Beneath the tears of the harmattan, a garden is born...
The first ten days of our garden in pictures...
Day one
The vegetable garden suffered badly over the summer... Here it is on the day of our arrival (mid-September)... but we have a week ahead of us to pamper it. On the first day we began working the soil — "tumbling" it, as they say here; we also took down the tired old inner fence... and before nightfall we even managed to plant the new posts for the future fence.
Day two
By the evening of the second day, the new wire fence is up... We raked the soil, marked out the plots, shaped the irrigation channels...
Day three
On the morning of the third day, first greet the garden... then carry on building the fence, threading palm branches through the mesh of the wire... a big job started early in the morning...
Day four
A big day's work begins: the soil of each plot must be turned over... The heat becomes overwhelming but the work progresses... After the guetna, the palm trees were pruned; you can see the branches set aside for fences and other building work. This material is called jirid. In the evening, in the cool (perhaps 35 °C), we will begin raking the plots turned over in the morning...
Day five
From left to right: aubergines, carrots, beetroot... A day rich in emotions: sowing and watering... We begin by sowing the first 3 plots at the entrance to the garden: aubergines, carrots and beetroot... First irrigation: bring the necessary water to each plot... then build a little sand dam to steer the water towards another plot...
Five days later...
In the early morning, a visit to the garden... the soil is still moist from yesterday's watering... wonder at these little scraps of green leaf pushing up to say "I exist... count on us to reward your efforts with the most beautiful vegetables..."
Six days later...
At lunchtime, we catch ourselves dreaming... Soon there will be... aubergine caviar, Moroccan-style turnips, carrot cakes, marinated beetroot, grilled peppers, crushed tomatoes with fresh herbs... and much more besides ;-) We will be self-sufficient in vegetables this winter.