ROSE...

this is Rose- the garden queen.

after meeting with Rose and compiling ideas between the three of us- I drew a sketch to visualize what we talked about.

Tips from Rose...

I met Rose through my friend Lannie. Her name suits her very well- she is lovely and a true garden encyclopedia!  She came by to assist in some of the preliminary planning and also answer a bunch of our questions....

Here's some tips she gave as well as what's going down in the ground.

• Beans are a natural nitrogen fixer for the soil- they grow well on tomato cages
• Garlic and onions are good things to have in your garden- their smell keeps bad bugs and grubs away
• You might as well buy cocoa mulch- it smells like chocolate
• You can use newspaper as mulch
• Raccoons hate having their feet tangled. Since we have coons we're going to put trellis netting on the top of our fence to keep them out. They will make a mess of your garden in search of grubs in the soil not veggies to eat.
• Plant an already sprouting tomato plant very deep into the soil- sink at least 1/4 down.
• Summer plants don't like getting their leaves wet, water at the base (a watering mat from weedfreegarden.com is probably the most water conservative, efficient and easy way.) Winter plants don't mind so much, they're use to getting rained on from above.
• Don't plant everything all at once- plant in succession so you neither feast nor famine. 
• Fish fertilizer, compost and iron and zinc supplements will get your soil rich and ready

August is a harvest month so we will use the time to get our soil ready, put up our trellis netting, and construct our raised bed. We'll start planting in September. Since we're entering cool season (September to May) here's our list of things that prefer that time of the year.

• beets, lettuces, chard (easy to plant by seed,) peas, broccoli, asian greens, spinach, cilantrol, brussel sprouts, onions
  

garden spasm...

Our first Sunday of clearing the lot, I asked our landlord Gino for a pick axe. He unveiled this tool heaven thats available for all the cottages in Casalino Court- it runs on the honor system. I ran back to Brittany and Meg to tell them about the gold mine I"d just discovered- we all trotted back over and spent some time admiring and handling all the cool tools.

this is an avocado picker for the monster of an avocado tree nearby. 

Meg and I cut down the lettuce and are planning to rip it all out- it's too hot right now. Lettuce likes less sun.

already growing tomato plants and cages- that have been over-watered by us.

Here's a bunch of seeds leftover from Jake and James (former tenants.) It's too bad we left them in the sun because now they're useless- they should be stored in ziplocs in the freezer.

This is our front yard- we'll get to it eventually. You'd think you work front to back, but in this case we're going back to front. We both hate that purple bucket.

We're thinking of planting herbs in these cinder blocks. When summer comes again possibly some peppers, strawberries and tomatoes as well since they like to be drained.

garden feet...

I didn't think I would start blogging again until I either went on another long trip or had a family of my own. However; recently I started missing blogging and decided that even if I'm not traveling I'm encountering interesting things, places and ideas. I find myself often whining how I never have enough time to craft or create these days and then recently I came to the realization that even though I don't have tv, I do spend an adequate amount of time "dinkin" around on the internet. It may seem ironic- since blogging involves being online, but my hope is that blogging again will motivate me to make space for creativity. 

When my roomate Meaghan and I recently based most of our decision to move a block up the street due to the allure of our very own backyard, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to get going on projects again and track the evolution of our very own garden. Growing up my mom always reminded me that gardening is often romanticized and really more about the back breaking, sun-blistering labor called "weeding." I have a vivid summer memory of helping her fulfill her weekly weeding duties at the local COOP- one of the best alternatives to reaping the benefits of a plentiful garden with minimal work. I was assigned to picking the potato bugs off endless rows of plants under the humid, unforgiving Connecticut sun and anxiously tapping the side of the bucket so the little devils wouldn't escape.  Then and there I realized what my mom was talking about and for a long time I just decided the truth of the matter was that although gardening sounded good in my head, it really wasn't all that pleasant in reality. Since then I grew up and moved to Santa Barbara- the growing season is endless, I have a small, manageable and sunny backyard, I like cooking and am an avid environmentalist. I think learning to grow your own food is important, economical and pretty hip. Thanks to my mom I'm mentally prepared that a lot of work is involved- so here's our first attempt.

