't help.
Sweetcorn looking good there in the furthest bed.
Onions, garlic & shallots here.
Some of the garlic & onions did not enjoy the recent torrential rain and one or two even died. But generally speaking they are looking great now that the temperature has risen and the days are sunny.
Grape vine really kicking into life now.
Found a second vine right on the edge of our land. So very beautiful.
We have cleared a new area behind the trampoline for cucumbers, courgettes & eggplant.
Random artichokes (there before our arrival) looking fab.
I had never seen a ginger plant before now. Looks amazing to me. I am growing it in tubs back at home too. Love ginger in smoothies.
In this area we are creating a natural insect repellant & fertiliser using stinging nettles.
The cherries look like they are around one week away from being ready...
This area will be our cherry munching shade paradise.
Happy we also have a pool for the kids to cool off in. I fill it up with very cold water from the mountain in the morning so that it is a more enjoyable temperature by the afternoon. At the end of the day the dirty water is used on the garden.
Jerusalem artichoke here in the corner with some beans & lettuce. We are experimenting in this bed with cut grass as a way of minimising unwanted plant growth. Seems to be working great.
Butternut squash is filling up the gaps here next to the composing area.
Protected from the mouths of slimy things with egg shells. We hope...
My future fruit trees.
Right next to my chill seat. Found it broken on the side of the road!
I planted sunflowers all around the perimeter. Still small but going strong.
Hidden next to the nettles I have the original favourite of mine. I have been growing these medicinal plants since I was 17 years old, but stopped when I became a father. Feels like the right time to start again. Not too sure yet where they will end up. Just sure I want to grow them.
Trees on our land include figs, almonds, walnuts, apples & cherries.
In the last month we planted berries all over the place. They should produce something this year, but next year will be better.
The last thing we did today was build a decent sized frame for the tomatoes.
And pick some spinach!
It is important to me that this garden is also a playground for the children.
This way they will always associate fun with growing food. And in time, without me having to ask them, I believe they will simply want to help.
Currently they just want to eat. Which is perfect! As you can see, Luna is very good at this bit. Strawberries all gone.
She is also good at effortlessly demonstrating the importance of our intimate connection with nature, at a time I can only describe as the age of enforced disconnection.
I watched the snail crawl from the grass, up the side of the pool, onto her body and directly up her spine, perfectly tracking her chakra points. I shed a tear because this moment had an indescribable perfection to it.
Luna didn't even notice.
As always I extend to you, my brothers & sisters, an invitation to join us here. My next goal is land, upon which we intend to build an earthship community.
And for that I will need people.
Love & Light everyone 🍒
Hello - @artemislives here on behalf of Natural Medicine.
I'm BESOTTED with that adorable image of the little green snail on Luna's damp, sweaty neck. 😍 What an incredible Dad you are, and what a luscious garden!!!
Can't beat those magic moments :)
I think I've gotten some of my mum's green fingers, I do like to plant but am in an apartment now - if I could grow 5% of what you have here, I'd be happy! :) That snail pic is a treat!
It is possible to find places to grow even in an apartment. This is the front wall of our house.
You could potentially hang bottles under a window on an outside wall?
Who cares what the neighbours think ;)
Cool.... My mum used to cut up plastic bottles like that - she was a very DIY person way before it was trendy! :)
Will grow more - right now I have pots outside in the corridor, and been meaning to add more
Thanks for the encouragement! :)
Kids & plants? Best kind of companion planting EVER! 😍
haha! Excellent words. Especially as I am just learning about companion planting for the first time now ;)
Me too. It's the biz for increasing yields and ensuring your plants have natural immunity from bugs etc. ❤️
So much to learn! LOVE it :) x
#POSH
I love what you have going on there. Can't wait for you to share more pics as the plants begin maturing. I'm preparing to try my hand at some indoor growing. I have some garlic growing at the moment, and bought an indoor grow box. I also purchased over 100k seeds (heirloom) but most of that will wait till I can get on some land next year.
Have you prepared for animals that steal crops? Not sure what you have there, but here, squirrels and birds and such will take over quickly if you can't figure out how to deter them. Curious what you may have going on to protect your crops as they grow.
