Growing Cabbage in a Desert

These past few weeks my ladies group and I have been working hard, and are well on our way to completing our garden! Was this just a quick process that was completed in the month of June? Of course not. We have been talking about a garden at every other meeting we have, I even got the rights for the land from the headman last October. The delay was due to certain things I cannot control. It is essential for us to plant next to the river, because who has the time or energy to fetch water everyday a far distance? But since we would plant close to the river, we had to wait 3 months until the rain stopped, because flooding is common. Then one of our women was pregnant and we wanted to wait until after she delivered to involve the whole group. But alas, June came and we were ready to plant! In May, my main girl, Selma, accompanied me to a really great garden workshop where we learned things that I have never heard of before. Wood ash to the soil? Yes. Soak manure in your water overnight to spray the plants each time you water? Yup, it'll make 'em grow like crazy. Add urine to your compost pile?? Nooo. But—wait, yes!!

It was a ton of work, I could barely keep up with these Mbukushu women. We first had the oxen go in to plow the soil, then we spent 3 days weeding the area. They taught me the songs they usually sing while they spend hours in the field planting the maize meal. I only mastered one, though. For the next week tasks included; collecting manure in the cow fields, smuggling wood ash and charcoal from fire pits (with permission), collecting thorns to make the traditional fences (unfortunately cows already stepped on all our hard work so we need lots of defense against them), doing our single then double digs and finally, planting!

The garden workshop taught us how to use a smaller amount of space to produce a bigger yield, by allowing the roots to grow deeper with our super, ridiculously nourished soil. For seeds we decided on; onions, swiss chard (I had no idea what this was but I think it's like spinach?), beets, cabbage (they LOVE cabbage\), carrots, and beans. We are also setting aside a large portion of our land for the traditional crops; maize meal, pumpkin leaves and mutete (a type of spinach that I will never eat again after my last food poisoning). This makes for well rounded nutrients. The plan is for the ladies to take some vegetables home to their families then sell a good portion of it too. They are very excited to sell and make at least a little income. I am excited for their children to get at least a little nutrients in their skinny bodies. We have a lot of space available and still many more weeks of work cut out for us. But here are our first 8 beds (we want to do around 15). Cross your fingers this works out...seriously, do it...I have never done this kind of thing before and I will feel bad for all the hard work the women put in if it fails.