Its a beautiful day

In the name of Allah most gracious, most merciful.

29 August 2014.

Flamingos in landscape

Alhamdulilah, awesome day. Enjoyed lecture with the youth this morning; the weather is warming up and the plants survived the mini flooding and stand strong in the sun. This weekend lots of activities with hujjaj leaving and familia gatherings so little text from me today but a few more pics.

I promised pics of flamingos in Schaapkraal but when I took them, the land around too swamped so took landscape pics from the bakkie.

And some more shots from volunteers who were busy last Sunday morning, and tomato plants nurtured in pots and ready to be replanted,  Shukran guys!

Grow food and visit hujjaj to bid them adieu.

Yasmine

 

 

tomato and lettuce in pots

Sheikh Umr in his element

Work is fun too.

First potatoes!

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful

28 August 2014

Here we are the first potatoes that we grew in the baths yay!

 Alhamdulilah, I harvested a few potatoes today because I was loathe to go out and buy some more what with the weather being so cold and rainy. The potatoes were about the palm of my hand and big enough for the pot, It is said that the first ones are by far the tastiest, its true, it was fabulous in the chicken curry tonight. One can in fact store them in the soil for a few weeks too as long as one keeps the soil a bit moist. Today was a perfect cool day to harvest.

It's been raining so much that the paths in the food garden flooded and because I plant in every space available, the mustard plants were knee deep in water and I was happy the water receded so I will not have to water for a few days now. But that does not deter us, gumboots on - we're in the garden. I am so getting some more baths to plant potatoes in. It can really become expensive. How's this for an initiative - if a few households plant potatoes and stagger the harvesting and share with one another we may never have to pay so much, in fact potatoes can reach R70 a bag.

So essentially I will be "chitting", ha ha. Here we can plant potatoes from August to June because we don't have frost.

chitting mid May

 So, lay the potatoes in a box or between eggs trays in bright light, but not direct sunlight. (The shade under a tree would be perfect)

You may cover them with some gardening hessian to help keep the moisture in.

Sprinkle water over the potatoes at least once a day. The idea here is to get the potatoes to ‘chit’ or turn green.

Once the potatoes have started to sprout eyes you can then plant them into your beds or your bath or tyres. I actually cut them up when I plant them according to how many "eyes" have formed.

I placed cardboard at the bottom of the baths and placed a layer of well composted soil. positioned the potatoes about 40 cm apart and covered them with about 30 cm of soil and as they progressed, so I added more soil. So try it, what do you have to lose? Either in directly in the ground, in baths, in bags or in tyres!

The sweet potatoes I placed over jars of water and now that they are all greened up will place their slips into a bath too inshaAllah.

Grow potatoes and start chitting.

Have a Mubarak Jumuah

Yasmine

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing the divine in everything.

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful. Nothing will befall us except if it was ordained.

26 August 2014

...And I'm back, sorry for the lull in the conversation. I have had a hectic two weeks hey. Lots of pre spring seeding and planting, volunteers have come and gone benefitting the gardens both here in Schaapkraal and at Garlandale High, and I hope themselves too, thank you Allah. The gardens are so on fire - it pops up little surprises every so often Alhamdulillah.

When I rummaged through the soil in the baths, sleek smooth healthy potatoes uncovered their hijab. I literally danced a jig. There are 3 almonds fruiting amongst the buds courtesy of the honey bees’ pollination. The apricot tree is now blossoming too and their blossoms are tinged with a flush of pink. The cauliflowers are out! Alas I am like tiger mother inspecting the leaves for hidden dragons who dine on their gourmet white heads.  And the daisy bush growing at the feet of the leeks are “feverfew” plants, thank you for that heads up Saffiyah. The compost is almost ready and should one grab a handful, it smells of sweet forest soil.