Awesome to hear you are also on this track. I only just learned about heirloom for the first time recently! We bought some heirloom carrots which I planted in pots at the house, though I realise now I will need to wait till next year to collect seeds. Probably should have planted them in the garden!
As for animals we have wild pigs which people tell me are the biggest threat to food. I bumped into one a few nights ago and wow... it was massive. And a bit scary at night. Happy he seemed more scared of me ;)
For now they don't seem to take anything from the garden and it is more the slugs and blackfly who are benefiting from our labour. I am intending to build a perimeter fence when all the gardening is done. If such a time really exists?
I would like chickens in the end, so the perimeter fence will be useful for them too.
Thanks for your enthusiasm and I will look to do an update in a month ;)
Thanks for this great post! It has been included in our What's-Up post this week.
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@ecotrain/what-s-up-from-the-ecotrain-community-4
Love it :)
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Thanks!
Thanks ;)
Hey mate, CONGRATS!
Your food forest and your children are growing really very well: you are absolutely right to be excited!
I like what you are making, the ebooks you are sharing and I would like to take example from your actions: I will try again to talk about it to my partner who, as often happens, is the true and only supreme head of the house.
!tip and warm hugs! 🤗
Thank you for appreciating my ongoing efforts to help people through the @survival-archive account. I hope too that this vegetable porn may also help people in some little way.
I will check your post when I am done here...
Thank you for the tip! And also for the warm hugs.
You know I love them :)
This awakes old feelings in me of leaving the city and going to live on some farm. (':
Sounds like a solid plan to me.
Luna didn't even notice.
Beautiful <3 Seriously, I love how in tune with nature your family seems to be. I've read several posts of you now and I enjoy them to the fullest. sorry for not leaving a comment every time. You have a beautiful family and please keep sharing your wisdom :)
Hey there! I am so please you have been enjoying these kind of posts. They are a real joy to put together. Sometimes I feel the desire to write about more somber topics. There is one brewing in me now. About how the education system has changed here in France for the young children who will never again play together or interact in the way that children need to. It kinda makes my blood boil to be honest and Sabrina & I are thinking about solutions. Which I guess I shouldn't talk about here. Coz they are not legal. Crazy world we live in now.
Anyway, not thinking about that yet! haha. Almost went off on one there ;)
Thank you for taking the time on this occasion to drop me a line. I suspect I am way more rubbish than you in this department! Never enough hours in the day.
Hugs from France!
Oops, I'm so sorry for the late reply, I wasn't around much last week. Nothing personal, I promise!
I know the feeling, I try to not give in to that feeling too much though, because it will bring down my positive mood and sometimes it can carry on longer than I hoped. Therefore, I read those things, I take them in and try to let it go, if possible without writing about it. Doesn't always work though, sometimes I need to draft up a post and then I can let it go..
Currently working on the first (of hopefully many more to come) children's book with cool illustrations and rhymes in there. Full of colour, fun and also educational. Can't wait until it's done.
I was wondering, are you living off-grid with your family? Anyway, wishing you and the family a wonderful weekend! I showed the picture of your daughter and the snail to my boyfriend yesterday, and he found it just as amazing as you did, a tear fell down :)
Wow Sam - you really are becoming quite a farmer. Great family you have too and love the way Esteban and Luna join in with everything.
Hey there! Great to see you here :)
Yes, I really do feel like a farmer these days. And it should be noted this is not the only garden I have! It is just the one I share publicly. Frankly it is amazing I have time left in the day for this. Getting up early remains to be the only solution because once the family are awake there is always something to do.
Sending hugs x
Hugs right back to you guys too. If I was younger I would be very tempted to join you all
The word sustainable makes me sick.
Nice post and photos.
I could perhaps have chosen a more suitable word.
I made the #200 likes on your post @samstonehill. Absolutely wonderful photographs of plants and family.
haha! Excellent :)
Thanks for being number 200
Was fun - and enjoyed your post
You really have cool and lovely family.
Perhaps you people are having great times together
Thanks :)
We do generally manage to have a great time together.
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Hey, what does BD stand for? Might be useful to see this info above?
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