Pretty busy day today at the food forest. I think, after a year of living in the food forest, I’m starting to realize that I don’t actually need to have a big chunk of time to work in the food forest like I used to. Before living here, I used to come to the food forest before six in the morning so I can work for at least two hours before I have to go home at around eight. Since living here, I never got to work those hours like I used to, and I was feeling a bit bad about it. But now I realize I can actually be in the food forest any time of the day…or night!
A Dayap (Citrus aurantifolia) and Longevity Spinach (Gynura procumbens) I transplanted around seven in the evening, after dinner.
Night gardening always feels a little bit more special somehow. And definitely much cooler, too. Is it also very hot and dry where you are?!?
Before this night’s time in the food forest though, there was also the time before breakfast when my son and I filled up our Herbacious Pot (named by him).
Here we have a Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) in the center, some Spearmint (Mentha spicata) to the right, Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) to the bottom, some Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) to the left, and then some Flat-Leaf Parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum) above it.
We planted all these herbs together because they come from the same region, the Mediterranean, and so they have similar watering - and drying! - requirements. I’ve planted Rosemary twice in the ground already, and while they thrived during the dry season, once the rains came, they slowly said goodbye. Rosemary doesn’t like their roots soggy and waterlogged. I’ve also planted Thyme and Spearmint in the Herb Spiral, but they, too, did not last long. Hopefully, keeping them in this barrel pot makes them happier and lusher.
Here’s a side view:
I hope your gardens and food forests are making it through this hot and dry season. Don’t forget that if you’re going to water, you can water deeply and less frequently. Take care, everyone!
It’s been very dry at the food forest lately, after over a week of very cool breezes (24 degrees Celsius outside!). I came back from a family trip to very crunchy leaves around the forest. Yesterday though, it rained. Everything livened up a bit, and it was delightful to walk around the forest and spot refreshed wildlings everywhere.
Here’s a Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii) wildling alongside very healthy and wild Sissoo Spinach (Alternanthera sissoo).
I also took some time taking out a wild vine that was starting to smother a Katuk (Sauropus androgynus) seedling. I often just cut the vine far enough from the plant, but since I didn’t have scissors or pruners, I pulled on it and accidentally took it out with its roots.
I’ve learned long ago that this wild vine is a nitrogen-fixer, so I was delighted but not surprised to see these root nodules. These nodules are where the nitrogen-fixing bacteria live. Nitrogen-fixing plants enrich the soil by taking nitrogen from the atmosphere (which is not usable by plants in that form) and then “fixing” the nitrogen through their symbiotic relationship with the bacteria who live in these nodules. The nitrogen then gets used by the plant and surrounding greenery, and eventually ends up in the soil.
I do remember identifying this vine before (that is how I confirmed the vine is nitrogen-fixing), but not recalling a name for it, I decided to identify it yet again. It was a good time to do so as well, since it was flowering.
The leaves.
The flowers.
The app I use identified it as Tropical Kudzu (Neustanthus phaseoloides), and checking philippineplants.org, I learned that it is native to the Philippines. When I hear Kudzu though, my mind immediately goes to this image I saw from a documentary (I’ve forgotten which one) wherein Kudzu vines have taken over a patch of land with its aggressive growth. I think the Kudzu we have in our food forest is different from that one though, plus the vine I identified is native, so I just mindfully untwine them from young plants whenever I see them.
I have made it a point to plant native trees in the food forest, but I love discovering wild plants — what other people may call “weeds” — and finding out that they’re native. It excites me to know that they are still thriving in the food forest, that there’s space for them, whether they’ve always been on this piece of land, or if a bird or another creature brought them here, or if their seed found their way here and the soil is welcoming enough for them to germinate and grow.
