O problema das abelhas a desaparecer; The trouble of disappearing bees

O jardim está agora muito crescido e todos os dias colhemos comida dele. Infelizmente a máquina avariou para poder tirar fotografias. São tomates, aipo, rúcula, bróculos, acelgas, pimentos, pepinos, courgettes e abóboras.
No entanto, as courgettes e as abóboras estão a produzir mal. Crescem, dão muita flor mas o fruto só desenvolve às vezes. Descobri que o problema é fraca polinização, e como esta é feita pelas abelhas, já sabemos o que é.
É um problema gravíssimo para a Humanidade, e mundial, já que tantas culturas estão a ser afectadas por este desaparecimento. Especialmente nos últimos anos. Há diversas teorias, os cientistas não tem a certeza, mas as mais faladas, são o excesso de pesticidas, a introdução dos OGMs, e possivelmente a radiação dos telemóveis.
A solução, que irei melhorar no próximo ano, é introduzir mais flores silvestres no jardim que atraem as abelhas, ou até, criarmos uma colmeia no jardim!

Tirando isso, os tomates produzem imensamente bem, mesmo com um verão algo frio, e tendo o jardim numa zona com apenas 4 horas de sol directo. Agradeço às camas de cultivo com composto, chás de composto e urtiga como fertilizante natural, o mulching (cobertura do solo), ao cultivo de biodiversidade no jardim (companion planting) enfim a todos estes fabulosos métodos de cultivo biológico!! Funcionam tão bem! E a comida é deliciosa, fresca e abundante!

Update garden, 6 July 2009

I return back from a two-week vacations.
There was no need for watering. All the food garden was a jungle. The weather was quite cool and wet.
The jungle is crazy growing tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini and beans. Maybe because I don't prune my tomatoes, and I don't stake any plant. I just let everything growing wildy and mixed. Talk about excessive companion planting!
So, I learnt a few valuable lessons: plan and organize your garden!
give enough space to each plant to avoid becoming a jungle!

Next year, I will make of companion planting a wise and careful choice, such as not mixing a big plant such a tomato or zucchini with small ones like swiss chard or tiger nuts, or mixing brocculi withbeets. The vines are particularly invasive!

About pruning: remember last year, I had only one tomato plant, I didn't prune it, and I got in the end more than 100 tomatoes, in only one plant! So, I keep not pruning; let them grow without limits.

There are now dozens of green tomatoes.
We harvested zucchini (unfortunely some were rot, due to the cold weather), swiss chard, lettuce, one big cucumber, beautiful kohl-rabi, and plenty of zucchini and nasturtium flowers for our salads. We have also dozens of nice brocculi!

The fact that the garden has only 3-4 hours of daily sunlight seems not to be a problem. Yes, I have more greens than fruits, and ripening is slower, but the crops still are fine.

Now, we got four days of warm, humid, thunder weather; today it rained heavily for five hours. Then, as it was very humid evening, we went slug hunting, and imagine... we catch 127 slugs! Half were around the compost bins! Usually, I am not a killer (!!), but I have had enough. I just cut them in half. I think tomorrow the birds are going to have a dinner party!!