The pods of the linseed or flaxseed have turned brown and are ready for harvest so we have a steady supply of seed for scattering over porridge as well as freshly baked rolls and new seedlings are germinating as well. Every inch of planting space is alive from the fruiting strawberries to Barberton daisies; from the grape vines’ new foliage to ranunculi flower heads; from delphiniums to wild daisies and wild sorrel are in bloom too. And a lonesome flower bush with elegant purple flowers grow in the paving area – must check its name.

In between all of this I have had gum and tooth ache and alas an extraction. But what can I say priorities, priorities. I have been at the dentist maybe 6 years ago, I have not been flossing and having my teeth cleaned as I should, don’t even talk about all of those sweet things that I love. But as a friend reminded – spirituality is seeing the divine in everything. Every blossom, every bud, every fruit, every raindrop, every unit of electricity and of course every pain, every ache, every loss will not befall us except by Allah’s will. Maintaining our strength and belief is central to this even in the face of pain and fear of pain.

apricot from seed

I must admit that this agonising dental journey had many lessons for me ne. And it has been a long time since I visited a dentist with such an awesome bedside manner and a wonderful team – reception and support. Dr Salwa Maneveld take a bow. Thank you so much for an excellent service that you provide at affordable rates. I am not sure what the area is called but it’s close to the Lotus River Laerskool and thank you so much for checking up on me.

This morning I dressed warmly and Abu and I planted more than 200 seedlings Alhamdulillah – lettuce and danya and beetroot. I am so impatient for the warm weather but this light drizzle was perfect for first day in the food garden beds for seedlings. The middle bed is being re-composted for our new tomato plants that we nurtured in bags and we will make the wigwams a bit bigger this time. So a bit of crop rotation and we’re good to go! I am also so tired of trying to outmanoeuvre the birds to get the early strawberries and a friend has offered us some nets with holes small enough to block out birds and big enough to let in the bees.  I will in return, as an olive branch throw them some of the flaxseed. And tomorrow Insha’Allah I hope to put in the sweet potato slips as well.

As I am busy in the garden I look at all the green leafy vegetables that need to be harvested – kale, spinach, swiss chards, cabbages red and green, cauliflowers and broccoli.  The broccolis and cabbages are too small but I start harvesting the rest with no idea how to serve it yet. Abu brought some rump steak which we have not had in a while and I really want to serve it with a bang as Azrah is also completed the last of her days of fasting in Shawwal. These greens are so full of phytochemicals for all kinds of cancers, the spinach lowers harmful level of LDL cholesterol and vitamins C and B6, calcium, potassium and a host of others. And some of these leafy greens are known to contain indoles, thought to protect against ovarian and breast cancer.

So I sautéed a small onion, rinsed leafy greens with salt water, shopped them all up including the kale, added some mustard seed and stir fried till they changed bright green, then mixed them into a cheesy white sauce to fill some pastry rounds later.

I then seasoned the steak and kneaded it a bit with the side of a porcelain saucer and set aside to fry just before serving with some onion rings and a green chilli braised in the steak sauce. Peeled some potatoes for mash and set aside. Took out the pastry and rolled out a few thick pastry rounds, scored a border 2 cm inside the edge of each round, placed the leafy veggies in thick sauce in the centre and baked on high temperature. For good measure thawed some frozen patta to fry as another side dish. Let me finish cooking, I’m off, later!

Plant healthy green foods and take good care of your teeth.

Yasmine

 A bit later.

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful. “Is not He (better than your gods) Who created the heavens and the earth and sends down for you water (rain) from the sky. Whereby we cause wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight?

27 August 2014.

 

Alhamdulilaah Cape Town is certainly blessed with so much Rahmah – and the rain came down in torrents. I had forgotten that August is the month of rain. I had forgotten that in Schaapkraal the ground should be raised when planting because the water levels are high. Alas, the garden flooded a bit especially the low lying new spaces. InshaAllah I hope that the water will recede a bit, after all we needed the rain to fill the dams. Like I said, the garden teaches us every day.

