Munda Watu (Our Garden)

Nearing the end of an afternoon we all gathered with Mr. Phiri, our gardener, to help plant the seeds for all sorts of yummy veggies in the beautiful garden he had just tilled and mounded. Finishing well into dusk with the night settling around us we hurried to water the beds. One part of me wants the rains to come soon so that the garden can grow but another part hopes they stay away for some time yet. I’m not ready for the constant mildewy smell of all our clothes, shoes and whatnot. After Lebo’s suggestion we decided to experiment using charcoal as a way to prevent too much water runoff. When it rains here it really pours. You don’t want to be caught outside in it that’s for sure. So Lebo’s picked up a theory that the charcoal will retain more moisture in the soil by absorbing the water. We put charcoal down with the manure only on the first mound. The mound next to it has the same plants growing but no charcoal. We’re expecting that the plants in the first mound will grow better but we’ll just have to wait and see.
-Nora