Jamaican Farming Experience

This past week has involved a lot of planting and we also began harvesting some things that have been growing for a while on their own.

The things that we harvested this week were 24 pounds of Gungo Peas and over 100 pounds of Cho cho. These were here before we got here so we are taking advantage of the situation and not letting these things go to waste.

This past week at Pepper Ridge we have planted Gungo Peas across the front wall at bottom of property. These will give privacy and cut down on the noise and dust. The back wall also got some Gungo planted. These peas are a staple food and are one of the easiest foods to grow with little or no chemical dependence.

The melons that we planted last week are coming up already. Will have plenty of extra plants to transplant to bare areas. The hardest part is keeping the weeds down. Constantly hoeing and weeding. Once an area is weed free we put down a heavy mulch. This keeps weeds from starting, conserves the soil's moisture and gives the melons a nice soft bed to grow on.

We will be selling the Bok Choy in the next few days. I think that we will have between 50-60 pounds. A guy will come around in a truck and will pick up anything that you have for sale. We really need a pick-up so we can deliver the goods when we are ready and cut out another middle man. Sorry middle man.

I almost forgot about the corn. We planted it when we first arrived at Amity (our rental house). It is ready to start harvesting slowly. We have an Heirloom white corn and the local yellow. We will really concentrate on the Heirloom because it is delicious and much bigger than the local variety. Can't wait to make a soup out of pumpkin, grated corn and Cho cho.

There is still a lot to do and the upcoming week will include finishing the melon area. Will be transplanting peppers, papaya, tomatoes and Jamaican sorrel. We have begun the process of planting the land with fruit trees and ornamental plants and palms. These will be the basis of the permanent landscaping of Pepper ridge.

For more Jamaican gardening go to www.gardeningdirections.com