Return from travelling

I’m home now after a month in Tanzania.

In my last blog, I gave the impression I would be posting throughout my trip. However it turns out I’m not a natural at being a social media influencer. I either didn’t have the time to write as I was too busy with what was going on around me, didn’t have the energy after very full days, or didn’t have internet connection anyway. I will endeavour to produce something over the coming weeks to share some of those experiences with you all.

Right now, I am grateful to be home. Travelling makes you appreciate what you have, especially if that travelling has been in a country where people do not experience the ease of life I have here in Australia.

The first luxury was a properly brewed cup of tea with fresh milk! Simply the best comfort after a month of UHT or powdered milk.

The next thing to appreciate is my garden. Most of Tanzania is dry and dusty, although there are pockets that share the same climate as where I live. The green lushness of my garden from plenty (or too much) rainfall is so welcome.

Seedlings I’d planted before I left are now going to seed. My son removed the exclusion frames to allow the bees access to the flowers. These are pak choi and mizuna flowers. Although, I will have to keep a closer eye out for butterfly eggs and caterpillars now. These beds also house lettuce, rocket and kale. The beds behind these, that are full of leeks, are sheltering young cauliflower and broccoli plants.

Flowering pak choi and mizuna

The garlic is coming along nicely. The first time I have had any success in growing garlic. Usually it gets crowded out by the prolific growth of its neighbouring plants. This year I have put it amongst the large bed of strawberries I’ve managed to propagate over the last 12 months. The low ground cover allows the garlic to rise above it while the soil covered by strawberries has protection from animals who would otherwise dig it over. The strawberries are also discouraging weeds which is excellent. The trellis allows a third level of growth for vines, with snow peas on now with the cooler weather.

Garlic, strawberries, snow peas, black pepper and sweet endive

There are always plenty of beans in our garden, being one of our staple vegetables. My son decided that there were way too many for him to eat on his own, so he left them to develop into seed beans. There will be enough for a dish made with dry beans when these pods dry. I just have to keep an eye out for new beans and pick them regularly. Picking beans regularly encourages more beans to be produced. So there will be a little slowing just now as there are so many pods left to develop towards dry beans. But the sun is out and new flowers will be forming.

Runner beans, button squash and shallots

There is much pruning, weeding and mulching to be done. As well as planting more seeds to maximize use of the wonderful weather now before the next wet season sets in. I should already have established tomato, eggplant and capsicum plants but better late than never.