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Angels in My Garden Week 25 June 22, 2010
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I
wonder if God, Allah, Jehovah, Shiva, Gaia or
whatever Supreme Being you have come to know, looks down on the Garden that He or She created with all the different varieties of life and "oohs and aahs "? It is a curious thought, but I think so. Teresa Watkins
Hello Fellow Gardeners, Happy Summer Solstice! A young woman from Bolivia will be visiting me this week to learn about intensive gardening. Her intention is to learn this method of gardening so she can take the information to women of her country. In order to demonstrate the whole step-by-step process we will actually make a garden together. A garden that could be planted and thrive at this point in the season here in western Pennsylvania would be suitable for the tropical climate in Bolivia where Murari will be working. So I'm going to share the plan with you. You may want to plant a second garden, or use this plan to make a garden with/for a friend. As mentioned several weeks ago we encourage those with whom we share the gardening method to “pay it forward” and especially, if possible, to someone in need. There are a lot of gardening programs out there. The unique qualities of the square foot gardens make it possible for just about anyone to establish and maintain the garden and derive a significant part of their daily nutritional needs from it. That's why it an important part of our Women's Self-Reliance Program. So
here's how we're going to do this June-July garden. For the northernmost
vining plants we'll put in two tomato squares and
two cucumber. In the next row we will put two squares of bush beans and
two pepper plants. Other than the tomatoes and peppers, everything in
this garden can be planted from seed. We'll purchase organic
tomato and pepper seedlings for our garden. In the tropical
climate the growing season is year-round so the gardeners in Bolivia
will be able to plant everything from seed. The next row will consist of
two beet squares and two of chard. Unlike lettuce, these plants can
tolerate the heat and will provide greens to the diet and by early fall
we will have some nice beets as well. In the last, southernmost row we
will plant two squares each of cilantro (a favorite in the Latin
American diet) and the heat-resistant Sora radish. Reflection: Gardening offers the dual gifts of fulfilling the creative urge within us while providing us with the most wholesome, life-sustaining food available. What a joy to be able to share these gifts with another.
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