++++++++++++++++++Germinations and Water++++++++++++++++

Seeds

At Vivero La Esperanza we've moved quickly into Phase II....focusing on germination,

growth, nurturing and harvesting of food plants.  Today our lesson and goal was to prepare, plant and  learn the finer points of plant starts.

The children had prepared the starter pots, courtesy of Laura's Garden Center in Riberas Del Pilar.  Laura has been a stalwart steward and sponsor of our Vivero....Gracias Laura!

Wrangling 13 youngsters to pay attention and work coordinately was a challenge.  

But they were interested so they paid attention and worked beautifully together.

Materials were laid out...patience as well.

Seeds were carefully selected and planted.  Pots were marked with

the name of the plant (and in some cases with the names of the child planter as well).

Soon the pots were planted, labeled and placed on the germination tables,

ready to be constantly watered, watched and nurtured. 

Our ornamental plant inventory was also reorganized into plant categories.

Meanwhile in the garden things were also growing.  The youngsters had created signs for

the different plants growing, to help visitors identify the food plants.

Calabazas (squash)

 Chicharos (peas)

 Happy Acelga (swiss chard)

Happy Berenjena (eggplant)

 Jitomates (tomatoes)

As attention spans are short for young people, we brought out the Reading/Lending library and

the kids were able to read while waiting for the next step in the process.

Thank you Barb for the great books!

 Zucchini (squash)

Zanahorias (carrots)

As an incentive to water and especially weed the Vivero, the kids were given Vales or coupons that can be redeemed at a local store.  This week the children chose Gina's store, because she stocks utiles or school supplies.  The kids wanted to redeem their coupons at Gina's in preparation

for the new school year to start soon.

We were surprised to hear that the lot next door was installed with water and a spigot.  Now we do not have to ask for water from neighbors nor dredge water from the well.

Even in this "rainy" season we have not had very much water.  The town of San Juan Tecomatlan can go days without rain, so this water on site is a blessing.

In San Pedro Itzican, our Brigadista Leader, Anita Torres Guerrero had to buy a Pipa or truckload of water for the Brigadista office and her home there as there was no running water for 3 days.

So let us count our blessing with the family, love and resources we have.

And for all the other wanted necessities, we can count on our community family to assist.

Here's to being part of our wonderful community!

++++++++++ 2 Steps Forward ++ and One Step Back +++++++++

This week at the Vivero La Esperanza has been a trying week.  We discovered that someone has been entering the Vivero and haphazardly cutting our plants.  In addition, we discovered our logo lona missing.  A stray horse found its way into the Vivero and ate a few plants.  A few mischievous children have been trampling my maiz plants.  This along with the wicked winds during the rain storms has dropped our spirits a few notches.

But just as we do every week with our shade cloth cover, we pick up the pieces and move forward.  The rains have started in San Juan Tecomatlan and the kids in the garden have switched from watering duty to weeding duty...the growth of plants is amazing once the constant rains begin.

Our Maestra Mino talked about the Keyhole Garden and its needs and benefits....we added compostable food scraps to the center to start the compost process.

As we walked the very clayey and muddy garden we spoke of reasons for development (or lack of) of our produce and what would be needed now in the rainy season to continue our harvesting.

Little by little we harvested as we walked and soon had a bounty!

Jayden was very happy with his eggplant.

Our Musk Melon was ready for harvest as well.

Mino took the reins for distribution of our food harvest.  Everyone took home a piece of the Vivero.

I also had prepared a special treat....Vivero Harvest Soup, from the produce of the garden...

I think it was a hit, as it disappeared quickly.

Anita Torres Guerrero paid us a visit and asked for a cabbage.

Other visitors today were Karen Rowell, Treasurer of the Lake Chapala Garden Club (LCGC).  Karen arrived and gave us a donation from of the Lake Chapala Garden Club.  The LCGC have been one of the main supporters of this project.  Thank you Karen and all the LCGC!

Visitors Faye and Richard also purchased Kale and Swiss Chard from the garden.

We also were given donations of a bag of yarn and extra fabric, along with some 

bigger plastic pots from Marilyn Primm.  Thank you Marilyn.

The Universal Unitarian Church also gave us a donation.  Our friend Joan Ward has been coordinating this effort...thank you Joan.

And a special Gracias goes out to our steadfast volunteers, the people of San Juan Tecomatlan

and the others who support and fuel this project.

We could not do this without your efforts.

+++++++++ Rainwater Catchment and Keyhole Garden +++++++++

Some days at Vivero La Esperanza are magical, some days are surprising, others are invigorating...today was one of those days that encompassed all the above mentioned.

Rainwater Catchment System

While the children and I focused on cleaning and organizing our storage space and weeding our garden beds, our Maestros Brad "Mulch" Mowers and Felipe Gerard Contreras were busy inventing a rainwater catchment system.

Made of harvested bamboo and twine, along with a lona, the structure soon took shape.

These two individuals are great engineers and soon had the whole thing figured out.

Now when the rains arrive at our Vivero, the water captured by gravity and the hand built system will help fill our well.

Keyhole Garden

Another dream of ours was to show the children different methods of growing food plants.  One of the most popular is the Keyhole Garden, and our Maestra Mino lead the charge.

A keyhole garden is a two meter wide circular raised garden with a keyhole-shaped indentation on one side. The indentation allows gardeners to add uncooked vegetable scraps, greywater, and manure into a composting basket that sits in the center of the bed. In this way, composting materials can be added to the basket throughout the growing season to provide nutrients for the plants. The upper layer of soil is hilled up against the center basket so the soil slopes gently down from the center to the sides. Most keyhole gardens rise about one meter above the ground and have walls made of stone. The stone wall not only gives the garden its form, but helps trap moisture within the bed.

 Bricks arrive

A design is taught and the plan drawn out.

Soon the base of the garden takes shape.

Taking a pause to review the work, the initial design is deemed too unstable, so it is back to the drawing board.

A new, more secure design is attempted.

Everyone agrees that this design is better.

Our mesh basket is created and placed in the center of the keyhole shape.

Approved!

Now it is time to start building the layers of the growing medium.

First cardboard is layered.

Than a layer of newspaper is applied.

Our horse manure has been composting and is ready for the planting bed.

Then a layer of ficus leaves is placed on top of the manure.

And finally a layer of soil and compost is placed on top.

Our new garden is ready for planting.

We had a most amazing insect visitor this morning...can anyone identify this fantastic creature?

One of our greatest joys is being able to harvest the food we grow.  

Mino taught the children the correct way to harvest without injuring the plant.

We all agreed that today's harvest would be for Vivero Veggie Soup, that I will prepare and

bring next Saturday for a taste testing.

Here is to a plentiful, rich harvest and rainy season.

Thank you, as always to our wonderful volunteers and the people of

San Juan Tecomatlan for hosting our Vivero.