I went yesterday, to water the vegetable garden of a friend that is away for a few days. It was a slightly cloudy day and the area that I was going was new to me, so I thought that it is a nice opportunity to treat it as an amusing stroll! Of course I took my camera along :)
The thriving plane trees and the sound of running water greeted me in a place that looks more like a forest and less like farm land. The vegetable gardens here, have been formed many generations ago, around the spring and the abundance of water that it provided.
Last week that my friend and I come here to show me the route to the garden, we had a discussion, if it is better to start creating a new food-forest on an empty, flat plot or continue the tradition of the elders and keep cultivating the way they did.
Starting from scratch a food-forest is a fascinating procedure and an empty plot gives you all the freedom and the flexibility to design everything the way you want. On the other hand continuing a tradition gives you a lot of all grown and productive trees but the limitations of your ancestors too! My friends vegetable garden, as well as many more around it, have been made with manual labour, on very small properties, following the, usually steep and hard to reach, terrain of our mountains.
All those fruit trees are more or less scattered around, in every available spot. Our grandfathers that planted most of them, acted out of need, in order to make good use of as much land as they could. Their motivation wasn't any lofty permaculture ideals but simple poverty. The result though is an amazing combination of forest trees, volunteer herbs and hundreds kind of grasses, along with fruit trees and of course vegetables! It is way beyond the imagination of the best landscape architect or permaculture guru. It is also as hard as hell!
Take a look at the scenery and remember the narrow paths in the first pictures. They are the only access and everything has to be carried by hand. Not so pleasant, eh?
But I have promised you a vegetable garden and I have shown you nothing but trees. So here is it! Cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and beens, melons and water-melons, they are all here :)
If you are wondering what is that blue stuff on the plants, it is a mixture of sulphur and copper. It is used widely by organic farmers and my friend seems to be very fond of it. I have to admit though, that this is not my style.
The detail that really blew my mind was the discovery of a rosebush under a lemon tree. Those roses are from a very old variety, not very impressive to look at them and with many thorns but the smell of them, is just divine! As I was smelling one of them, I kept thinking of the farmer of the past that planted it just for the pleasure of his senses, when he was working hard trying to produce some food for his family. Into my mind he should have been a very noble soul!
I will end this post with one last look to the view as I was returning home and a couple of shots of my favourite fruit for the current days. The mulberry trees are ripe since last week and I have already consumed hundreds of them :)
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
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Hi @fotostef
It's very fun the activities you share this time. It is your interaction with nature and all its elements. Not everyone has the same opportunity as you.
Being able to enjoy processed vegetables in your own garden is a blessing like your neighbors do.
You also present some forest plants that are almost never seen again for people who live in urban areas.
Have a nice day
Thank you very much for stopping by @justbabybee :)
Beautiful to see and to imagine how it was created and how reachable it is…
Yes, remarkable in every way.
What a selection of fruit, herbs and vegetables.
After our move I want to start a garden, can’t wait 🤩😁
Thank you very much @littlebee4 :)
I hope you'll have your garden soon enough and that it would be a blast!
You are so welcome @fotostef 😁
Thank you kindly for the kind wishes.
Enjoy your evening 👋🏻☀️
Great shots. Looks like heaven over there.
Don't believe everything you see :)
Thank you for stopping by!
You've captured some beautiful shots to go with your story.
Yeah, there are pros and cons, but I think it's nice to start developing land from scratch to have the flexibility.
I struggle to ever get tomatoes growing, but I'm looking forward to the blackberry bush along the towpaths of the canals here in the UK over the next few months:)
After 8 years I have reached the same conclusion, starting from scratch is way more manageable! But till then I enjoy foraging from the trees that are left around :)
Thank you very much for stopping by @millycf1976 :)
😊
Oh my goodness!...so plenty of food around..I love the setting although there is so much of work to do there. Thank you for your lovely images, you made me as if I was part of your tour.