This is an exciting week for us, friends are visiting from Gauteng and Hydepark College in Rondevlei is having their Market day and there will be a food garden stall as well with lots of herbs and other plants and compost for reasonable prices. We will also publish our iLABs e-newsletter/mag. I look forward to bidding farewell to all the hujjaj who are on their way to Makkah Mukaramah and Madinah Munowarah.

Despite all of the remoer here at Schaapkraal there is time to see new growth all of the time. The students are starting their own gardens at home too and so we swap seedlings and plants for chocnut brownies, how awesome is that? The artichoke seedlings are inspiring as they break through the soil to germinate. It makes one ponder about the description of Allah SWT in Surah `Abasa: 24-32

How We poured down water in torrents,

Then We broke open the Earth, splitting [it with sprouts],
And caused to grow within it grain,
And grapes and herbage,
And olives and palm trees,
And gardens of dense shrubbery,
And fruit and grass—
[As] enjoyment for you and your grazing livestock.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Grow food and learn to barter

Yasmine
ps. Had such a beautiful comment from a family member early this morning he said that the salah around the Ka'aba as we all turn our face to Allah's direction is like a flower opening and closing in all of the movements in tandem. Subhanallah!

 

We are such collectors of things

In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful.

Also 15 August 2014



Tin collection

I did mention that I met an old friend and her daughter in Masjid on Eid morning, yes? As I looked at my bag lying on the floor, I remembered something that she said. When we had greeted and hugged and quickly got to know what we were each busy with and children, she commented that she did not know it was me, she was more interested in my bag that I put in front of me in Saf, besides we were busy with Takbir. And we both laughed when I said this bag is probably the only bag I currently possess, I’m not generally a bags kinda person and she said “me neither”. Phew! was I relieved ne, most women love their bags. I used to be a pocket person – what more would I want to carry around. But I humour my daughters and this was a gift from a dear friend when she went to Madinah.

Come to think of it. I admire many people and their love for bags and matching shoes, for their jackets. But I am just not inclined that way. In fact I tried the bag thing and seemed to forget it in restaurants, in the car or at someone’s house. It is so liberating to have nothing slung over my shoulder, but I try. Shoes I love but a pair of Toms for walking, gumboots for the garden, a good pair of boots for the winter, some neutral pumps and a pair of sandals – all flats and I'm good to go. I don’t think Allah gave me legs to totter on but to walk briskly. Hey, but I love those high heels that women manage to sway on, just not for me – two of my daughters wear the highest ones.

So some people collect shoes or bags or kuffiyahs or whatever makes them happy. I know, I used to collect old silver earrings now I have a tin full of odd ones. My friend collected beautiful stockings so wherever friends are in the world they would know what to get for her, smart girl. I used to collect antique furniture of magnificent rose woods and mahogany and beech and birch and  birdseye maple, I love the smell of wood. then one day sunny day, Abu and I decided we had become a tad bit materialistic so we sold them for rather cheaply and gave the rest away. I cried. He had bought me the most exquisite Parisian Ships Chest and teak and oak wardrobes, rosewood kitchen cupboards and a long farm table, but I made peace with it. Its almost like a lightness of the soul.

I continue to collect novels of which many were gifts. We gave away more than 2000 books in Sudan to the students at the Jami’ah. And then I collected vases and tried the small smoky glass bottles like in the book by AS Byatt – ‘The djinn in the nightingales eye’, rubbed it but no genie appeared ha ha. But I gave them away too as we travelled. I always had an affinity and love for tins. The old ones, Chinese tea tins and biscuit tins. It’s that thing us people who enjoy flea markes – we see the potential in things. So I would come home and scrub them down and dry them out and store spices such as cloves and vanilla pod and nutmeg and mace in them. Whenever I moved I would give them to a friend and where ever I am I would start again.

