Page 6 - Issue 3 Cornwall Hill

lIFE In lOckdOWn

reminding myself that this was not a step anguished concern, I tried to understand
to skip over, and that the quality of the what could possibly be so important
soil is crucial for the healthy growth of the that she had to be in such a rush that she
vegetables. I do not regret this at all, as this injured herself, and as tears streamed down
proved to be crucial to the success of the her little cheeks, she exclaimed that she just
veggies’ growth. wanted me to know that the radishes had
started to come up! Bless her little heart!
Because of the angled slope of the piece These are memories and moments in her
of land, I had to make plant box ‘levels’ and childhood that I am sure she will cherish as
got the idea to use left-over patio ‘wooden- much as I will in the years to come.
look’ tiles that were lying around the back
of our house. Each level then had to be built I read an online article that gardening has
up with a shovel, and this was where it got become one of the top coping mechanisms
even more physically draining! With the for many people all across the globe
sweat pouring from my face, it must have suffering from “lockdown blues,” much
been a sorry sight to see her mother toiling like ‘Victory Gardens’ in the World Wars
and struggling like this, so my sweet little provided not only food supplementation to
girl decided to put on her whitest, newest the troops, but also a much-needed morale
pair of sneakers and pitch in to help me boost to the people staying at home during
with the planting of the seedlings. (I did, those perilous times. One could even argue
however, beg her to go get some older that the social and economic conditions
shoes; once she saw how muddy things got, created by the Covid-19 pandemic has
she was quite eager to listen to me). been similar to a wartime experience and
those fortunate enough to have gardens
Together, we worked well past sunset into have found it to be a wonderful refuge
the early hours of the evening. The two to restore our emotions to some extent.
of us managed to plant all the seedlings Working in the soil and watching things
in the ground before clocking off for the grow has enormous therapeutic benefits,
day. Some of the seedling were not exactly and I can honestly attest to the truth of
being planted in the right way according this. Although it required a level of physical
to her perfectionist mother, but I resisted effort that we as spoilt South Africans with
the urge to correct her and allowed her the full-time gardeners are not accustomed to,
freedom to do as she pleased. She seemed it certainly was worth the joy and sense of
to enjoy it immensely and that made my accomplishment it produced, in addition
mother’s heart glad. to the precious memories and relationship-
building it achieved between a mother and
That evening my body felt physically a young child. Those carrots and radishes
broken; my back and legs ached like I had are going to taste so much sweeter
been trampled on by a troop of elephants. because of it.
Yet, the sweet satisfaction of having
accomplished something I had wanted to
do for so long, as well as spending quality
time with my daughter, made it all so Here are a few very basic tips I picked up from my
worth it. My spirit and my emotions were veggie garden experience:
soaring.
Pest control
Over the next few days, the veggie garden Ground coffee, eggshells and Epsom salts. We managed to control that pesky
became a fully-fledged mother-daughter
collaboration. It was now our lockdown snail with a natural alternative to poisonous pesticides, keeping our garden 100%
garden. Bella eagerly sowed the carrot and organic. Epsom salts also works well to discourage pests and helps increase foliage
radish seeds, helped me move the already- production.
growing cherry tomatoes from another
part of the garden, and water the garden Fertiliser
when the stretch between rainfalls became I really like using a product called “Starke Ayres Nutrifeed” as I have found this to
longer. We even made cute little name work very well with my herb garden in the past. It is a white powder you mix in your
labels for our different veggie rows. I wish watering can and distribute as you water your veggie plants.
I could eternally capture the excitement
and joy on her little face when we started Planting combinations
seeing our carrot and radish sprouts come I had to do a bit of research on this one when planning the garden layout.
up; or the worry and concern over the Apparently, certain plants don’t like to be planted next to other plants, depending
seedlings with those two bad hail storms on their various environmental requirements. I would suggest doing the same
we experienced. Can you just picture the before purchasing any seeds or seedlings.
anger in her entire little frame when one
morning, we came across some of our Planting seasons
spinach plants with entire stalks chewed up Most plants should ideally be planted before or after winter, so for some of our
from what we suspected was a pesky snail! crops we are using a small greenhouse to plant our seeds in pots. This is to ensure
When she saw the first red radish peeking protection from the harsh frost we might experience in winter time. At this point I
out from the ground, in her excitement have sowed some rocket, basil and tomatoes in our little greenhouse.
she ran to come find me, but tripped over
a bucket and badly scraped her shin. In my

4 Cornwall View • Issue 3 2020