It has been a long time since the Powell family had a garden of any substance. Probably would have to go back to graduate school days at University of Georgia to find something in our yard that qualified as a produce-producing plot. So, when we arrived in Namibia in January--in the middle of summer--it seemed like a good idea to plant a garden. We had a side yard with lots of dirt (photo at right). We had a bit more time than normal, and we now lived in a country with a very long growing season.
So, we planted some maize (sweet corn), carrots, and squash from seed. We also bought some tomato plants and green peppers at a local farmers market, and we bought some herbs and strawberries at the local garden store.
It's been about 3 months, and the garden is starting to mature and produce. Tristan ate his first strawberry the other day--the strawberries are his project. Kelly has been harvesting basil and coriander from the herb garden. And, we got our first green peppers. The carrots are coming on, and the maize tasseled last week. The squash--not sure what will happen to them, but they are blooming.
The key to a good garden, it appears, in Namibia is to have it partially shaded during the day. The sun is brutal, and now that the rains have stopped for the next 3-4 months, we're doing quite a bit of watering. We used the grass clippings from the yard as mulch, which has helped quite a bit with water retention.
Our garden has been helped along by our 'constant gardener', Israel. Israel comes once a week, when his malaria doesn't kick back in, and tends our yard. He keeps area around the garden nice and neat, and we weed the garden. Israel really keeps the yard looking great. As he weeded our side yard (it's completely dirt, and had grown up with weeds during the rainy season, as we can't get the mower to that part of the yard), he found several volunteer tomato plants--maybe the Conroy's boys (last year's Fulbrighter at Polytechnic) had a tomato fight in our back yard last year? So, we've ended up with many more tomatoes than we can probably handle.
Israel works all day for about 1/4 what he would earn in the US, considering the minimum wage in the US is US$6.55/hour. There is no minimum wage in Namibia, and the going rate for a gardener is about N$100/day (about US$12 at current exchange rates). We pay him a bit more, but he also gets a tasty lunch from Kelly, and he may not know it yet--but, he has some tasty vegetables coming his way soon. Israel has a wife and 3 little kids.
Our yard also has some fruit trees, which are starting to produce. Here's some photos of the garden and associated fruit trees.
The main garden plot. Maize (planted in 6 hills), tomatoes (left and right side), green peppers (front, middle) and carrots (to the right of the corn, behind tomatoes).
One of the two hills of pumpkins. Will probably be white. Some volunteer tomatoes in the background.
Orange tree (left) and lemon tree (right).
Guava tree (left) and guava fruit (right).
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