GARDENING IN COCH

O.K. is has been over a month and no blog entries. What happened? First we move our home in Cochabamba. We now live only three blocks from the language school. It is nice getting up later but we do miss the walks. And for some reason we just have not been able to fit them in again. But there are advantages to living here. We are a twenty minute walk from downtown and the church and a fifteen minute walk to the supermarket. The outdoor market takes place each Saturday at the end of the street and there is a permanent market just a couple blocks away.

We also have a yard in which we can work. I have enjoyed it but I would not want to year- round garden the garden I had at home. This one is enough work but then it has been untended for awhile. Around the edge of the lawn is a row about 50 cm. wide of Lamb’s Ear. It looks quite attractive except for all the oxalis and some type of small lily that is growing through it. The first time I had no tools so I simply took everything off at ground level. Now I have a trowel and have been trying to get out all the corms. I am sure that I have unearthed over a thousand. And to think that we sold those for money at the garden centre!! I have added some alyssum, gazania, and impatiens to make the garden more colorful. Now we have had a lot of rain so things are growing well.

We have had a lot of rain in the past month but if we don’t have rain we have to water every day. That is something that I did not expect. But the soil does not retain water well and dries out very quickly. A day after a good rain and I can back weeding.

Jake and Pete have a greenhouse on the space right in front of our bedroom window. It is a space that was designed for vehicles but since we don’t have one, and that is the only space with good sunlight, it was made into a greenhouse. It is right along the street and I am sure that the locals thought that those gringos were loco. But now that things are growing, they are quite fascinated and stop to see what is new. Jake has planted a bed of Moringa seeds and that seems to be the most fascinating. They also have tomatoes in the greenhouse. Behind the house there are tomatoes and peppers and we are eating the fresh lettuce. Eat your hearts out!

It is good to have this place to call our own for a few months. In the afternoon when I am tired I go out and work in the garden for an hour or two and it does more good that a nap. I am not sure what changes will take place in a couple of months but it is giving us some experience in somewhat tropical gardening.