Thank you very much @mers, I am glad you enjoyed it :)
Yes I did.! 🌺🌹😎
When I look at your posts, I'm often tempted not to even read the text (not because it wouldn't be interesting) but the photos say it all. I love everything from a few blades of grass to the sea view. I am amazed at the abundance of fruit and the way the vegetables grow. There seems to be a water shortage, but it doesn't resemble the drought we have here. The vegetables look great, and the corn, which I know needs more water. I wonder if there are wild animals on the island that could destroy the garden so isolated and far from home.
The vegetation so abundant, the sloping ground... when I see them I would like to till the land there too, but I realize I couldn't, I wouldn't have the strength to do that even if in my imagination it seems easy.
I saw a documentary about some villages in Crete where carobs are harvested, and the seeds are processed... In your postings, I didn't see any reports about carobs. Do they not grow there or are they not profitable?
Hello @bluemoon, my greatest fan :)
Thank you very much for your kind words!
Yes there are. Field rats that may eat your fruits and vegetables and a local kind of badger that enjoys to dig holes and uproot small plants :) There is not much you can do about them. When there are a lot of gardens in the area the problem is not very big, they do a few damages to each one and that's ok. But if you try o make a vegetable garden in a part that has been abandoned for years and no-one around cultivates (like we have done more than once) then you are facing a major catastrophe!
Carob trees have a long, sad story, maybe I should write a post about them. They grow here, alright, but most of the trees have been turned into firewood. Wonderful, majestic trees that are considered useless by some morons. We do have a few carob trees but we only harvest a small part for our house. The truth is that if you don't have a large plantation, it doesn't worth it, to sell them.
I thank you for considering me your biggest fan (unless that's ironic). Yes, I'm a big fan, and I'll tell you why...
-Several years ago, when I commented on a post of yours and said I was a fan of Greece, you replied that you had a room in Athens where I could stay if I got there. I was impressed by your saying that to a stranger.
-I admire your photos, they are to my taste, and they are as I would like them to do. I know I can't, I am constrained by a lack of technical knowledge, experience, and lack of necessary equipment and I understand that, and I am glad to see what you put. I see that @traisto is following in your footsteps and getting very good shots. You have certainly taught her a thing or two.
-I admire the fact that you gave up your life in Athens, and I am convinced that the life of a photographer, even if not very materially rewarding, was very interesting. You did a hard thing by choosing to live in a village in Crete. I admire you for not giving up. I think (without having any proof) that there were some very hard times when you wanted to.
With all my admiration, I admit that I don't manage to read all your posts, for various reasons.
I understand how it is with these little animals. I guess it couldn't be any other way.
Yes, about the carob trees. I saw a documentary on TV. It was probably old, and I didn't even remember which part of the island it was filmed in. There was a mill there and a small factory that processed the carob seeds. They made flour from which they then made some paste and if I remember correctly, extracted a syrup. Some of them actually had large plantations where Pakistani workers worked. Not legally, i.e. not paying taxes to the owner. I think he paid 25 euros/day per worker (there were four) and the owner's daily income was 300 euros.
No irony at all. I am very glad that I have met you. I never thought when I start blogging that I will interact with actual, true people!
@traisto is a very good student indeed, she can easily overmatch her teacher :)
The hard times are more that anyone could think but something gives us the strength and the will to keep going (so far).
Carob syrup is an excellent sweetener and easy to make, all you need is a pot!
Thank you very much for giving some of your time to my posts, it is an honour!
I don't think you've received a reply after 7 days, @fotostef! My apologies.
Thank you so much for what you said. I'm so glad. I think if we couldn't make some friends here, even from a distance, it would have no charm and usefulness.
It's so nice to open Hive and look up what your friends are doing or saying, the few that exist.
So beautiful!
Thank you for your support!
🙏🌝🙏
What a wonderful garden. I enjoyed seeing your photos.
Thank you for stopping by :)
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Thank you :)
That's an amazingly beautiful and diverse place.
It is indeed :)
Thank you for stopping by!