sexta-feira, setembro 28, 2007

As chegadas do Outono

English translation: after a year of collecting tomatoes, peppers, peas, lettuce and several other herb salads, basil, leeks, brocculi, baby carrots and even berries, we moved now to seed some turnips, spinach, radish and some salad herbs for overwinter production. At the moment, I am quite busy with my PhD. Please post comments if you desire more sharing.

Ao Cantinho Verde da varanda, chega o Outono.
Colhi dezenas de tomates, alguns pimentos, cenouras bebés, duas beringelas, muito basílico e inclusivé framboesas.
Agora é tempo de semear nabos, espinafres, ervas para salada e rabanetes. Tudo com a ajuda de solo bem fertilizado com composto que proveio dos restos da cozinha!
Houve muitas plantas que experimentei cultivar este verão como linho (com as suas belas flores), sésamo, mentas e até gengibre (que ainda cresce).
Talvez só as couves-de-bruxelas, feijoeiros e couves roxas não se deram em vasos.
Como plantas com interesse medicinal, adquiri recentemente uma lúcialima, uma valeriana, um lúpulo, bergamota e uma salvia-ananás.

Em síntese, o ano de 2007 permitiu-me comer umas dezenas de tomates (4 tomateiros), pimentos, dois meses de alface, rúcula, endívia e espinafres (uma floreira para cada), alguns rabanetes, muitas ervas aromáticas e medicinais, alguns morangos e framboesas, algumas batatas pequenas e cenouras bebés, uns alhos francês, ainda ervas para salada oriental, bastantes ervilhas e lentilhas (2 pés para uma refeição), alguns bróculos (seis plantas), alguns cereais, duas beringelas e duas courgettes.

Recomenda-se vivamente: manjerona, hissopo, lúcialima, erva príncipe, cidreira, menta chocolate, basílico canela e limão, coentros, tomilhos, equinácea e hera terrestre

De momento estou ocupado com o Doutoramento, daí não escrever frequentemente.
Para mais troca de experiências por favor deixar comentário.

terça-feira, julho 17, 2007

Fotos Julho 2007

Yes! Its pretty colourful this time of the year!


Summer flowers


Marigolds


Global perspective of garden (thats my littly cat in there)


Cereal harvest (harvest moon- neil young, this is for you Hélder!)


Tomatoes in flower (didnt you know that from here such big fruits appear??)


Hmmmm... sweet lemon basils (for making tea!)


Tomatoes! (good for pasta!)


Thyme, marjoram and sweet-basil (good for making pesto!)


Eggplant venusian flower


Leeks

Small carrots


Very fresh flavour!

Biodynamic agriculture / Biodynamic preparations

Today, I've tried the other preparations from biodynamic agriculture.
It's pretty curious complex and awesome to read Rudolf Steiner lectures.
He makes so fantastic correlations between the life force of a plant, the overall ecosystem, relationship between plants and animals, their fruits and food purposes and qualities, their state of health and how to prevent plant diseases and, most amazingly of all, the relationship between metaphysics and the spiritual with the material world. How the tales from above, make their influences to our green world below.
This wisdom is quite present in the old peasant lore, that is even reported in Portugal by old practicing rural farmers, the almanaques Borda d'Água and Seringador. The Maria Thun calendar takes some insight from it, but there are some misinterpretations to my belief.

Today I've tried all biodynamic preparations such as yarrow (Milefólio), chamomile (Camomila), horsetail (Cavalinha), nettle (Urtiga) and valerian (Valeriana), except for dandelion (Dente-leão) and oak bark (Casca de Carvalho). Let's see what happens. I had remarkable insights from following the moon-calendar since January, yet still under trying.

Please have a look at http://www.garudabd.org/Agriccourse/contents.html for Steiner lectures,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture for Wikipedia article, and http://mulliganstew.wordpress.com/2006/10/31/biodynamics-the-original-and-future-organics/ for a short introduction on Biodynamics.