Progress at Camont

It's only been 4 days but we've accomplished a lot here at Camont!  The garden was completely overgrown.  Weeds had to be dug out, high grass whacked, dirt rotorvated and aerated (hard work!), seeds sewn and transplanted, and tons of water added to the baked earth.  I have so much respect for small-scale farmers whose livelihoods depend on such tough work, day after day.

Lisa is the master gardener and florist guiding this years work.  Trained in biology and horticulture, she applied her knowledge by WWOOFing in Israel and New Zealand before opening a florist shop in her native England.  She has shown me how to sow seeds, prepare patches for planting, and water correctly.  I was surprised at how much water needs to be given to each plant. The soil absorbs up so much that you can water a plant for several minutes, turn your back, and the puddle is all soaked up.  This changes the soil structure so that the roots can expand.  It seems like a waste of water, but I bet if you compared the amount of water used to produce vegetables at home versus those grown, cooled, and flown around the world, the local vegetables require much less water (and taste much, much better!).  It's an even better gain if you use collected rain water =) Anyway, Lisa's been a wonderful teacher.  Here's her website for more info: www.fleursdete.com

In addition to the veggie and flower gardens, a small cabin and compost toilet are in the works (i.e. lots of digging to be done).  There are lots of ideas about how to develop this beautiful property.  Our little crew is making progress!