And I have a thing for elegant old silver cutlery. I polish them with Bingo soap and display them in an old silver ice bucket. Oh and do I love beautiful table cloths – damask ones and hand embroidered cotton ones from Madagascar and to go with them vases for flowers. I still have my books but alas every time I think I have the entire Isabel Allende collection, one goes missing. The last book my brother in law gave me was a Thousand Splendid Suns and someone borrowed it and did not return it, and I can’t put my finger on who it was. I collected all of Kahlil Gibran’s books and my Love letters is no longer on the shelf, neither my copy of The remains of the Day by Ishiguro. So much for collecting things. The thing is that sometimes we invest so much emotion in it, don’t even talk about spending money on it and it just sits there anyway.

So now I collect seeds, the heirloom type. I make an effort to also dry seeds from fresh organic fruits and get friends and family to post me seeds. I did in fact collect them to share because it can be really expensive and even chemically treated. Whenever a crop is done I leave a few to seed and catch them and dry them out in little brown bags and then I place them in sealed container for the next season. And I use my tins to store them in too. Sometimes I forget to label them ha ha and so we play a guessing game is it cabbage or cauliflower seeds?  And I plant them anyway!

It’s a wonderful thing to enjoy something and after a while you end up having amassed a small collection but it gives one even greater joy to have given it away and knowing that someone else is now enjoying and benefiting from it.

Later

Plant food and take a walk on the flea market.

Yasmine

Flamingos, roosters and broad beans

In the name of Allah most gracious, most merciful.

 

4.15 am
Here I am sitting again can't sleep but feeling rested. Abu always says if you can't sleep do some work or pray. Its when you start giving things names that you give it a life.

So I woke up at 4 am groping around to find the time. A distant rooster is calling out to the silent night, but everyone else is asleep. Die nag is stil. I slip feet into slippers and I look out to try and see the sky and it looks like its going to be a wonderful day inshaAllah. I switch on the computer like a thief in the night and decide to write a short note. But first a warm cup of tea and I'm good to go.

Its remarkable how quick the words fly on paper, as I try to touch-type gently so as not to waken Abu, shhh. He had a full day yesterday what with all his work and trying to cheer me up and buying plants and taking me by the hand to plant broad beans. When I went outside just before Magrib he had cut plastic bottles to cloche them for protection of wind and dogs hunting gophers, they were dressed to live. We took a drive this morning to finish some tours and as we drove home, beautiful pink flamingos graced the wetlands. It is quite awesome how when winter has passed the water recedes and before you have time to wonder, rows and rows of vegetables green the landscape. I shudder to think that some of the wetlands are already being filled in with all kinds of materials and the destruction of the homes of birds like the flamingos that grace us with their elegance, like ballerinas in the water. And as I Google for pictures of flamingos in the area, lots of articles to conserve the wetlands but no pictures, will take some later to post inshaAllah.

A solitary truck passes by at breakneck speed - it is after four hey. Seriously, we have had so many accidents in front of our door. So we are planning some work at the Garlandale High School because all of their resources are ready just too little hands. Then we will proceed with our other schools in Rondevlei and in Manenberg. We lay low in winter and prepared compost and nurtured seedlings and they are almost ready. In two weeks we will be ready to get going there too. In the meantime here in Schaapkraal we have prepared new beds for our "clean seed". The doubla beans I planted has made their appearance noticed, the clean seed lettuce mix are growing beautifully but a bit too closely.

I await the last turnips roots to bulge and then we can redo, re-compost the middle bed for beautiful whatever, maybe artichokes and pak choi and tatsoi. Must remind myself to also seed some Chinese cabbage so the worms can go there for their fill. I have had a mammoth task to pick off black hairy worms and finding their little nests under leaves. They are quite tenacious, when they start eating they sommer deplete an entire plant from the bottom up. I came out in time to rescue a red sunflower just waiting to bloom and many of the tall flax plants stand there stripped of underleaves.

So Jumuah Mubarak everybody! And try to make a turn at Garlandale at 8.30 on Sunday morning to come and help us with hands or warm koeksisters and bring the children too! We have five volunteers from the IPSA students - shukran but please be on time!

