HOW WELL DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW

While Mary's garden grows with silver bells and cockleshells etc ours sprouts thorns and thistles. Weeds need to constantly be removed to allow our veggies and herbs to survive. Even the basic act of building gardens - especially in our particularly rocky and dry lands - entails plenty of backbreaking work and often heavy machinery.

This year - finally - we are building an aquaponics system. I say WE but what I mean is "he". My Husband, with me (his main fan and cheerleader on the sidelines) and camera. He is currently designing an Karoo friendly aquaponics system. The idea is to utilize our old leaking dam and build the concrete containers inside. We intend to make it like a little oasis. Our quiet place. Of course the gentle sound of water will mean fresh fish and the lush green garden will actually be special containers of aqua grown vegetables. Can it get better?

So why build with concrete? Why not the regular containers? Well let me summarize as best I can the months of extensive aquaponic-ising (is that a word?) that takes up all my Husband's spare time. And then some. Firstly; he has been forced to become creative as the current dire drought gripping a good part of South Africa means that water containers of any shape or form are very scarce. This is because 1. they obviously get snapped up to store precious water. And 2. making them requires the precious water which is so scarce. Concrete is apparently the perfect pH for aquaponics, so the learned Husband tells me. Those that have incorporated concrete in their aquaponics control temperatures better and have a more natural environment for both fish and greens, than plastic. We already have the big old concrete dam (bottom right corner) which finally has a purpose.

Having seen the #homesteading contest held by @knowledge-seeker I am inspired to share our new venture with you. While this isn't exactly the contests; "Which Garden Vegetable Or Plant Are You Most Excited About This Year And Why?" I guess we'll be able to grow plenty of kale. And kale is my new favourite veggie. Kale has far more nutritional value than spinach. It is packed full of vitamins and minerals, from iron to Vit K to potassium. I love it fresh in salads and can't wait for larger quantities to start dehydrating delicious kale chips! Maybe soon we'll be having aquaponic fish with kale chips!