One pet project that has cropped up since coming to Syuejia Elementary School is the mini farm.
Previously, this patch had been prepared and separated into six sections. Apparently there were some herbs or something similar there before, but it had been neglected and was in need of some TLC.
I put the idea to Benjamin who was keen to give farming a bash. There was no downside except our time and we were willing to give the whole thing a try.
So we mentioned this idea to the principal and he was extremely enthusiastic and within days he had actually sent someone to come and help us till the rock hard soil.
The worker was not quite as enthusiastic as we were, so we prepared one afternoon to do the tilling ourselves and get everything ready for planting.
We had already been to a local farm supplies shop and chosen some basic vegetables to get started, so we just started tilling.
While we were going, a local guy came to our “aid” and started telling us we were working too hard and doing things wrong. Just sitting by the wall and giving commentary.
And then our real savior came along, A local, very patient, farmer. He hopped over the fence and came to help us out. He showed us the correct way to till the soil and with slightly less effort. He also told us how we should get the grass cleaned up before tilling the others so it doesn’t choke any new plants.
We had only started the first section in the picture above, we used what he told us to get things all done in the following week.
Being complete amateurs, we really appreciated the farmer’s guidance. He told us how far apart to put the plants and how often we would need to water them.
He also advised us on the best plants to choose as half our spot gets more sun than the other half. He told us which plants would be the easiest to grow and after we had decided he went to get the seeds we had chosen so we could plant them the following week.
Although I thought this was all a good idea, all credit goes to Benjamin, Ariel and our military guy.
Benjamin has maintained his enthusiasm and made sure that all the watering has been done and kept a close eye on things. Ariel and the military guy have also helped keep our plants from dying of thirst.
After a few weeks we had our first taste of our efforts, which I took home and enjoyed over the weekend.
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