Plant food and volunteer at food gardens near you.

Yasmine

On getting one’s groove back.

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful – neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him..

14 August 2014.

Have not felt like writing this past few days, heck have not felt like anything. I have no reason to feel this way. I have my studies under control, teaching materials are ready, the garden is progressing, I am not sick. But just so lethargic. Did not feel like cooking; hard to wake up in the morning; cleaning on the surface only, camera sits next to the computer - sorry no pics.

So I justify it for myself, all the turmoil in the world with Palestians, the Syrians, The Christian and Yazidi Iraqis, my favourite actor Robin WIlliams’s passing (I so loved The fisher king , Patch Adams, Dead Poets Society and Goodwill Hunting movies), electricity outages, and other things I had to do - must have just taken all of my energy. And on top of it, a teacher’s mountain bike got nicked right out of the school in the broad daylight. Oh no, so sorry Sh Saalim. It’s hard enough with electricity and fuel and food so expensive.

turnip

Then I jumped into action. Went outside and started weeding the patches. You’ll be surprised how pulling out grass and weeds can be enjoyable once you look back at your work and you work your back a bit! Abu brought some broad bean seedlings and we started planting. And I spied a fat turnip just waiting to be pulled out. Got the smoothies going; took a long shower; made my hair pretty; put on my lipstick and eye pencil. I pushed back all the static and started to count all of my wonderful blessings. A shopping list of Alhamdulilah.

 Alhamdulillah for the air that I breath; for waking up in the morning; for a good partner and amazing children; for a roof over my head; food in my house; relatively good health; eyesight and hearing;  wonderful garden; wonderful supervisors; for superb students; good friends; great family and the list got to more than a page and by the time I got to the next, hey energy levels up again and busy figuring out how to get some volunteers to come and help us on Sunday morning at Garlandale High School’s Organic food gardens.

So here I am calling on help for our friend Sayed Mohamed who needs assistance with weeding and planting. We will be gathering on Sunday at 8.30 am. I need volunteers who are prepared to enjoy getting their hands dirty and some to volunteer some warm koeksisters or doughnuts and coffee. And please wear gum boots for the gumboot dance. Just kidding. Please email me or inbox on FB if you can help.

Plant food and get your hands dirty and be thankful for small mercies.

Yasmine

The Mothercity speaks out!

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful.

 

 

Nearly overslept for the march, the mother of all marches this morning. At 9.00 we were en route bumper to bumper on the M5 and all the way in to the city. Apparently the Parade area was serving coffee and koeksister since 8 am, Cape Town knows how to throw a march, hey. This one reminds me of the day Madibah was released from prison but well not quite as beeg.

 

We knew we would not find parking so we took a leisurely walk downhill from Walmer Estate, spirits were high and the weather superb. People were walking down in droves hey Capetonians with their matching colours of red black and green from great grandmoms to babes on arms with the Palestinian flag hoisted, wrapped around heads, torsos - but flying high. Scarfs made into caps and dresses hey takes me back to them days when we picketed outside the Israeli embassy, thrown into police vans, out before Jumuah - only to realise that the embassy had moved to Pretoria, ha ha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met activists from all over Africa, from Egypt to Malawi, from Zimbabwe to Congo. Amid the louds "Takbirs" the occasional " Pansi Israel, pansi! and sometimes the crowd would start with Malibongwe and end off with duahs for the protection of the Palestians.

 

Thousands upon thousands of people converged and even as the march snaked towards Parliament more people were joining, so my personal gestimate? about 60 000 people wow!

 

Calls for boycotts, re energised the campaign from boycotting Woolworths to The British G4S from calling for Agrarian reform to praying for Gaza.

