I planted maize - corn around May in about three sacks. To my surprise they didn't germinate. I thought it was because I planted late - the rains had already started then in earnest.
I had been doing some activities to meet deadlines online with some research-based write-ups for courses around March to May.
Though I was still doing some garden work daily throughout the period, I couldn't get the soil ready for the sacks to plant the maize.
Unlike vegetables, the soil for planting maize needs good tillage and and manuring different levels of the soil from the base to the top before planting.
So it was after submitting all the materials to meet the deadlines I was able to tackle that very tasking aspect of the gardening to plant maize.
When the maize didnt germinate, I later planted cocoyams in those sacks from the remnants left from the ones for cooking - cocoyam gerninates so easily.
But during last week after meeting another course submission deadline, I used the shovel in scooping soil from two worn-out sacks and poured into a bigger fresh sack.
I manured different levels of the soil with yam peels and plantain peels.(its good to manure with remnants from carb foods if planting a carbodaydrate crop - I planted maize in that sack.
I put the sack in a section of the garden I can easily check on. Thank God I did o because this Sunday evening as I was passing by, I saw a big rat jumping out of the sack.
It then dawned on me - the crazy rat(s) must have been the one eating the maize seeds I have been planting.
But I go to very great lengths to keep my garden and environs clean! Apart from being somewhat freaky about cleanliness, it is also to prevent invasion of such things as rodents that get attracted to food lying around in any ptemises.
But no matter how clean your immediate environment is, since you can't always ensure people in the neighbourhood will keep their environs clean as well, you may still have rodents visiting.
Anyway, I was already prepared. I had bought some rat poisons. So I set poisoned delicacy for the rat(s) in the premises to feast on and thereafter demise. I will ensure they regret coming into my premises - imagine the hard work I put into that garden!
So this morning (Monday Sept. 11) I replanted maize in that sack. I will also plant more maize seeds in other sacks I will be preparing - I handle what work I can do per time - it took two days to prepare this latest sack of soil.
I wanted to prepare another sack with soil this morning but there was extra work - no electricity for days to pump water. I'd resolved not to buy fuel for the generator.
So I had to fetch water from the well this morning to wet the garden plants - before fetching water I was hoping it would rain - the weather looked cloudy this morning but even as at this afternoon, it is yet to rain, in fact it's sunny. Thankfully when deliberating on fetching water this morning, I remembered that scripture from the bible that says he that regarded the wind will not sow.
.Since I didn't water the crops yesterday Sunday, ( though I sometimes wet on Sunday evenings), I decided to fetch the water from the well this Monday morning to do my part in keeping the plants in good condition.
No worries - I only fetched just eight 20-litre paint buckets - two for use inside and six to wet the garden.
After fetching ONLY eight big paint buckets I became so very tired though. I initially thought I would collapse and not be able to do anything today.
Since I am female, I dont have the liberty like some boys of today that can marry a wife to cook free of charge for them🤣 and there are other more pressing needs than paying a cook, before collapsing sha, I gathered the strength to boil an egg and ate - egg repairs worn out tissues . So I regained some strength - seems a solution to tiredness from working real hardwork is food😂
Having regained some strength I then fried another egg. I still have left some of this African cake that I baked from powdered corn, millet, guinea corn and soya beans - all flour with vegetable oil, dates and honey. - very nutritious and so filling as a meal.
After eating the African cake and fried egg for breakfast, my body is vibrant again from fetching 160 lites of water and doing gardening work/cleaning the environs early in the morning- I can read, write and research - which I already started this morning after bathing - I fetched the water and didn't collapse o and my brain is still working to discover some natural solutions to most of human health challenges .
In fact I already have energy again to cook later today with the snake(paste) tomatoes I have been harvesting from the garden - there are vegetables available in the garden. My people, am I suffering or enjoying life?
No comments:
Post a Comment