We’ve mostly been trying to get things back in hand after the monsoons, which were overwhelming, and then trying to harvest the rice and get in the winter farming crops in time. The whole village is doing the same, but with a calm and collected attitude. We are such amateurs in comparison!
Here’s our rice: being watched over by peacocks as it was ripening at the beginning of the month, and (below) freshly cut a few days ago and waiting to be threshed. We’re hoping for 4 or 5 quintals, but let’s see! We’re also looking forward to tasting our own organic brown rice!
Our biggest triumph–though perhaps too early to say–are the trenches!
These are trees we planted in July and August, so, barely four months old. The one on the left is sehjan (moringa, or drumstick), and is almost eight feet tall! It’s one of the fastest growing, of course. But the kadambas and bananas are shooting up too. Our anar (pomegranate) plants have flowers, and to see the bay leaf saplings become stronger is beyond exciting. We will definitely have some things to harvest in a year or two.
(Left) The most recent trenches, with little plants. (Right) Trenches planted in August. The pictures could be clearer, but you get the idea. We are thrilled and in love; it’s hard to express how much.
(below clockwise) Others enjoying the trees; our seedlings ready to plant in the ground now (gulmohar, imli, and litchi); freshly plowed field waiting for lentils; first harvest of papita almost ready on our other plot – just a few months old!!
This year, we have learnt the joy of eating mainly the vegetables we produce, supplemented with a few from the market for variety. Early in the year, we were inundated with muli (white radish), salad greens, carrots, and cauliflower. Then we ate bhindi (okra), kohra (pumpkin), beans, and karela (bitter gourd) all through the summer and monsoons. We have started enjoying baigan (eggplant) for almost every meal, and are waiting for more. It definitely teaches you to experiment with new recipes!
The peacocks strut around our vegetables all day.
Lastly, here is the nala these days.
The vines are called ‘giloy’, an important medicinal plant (heart-leaved moonseed; Tinospora cordifolia). They grow wild all around the nala.
The land is so welcoming and lovely these days, and will be for months now. It’s hard to remember how was just a month and a half ago. It was so wild, frantically growing, and crawling with life, that it was difficult to even go there, and when we did, it felt as though we were trespassing. We are going to have to use these months very carefully to prepare for the next monsoon.
The good thing is that all everyone wants to do these days is spend the whole day there!
gangavan.org 