+++++++++++++++++ Bamboo Torre Eiffel ++++++++++++++++++

Karla Weeding

A constant in any garden is weeding...removing the plants you don't want and leaving

the ones you nurture to grow.

Our first chore, after taking our usual walk about through our Vivero, was weeding.

The youth seemed eager to work and so we let them loose on the cabbage patch bed.

Anticipating the rains, we brought wood shavings to blanket the front entrance area of the Vivero.

The plants all loved the recent rain and the watering Brigada also did a fine job 

keeping everything moist.

Anita harvesting. 

Our dear friends Doris & Peter Wakeman kindly allowed us to visit their home to

harvest bamboo for the Viero.  Brad wanted to create trellises for the garden beds

and bamboo is a fine material for the job.

Soon after arriving at the Vivero I noticed vertical structures going up all over the garden.

Felipe and Brad were like garden gnomes, sprouting up here and there...and in their

path were lovely trellises ready to help our plants grow towards the sky.

Our chile and bell pepper starters were ready to be transplanted

so Brad did the honors. 

Meanwhile everywhere in the garden projects were being tended to.  The Brigadistas from San Pedro Itzican had arrive and like Ninjas, they cleared the back area of weeds in no time.

Barb and Paula turned and tended to the compost pile.

Soon harvest was seen on our work tables, along with lovely photos printed and brought from the States by Barb Reinhart.

 Anita and Brad continue to harvest.

Our handsome melon mound

 Crisp beautiful kale

 Torre Eiffel Trellis

Paola wanted to help plant so we gave her her own bed to work in. 

 The fruits of our labor are always a surprise and a welcomed treat.

 Trellis Elf

We had received reports of local children visiting the Vivero during the week, taking plants and disrupting our work.  I suggested that the children, who regularly work in the Vivero, speak to the disruptive children, one-on-one, to request that the Vivero be respected. 

Just in case we decided to put up a bit of fencing to highlight the point.

After the work morning in the Vivero everyone seems to meet at Dona Maria Elena's abarrotes to cash in their vales and to recap the work day.  Anita catches up with our garden godmother, preparing for another week.

(Weaving courtesy of Bradley "Mulch" Mowers)

Like a fine weaving, our Vivero comes together, the sum of all of it parts,

to create something beautiful, alive and wonderful.

Thank you to all those who help make this happen.

It's Raining Cabbages!____________ First Rain of 2019

The first unofficial rain of the season arrived on June 1st, 2019 and our cabbages took notice.

It was time to harvest and Lilliana was the first to bounce into the cabbage patch.

The rains had watered our crops nicely, although the Brigadistas tried to take credit for the 

generously watered beds...I knew better.

 While I met with the youth and organized our day, Brad surveyed the garden beds.

I told all the kids to go to Maestro Brad...he was going to teach us how to properly

harvest cabbage...the kids ran to the beds and so began our instruction.

Maestro Brad informed the kids that all the parts of a cabbage are edible, even the outer leaves.  There were skeptical stares in the garden at this point.

Meanwhile, in our compost pile, Felipe and Mino were turning and turning 

the ingredients of a lovely compost recipe....heat sprang from the pile and

many insects were present...all good signs of proper composting.

Likety split, the Brigadistas got the hang of the harvest

and soon all had cabbages in hand.

Pepinos growing nicely

And so was our kale....also time to harvest this lovely plant

Each Brigadista took home a cabbage to prepare and eat.

Erika, Ruth and Lilliana got busy potting our seedlings.

Our harvest this day:

Cabbage

Kale

Cucumber

Squash

Beet Greens

Not a bad harvest for a budding garden.

++++++++++++ A Lending LIbrary and Horse Manure +++++++++

Fotos:  Tiger Griffin, Fco. Nava

Things keep growing and evolving at Vivero La Esperanza.

This Saturday we started with a class from our constant volunteer Mino on how to use lentil sprouts as a natural growing medium for our plants.

Our friend and volunteer Barb managed our Lending Library of books.  The children were to choose

a book to take home to read, returning it the following Saturday.

The youth thought it a brilliant idea...the hard part was having to make a choice.

New friends Steve Noll and Tiger Griffin visited us for the first time at the Vivero.

Mino, Felipe and Paula tended to out compost pile....things are heating up!

Brigadista Leader Anita Torres Guerrero arrived a short time later to give us an update

on the work the Brigadista youth are doing in the surrounding pueblos.

Our plant inventory area needed attention so Anita and the Brigadistas got right to work.

Much better!

One of our goals this Saturday was to collect aged/dried horse manure to use in the Vivero.

Brad Mowers and his crew of Job and Carlos Alfredo jumped onto Steve and Tiger's truck

and away they went.  They collected 14 costales of horse manure.

Steve Scooping 

Tiger

A surprise visit from the Mayor, Sr. J. Trinidad Lopez Rivas, the founder of the Brigada Estatal program, delighted us all.  It is always helpful to have the Mayor at any of our gatherings.  Today was no exception.  We discussed the various programs under the Brigada Estatal umbrella,

Vivero La Esperanza being just one of many.

Brad's melon seedlings are doing well.

Another surprise was a gift package of seeds from our dear friend Jack West.

Thanks Jack, we already started using the seeds.

Anita was able to pick up a donation of fine linens from a hotel in Guadalajara

and distributed some to the people of San Juan Tecomatlan.

Our seedlings needed transplanting.

 Squash has arrived.

La Sra. Marielena, who is our garden godmother, opened her abarrotes doors to 

the most dedicated of our little garden helpers.

Gracias Sra. Marielena.

and thanks to our constant garden volunteer committee members, 

Mino y Felipe

Barb and Paula

Brad

Gracias to our new friends Tiger Griffin and Steve Noll, for the scoop.

and all the people who support our project to help

make our world a better place,

Poco A Poco.

I'm sure we will have many surprises next week.  Come join us in the garden!