 

Just before Thuhr we decided to head back up, the walking was great but when you're unfit its embarrassing how that small incline becomes a mountain. The day was still young and we were famished so we took a drive through Constantia and Tokai, showed the kids Pollsmoor Prison and straight through to Surfers Corner Muizenberg, The Lucky Fish and chips yay! A family box and for Yasmine two Florentines. I have tried Florentines all over Cape Town but these are by far the most exquisite. A bit crunchy and sticky and ultra delicious. We had to get home because I still needed to complete spinach, chilli and samosas and cashew baklava for Nadia and Rameez's farewell tomorrow. So I'm off.

 

plant food and maintain the protest and boycott.

 

later Yasmine

 

ps. and the almond blossoms are out in full swing!

 

 



Finally, the first poppy.

In the name of Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and everything in between, the Most gracious, the Most merciful.

 

 

 

In a world where abnormal is seen to be normal, where the limits of brutality has no constraint, the day can be beautiful, almost perfect.

 

Jumuah Mubarak everyone.

 

 

plant food and tread this earth gently.

 

 

Yasmine

Local is lekker

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful. Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our Protector"; and on Allah let the believers put their trust.

7 August 2014.




vark lelies en maats

Hey, it’s wonderful to be a part of get- togethers of family and old friends to celebrate the days our mothers birthed us. I love the piecing together of stories and myths in our family and there is no better way to verify events in our minds than when we chat and start with I remember …I also love that people are conscious of the boycott, so thank goodness no Coke on tables yay! Now’s the time to sommer wean everyone off it and introduce ice teas, berry spritzers, cocoa made with dark chocolate and cinnamon and herbal teas and tisanes. But first we are mindful of the earthquake that reverberated from the North West Province to the entire east area. Alhamdulilaah, there were not many causalities, but we do feel sadness and concern for those who were affected.

We have been fairly fortunate so far in our country with few natural disasters like the tornado that ripped through the Cape and displaced so many people. We lived in Taronga Road then and we had built a double volume dwelling so as I lay on the bed looking out of the window to the sky I could actually see the colour change in the dark clouds and a strange purple coloured funnel-like something in the corner of my eye but was not really attentive. The next morning there was mayhem as we drove up and down the streets of Surry Estate checking on family members and friends. Roofs blown away to other parts of the town. And we were aghast when we drove further into the townships.

But what I remember more vividly was the tremor that hit the Cape the night Imam Harun died.

From my writings: From our balcony one could feast one’s eyes on Table Mountain when there was no tablecloth, Lions Head and Signal Hill. It was quite a view, the mountains surrounding us and the boats and steamers in the Table Bay. The Sanlam building was the tallest building then, in the sixties. When I was about 9 years old our neighbour Boeta Koefie had passed away. My parents were downstairs and my sister and I were home alone. The sea made an eerie wooshing sound and the ground began to tremble and shake. That was the night when Imam Harun was murdered. That was the earthquake that ripped apart Grabouw where the interrogators of Imam Harun lived.

So there we stood, my sister and I, under the staircase scared and shaking and reciting the Fatiha and the Quls and when we were done we would recite it again and again until it calmed us down.

Anyway though I thoroughly enjoyed the evening last night, I realise that I had eaten too much of the delicious warm doughnuts served and the delectable rich mushrooms in sauce and the fabulous braai. But the cherry on top for me was getting one of the Angela Hall soaps made of honey and almond and sommer bathed my face when I got home. I also wanted to put on a hands off sign on it ha ha. I love those products personally because are completely natural to the body and they were really good for my skin when I was in the Sudan.

Luqmaans chisels and rasps

But I felt lekker jaded this morning, yes? Nothing that a smoothie, face scrub and brisk walk won’t remedy. So what went into the smoothie this morning?  Hhhmmm. a glass of berry juice (not bought at Pick n Pay or Woolworths) a lekker scoop of fat free yoghurt, a small handful of raw oats, half a pear and apple and a good zing. And as I go outside to find some red strawberries, the birds had beaten me too it. But there is enough to share. The weather is wonderful outside, in break time the boys have pulled up their thaubs and play soccer in the long grass. Luqmaan is so chaffed because he got some chisels and rasps.

