In some ways it's amazing how far we've progressed. In other ways, we thought we would have been further along. We dreamed of having a larger area in garden by now, but along the way we got distracted with other projects ..... Chickens, keyhole gardens, experiments. But then we think, wow, we have got a lot of nifty experiments going. Not bad.
This past year we learned that direct planting with little soil preparation doesn't work for us. You can read lots of glowing testimonials on the web about no-till gardening. We gave it a try. Not so good for us. None of the plants thrived - sunflowers, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, cosmos. So we won't try that again.
We gave growing boxes a try. The big ones worked fine for the sweet potatoes. So we'll try them again and maybe try other kinds of crops. The smaller ones were destroyed by the aggressive grass plus were difficult to keep moist.
We built an experimental tabletop garden, so far it has been successful. So we will add a few more and try other crops in them, too.
We now have two different kinds of keyhole gardens started. They're new so we don't know results yet, but it's been fun creating them.
The hottub tilapia project is still in the making. We're slow on getting this project off the ground.
The chickens have been successful, although we discovered that we can't let them run around the garden all day. They see it as their own personal salad bar. But the chickens have proven valuable for fertilizer, and they are a great way to convert garden waste into eggs and meat. To improve the set up we are building another enclosed pen for them. Then we will design runs for them so that they can enjoy grass and bugs while at the same time de-grass and fertilize new garden space for us.
The ducks has been fun. They are good bug and slug eaters although there are some varieties they won't touch. So we learned that contrary to reports, they're not the ultimate slug control. We attempted to raise ducklings but sadly learned that in our environment the moms need our assistance. But we will be prepared to jump in to help next time around.
We finally got the bananas under control. Maintaining the patch has become easier as we learn about how bananas grow and what their needs are.
We've been experimenting with trellises of all sorts. Some have been successes, others failures. But we are learning.
Now that we have more volunteers we've learned that we need to be more organized. Luckily we have a couple of people who are good in that department and will whip the rest of us into shape.
So for two years we have focused primarily upon development, making the basic garden and growing food. Recently it appears that we've shifted into the next phase -- learning and experimenting.
So where will the coming year take us? We're not sure yet. Many volunteers would like to try new crops : corn, amaranth, quinoa, squashes, new herbs. Some would like to add rabbits. Others want to experiment with vertical gardening. Others would like to see more workshops and training seminars. As a group, we are willing to try them all.
If you've enjoyed following our journey these past two years, please come along for the next 12 months too. As usual, your support is most welcome. Your suggestions are inspiring. Mahalo!