Until next time....

As a final post I want to thank all the people who sustained and inspired me over this past year. From the women in Terra Prometida, Brazil, to the kilombo of Buenos Aires, my dear friend Linnea, to the Gerrity´s in Vina del Mar and all the people I came across along the way- thank you for your friendship and generosity, for sharing your culture and opinions with me. Also to all the good people back home who sent their well wishes and prayers along the way. The beauty of not only the places I´ve been, but the people I´ve met during these travels have granted me new ways of thinking, understanding and appreciating the world. I feel incredibly blessed and grateful for this experience and all it has taught me. My only hope is that I can continue to give as others have given to me. Hasta la proxima aventura.....

"In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely for as long as we have voices." - Eat, Pray, Love

Zapallar

Machas... only in Chile. Rico!









Had yet to be in the sea on this side of South America.


On Saturday, Rob´s birthday, we spent the day in Zapallar- an exquisite beach community an hour or so up the coast. It is impressive- a pristine stretch of beach, grand old homes and precioso stone paths that wind along the ocean´s edge. The place has wonderful summer feel and much of the high season crowds had yet to arrive. Sure going to miss Rob and Jude's company!

Bariloche & San Martin De Los Andes

This hike, Cerro Campamiento in Bariloche has a great view. It's short and steep. I hiked up there late afternoon and got lost on the way down. I came down on the wrong side of the mountain into a maze of fields, small paths and no sense of where I was. I kind of panicked and even blew the whistle I had in my bag, which is pretty funny now that I think back on it. It really wasn't that bad, I just had to hike back up and find the right path- which I ended up managing to do before nightfall.

I only spent one night in Bariloche. After the tranquility of El Bolson the placed just seemed too much abuzz for me. It's quite touristy and rightly so- the landscape is really breathtaking.


I hiked out to this beach, La Islita, in San Martin de Los Andes the second day I was there. It was bliss.

The diving board was a long stick that jutted out over the lake. I spent a long time standing at the end- all ten toes on the nose.


I went to Quila Quina for the day with the owner of the hostel, Gonzalo and his family. This is his nine year old daughter, Paloma. She's very sweet, pre-cocious girl and I enjoyed spending the day making rock pictures and exploring the river with her.

Mi guia del rio.

Benito and his dad.

San Martin de Los Andes is a quaint, beautiful fishing town north of Bariloche. The lakes and scenery of the place are really spectacular. I was wishing my brother Paul was there to show me how to cast a line because I'm pretty sure I stepped into any fisherman's paradise. Many of the hikes in the area end at small pebble beaches and a wide open lake. Most of the surrounding area is protected by a national park so there is few if any houses on the lake and not many boats. I was tempted to join Paula from La Pampa, who I met at the hostel and look for a summer job.

Cajon De Azul

Lots of rickety bridges on the way up to Cajon.

The water is turqoise.

Decided to dive in without feeling the water. It's glacier water. I got a brain freeze.


That's Claire and Jitka- the crazy girl from Czech I met.

I wanted to eat my way through that garden.

Arriving here after half a day's hike is really something. This place is way up in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere. That's Artilio- the owner and creator.

I couldn't get over the garden.



sheep on the run.


I thought they were fleas in my bed, but thankfully didn't get any bites. I think I was just imagining it because those mattresses look like prime candidates for bed bugs.

The next day one Czech, four Israelis, one German and one N. American braved the cold river. Vale la pena!

Christa and Jitka.


From El Bolson, I decided to hike up to Cajon de Azul- a refugio in the mountains and stay the night. The place was afuera de este mundo. The river you hike alongside on the way up is so turqoise and clear that you can hardly believe it. When you reach the Cajon- it´s as if you've stepped into a dream world. The garden is like nothing I've ever seen. I had a tarta de acelga (chard) that night for dinner, all fresh from the front yard- me mata. Artilio- the master of the whole place has done an incredible job. At the refugio I met this crazy girl, Jitka, from the Czech Republic. We spent the next couple days hiking, biking and hanging out together- she was a lot of fun.