 I realise that it is difficult for some to adhere to the boycott in support of Palestine, what with the convenience of popping in with your cards and the goods are cheaper and so on. And coke being so addictive and an addition to most peoples' meal. But in this boycott is also a ni’amah in that we can support our local sellers on the corner, at the robot, at shops because Local is lekker! Besides there are so many other options to a healthier life as well supporting the embargo.

I also promised some pictures and ta daa, at the end of the post. These are the almond blossoms and it is a non pareil type and although the other trees have no blossoms yet Insha’Allah I hope the honeybees come to visit our garden after they visited other gardens with almond trees of a different variety. It’s not male/female thing but different varieties needed for cross pollination (sorry about that).

And did I mention that on the 1 August 1888 pageviews and today 2020 as I post this blog. Shukran everyone.

Plant food take care of your skins with natural products.

Yasmine



almond

chard and red cabbages



purple daisies

Baby steps - getting started

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful.

planting turnip seeds for soup

Also 5^th August 201.

There is a buzz in the community about growing food and treading on the earth gently. I like it when people say to me that they have no interest in gardening but when they are reading some of the stuff I write it makes them want to go out to a nursery, buy plants and start growing food.

tilted baths

Here’s a heads-up.  You don’t need much money to start up! You just need to unlock that love for it, it may become a bit obsessive sometimes ha ha but you will calm down after the honeymoon.  If you have a small piece of land, clear out the grass get a few bags of compost and dig it in. The winter rain will bless it with watering. If your piece of land is big, start with one bed or one corner at a time. If you have no soil and only concrete get some milk trays, tyres or old wooden crate or bath and some gardening soil.



red cabbages and chards

iris corms

 

seeds of love

Then you visit a friend with birds, preferably cockatiels or birds that eat sunflower seeds, borrow a few seeds, and push it into the ground not too deeply and you have sunflowers coming up! Buy some packets of seeds such as spinach or Swiss chards (a winner) read the directions and put them in both vegetables and flowers ( try your hand with cosmos flowers it never fails to impress). Now take a drive to Houtbay with strong clippers in hand, on the pavements there are much overgrown fig trees. Clips some good branches (you’re pruning, if anyone stops you) just above the joints and come home keep them in a bucket of water for a day and push them right into a buckets with good soil/compost. In a few weeks’ time all the leaves may have dropped off but you may see a bud or two. Daar is die vye bome. Hey I’m only kidding, rather ask permission from your neighbour to trim the branches overhanging your wall.

Visit friends with gardens and don’t just sound interested, be interested and they may offer you some seedlings, seeds, cuttings with advice. I would! You’d come across the gardening snob or two – ye have to use this kind of organic fertilizer and this kind of mushroom compost. Take no notice - you are there to learn. Get chicken manure from a friend with chickens and google how to water it down to feed your plants. Then check out the nurseries and see which ones sell little plug seedlings for a rand each, and plant them about a ruler's distance from one another. Spend your money that you were going to buy, candy, chocolates, Gatsby, lipstick or cigarettes or how so ever you splash money on and buy some varieties or lettuce, cabbages, broccoli or whatever you think. Even if it was the wrong choice or no one in the house eats let’s say kohlrabi, learn how to use it or give it to friends. Now you’re making progress ne.

Start looking at how you chuck away all the peels of your veggies. Make a furrow in the small piece of ground you have and chuck them there instead. Hey it may be full of surprises – potatoes, sweet potato, tomato and butternuts may sprout up there. Gently with your hands scoop out the plants with all of the surrounding soil and place in your patch. Soon you may not have any space left so you start taking out your old Tupperware bakke and drill holes in them and all those empty blikkies and maybe an interesting container or two and start by the holes first then a handful or two of stones from the driveway and then some good soil and hey you’re getting there! Oh and drop hints for what you would like for your birthday/anniversary, a pink wheelbarrow, an antique watering can, some meters of hosepipe and so on. And take a drive to the Rabbit King in Schaapkraal (thinks Kraal Rd) you will find really cheap used garden pots and lots more. But give yourself some cut off time, you can get lost in the rabbit hole.

