L’orto update – planting by the moon

Just eaten the very first object grown on the barganews vegetable garden -- a single strawberry from a single strawberry plant which was donated to the project a few weeks ago. It was an exciting moment but which passed very quickly and now the fields seem even more empty and desolate than before.Funny what one solitary bright red (and juicy) strawberry can do. So to bring everybody back up to speed on just what has been happening over the past 10 days or so.

We have two fields, the top one with potatoes and onions and a bottom field which has had three tractors across it in an attempt to get it into an arable situation. The first tractor was a deep plough which left the field with such large holes that the second smaller tractor could not cope with and so we brought in a bulldozer to level the ground. Only after it had passed over the field a number of times was the it deemed passable for the tractor to join in the fun.

We then had had to wait for the moon to change -- Lunar Calanti, when the full moon is starting to wane which is the correct time for seeding.

no images were found

Last Saturday was when the moon changed over and so we could start planting and seeding safe in the knowledge that the moon was with us.

So far we have 100 tomato plants in almost straight regimental lines across the field. We also have line after line of beans planted -- runner beans, string beans, borlotti beans, lettuce, carrots, radishes, peppers and zucchini. We also have an experiment to see if it’s possible to grow the formenton otto file maize which is then ground to the make polenta, the much sought after local dish of the area.

The daily routine all this week has included an hour and a half spent each evening watering the seeds with a long hosepipe which we put into the nearby stream. Now its just a question of waiting to see what will come out of the ground after all this effort….. and if it will be edible or not.

Maybe a short word about the electric fence and the battle with the porcupines

So far touch wood (or touch metal as they do in Italy) the spiny demons have not returned and the fence seems to be keeping them out. Deer now seem to be the next on the list of possible intrusions. There were some clear tracks in the mud in the top field amongst the potatoes. Time will tell on this one if they learn that the filed is a no-go area.

We have now extended the fence to include the bottom field For the moment it is free of animal intervention but maybe it’s too soon to shout victory as there are still moles coming in from under the ground and shortly the next problem will be birds coming in from above.

So next on the list of things to do is a couple of scarecrows. Soon after that we will have to build a shed. You can’t have an allotment, a market garden, an orto without a shed. Its a traditional thing isn’t it ?

Sharp eyed readers might have noticed that we are now longer publishing the running costs of the barganews vegetable garden. This is because we have walked into an area beset with landmines and traps for the unwary -- the black economy.

All of that work done by the tractors had to be paid for but in the time honoured fashion the actual costing and final bill was a long drawn out affair involving a lot of head shaking with even outright denials that money was to change hands. Maybe a painting or photograph for the daughters wedding next week. Maybe an exchange of goods or favours ? In the end over a couple of glasses of wine, the deal was made, money did change hands and all parties were satisfied …. that is except the tax man, who was kept well out of the whole deal.

Gardening by the phases of the moon is a technique that can speed the germination of your seeds by working with the forces of nature. Plants respond to the same gravitational pull of tides that affect the oceans, which alternately stimulates root and leaf growth. Seeds sprout more quickly, plants grow vigorously and at an optimum rate, harvests are larger and they don’t go to seed as fast. This method has been practiced by many for hundreds of years, and is a perfect compliment to organic gardening because it is more effective in non-chemically treated soil.

The lunar phase controls the amount of moisture in the soil. This moisture is at its peak at the time of the new and the full moon. The sun and moon are lined up with earth. Just as the moon pulls the tides in the oceans, it also pulls upon the subtle bodies of water, causing moisture to rise in the earth, which encourages germination and growth.