Now go to your cupboard where you have lentils and sugar beans, black eyed beans, kidney beans and sommer while you are at it. Take out that packet of coriander seeds make some shallow furrows right around your beds and sprinkle in the seeds. Lightly cover with soil and pat down. Danya galore. Now you are ready for an entire morning to spend in the nursery, cancel all your appointments and get into your car with, later! There are coffee shops there too.

Later we’ll chat about making your own compost or getting someone to help you make it.

Plant food and start your garden with Bismillah today!

 

It’s raining again! 5 August 2014.

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful

 

 gutter strawberries



Its raining again oh, oh. As a child of District Six I loved to walk through the rain from school, unstrap my shoes, slip off my socks and walk in the side of the gutter where the overflow stormed down. I’d hold up my head and open my mouth for the droplets - would be completely rained through by the time I got home. It was quite a walk up from Sidney Street and into the Dry Dock. This continued even when we moved to the Cape Flats. My Mom would freak out completely, running to the door with towels and wanting to usher me into warm water and rub me down so I don’t pick up a cold. She would put my head on her toweled lap and rub my hair and until I was red in the face. And then somehow I did not do it anymore, I mean walk in the rain. I think I became so boring.

 
Yesterday, Abu and I took our new/old bakkie for a spin – off course we went to a nursery in the area, how else could we test the back area. We pulled our hoodies over tightly and walked in the rain. That sensation of youth without a care in the world. It was groovy, you should try it sometime. We ran for cover, I pretended that my scarf had slipped off and huge raindrops plopped on my head - just take a warm shower afterward but if you get the flu please don’t blame me. It was such fun, because I also got some plants out of the deal for very cheap.

I have wanted to dig out one of the bushes of arum lillies or vark lelies as it is called in Varkensvlei on the road and stash it a corner in my garden – they grow wild on the fields here. But then I thought no Yasmine it may belong to someone else. So hello, what do we have here – some arums, nice developed foliage and some babies on the side. I picture it in my mind tall white lillies with the daisies at its feet, priceless!

Is this Als?

We also bought some overgrown carnation bushes from which I will do many, many cuttings, a few white lavender plants - so up Abu’s alley and rosemary and thyme little ones. I don’t know which kind of carnations they are yet but I will recognise them somewhere – my Mom used to put in steggies all over the garden all of the time.  And I found Als but don't know what its called in English. The groen amara from Wellington is similar.

curryleaf with berries

 I never realised that curry leafs are also male and female plants until I saw my sister in laws tree filled with berries and remember that mine have little sprays of white flowers but no berries. My foliage is also softer and greener but they are both awesome when it hits the curry. So I took some dried berries to see if they can grow from berries. Curry leaves are so pedantic.

 

wall creeper

 

 

My brothers outside walls (there where the golden lady bug lives and gutters of strawberries) are also covered with a creeper with tiny purple flowers that the wind somehow just blew there they are spectacular.

The one almond tree in the garden is filled with blossoms it is sooooo beautiful, pic later The other two young trees still linger without bloom but are filled with foliage - one needs more than one for cross pollination but I am sure if in your area there are other trees of the same kind,  just as good. The same goes for avocado trees and apple trees. The garden teaches me so many things.

The birds are undeterred by the rains I think, they dive for cover every so often when I am in the shed I see them perched up there. And when the rain stops they’re outta there diving low and all over the ground for worms. One the signs that we made good progress with From the ground up is that there are earthworms all over, every pot you pick up, every bed you dig in, so no need for a worm farm too. No wonder the gopher is having the time of her life furrowing under all the roots where the earthworms linger.

Seriously, I need to get us some gumboots, my old suedes are really starting to fall apart and it stays wet and I think it going to rain some more before the spring.

Plant food and walk in the rain.

Yasmine