Harvesting Fruits on Dry Land.

Those who have followed my posts know that the house where I live is not my own, that is, it is rented. I pay monthly rent. I will be five years living here in December. So today I will tell you about the yard. The backyard of the house has no perimeter walls. It has no walls built to keep out strangers, that is, animals and people.

The soil in the backyard was dry and sandy. It had only brush and weeds that covered its entire length. Since I moved in, I have spent time cleaning it up and maintaining it as a planting area for aromatic plants and herbs. It is my favorite hobby and a natural stress reliever. It has kept me busy for many years and now in times of pandemic much more.

For years all the organic material produced by eating food has been used to keep the natural nutrients in the soil. When I cut vegetables and vegetable shells I recycle them in my yard. Coffee grounds, eggshells, banana shells, everything is buried in the soil. I have been doing this for five years. And it also benefits me because it produces less garbage when the garbage truck arrives. It only takes empty containers, cardboard, paper and plastic.

 Before, a lot of stray dogs would come into the yard. And sometimes people would come to look at what I have in the yard. To prevent people from trespassing I started to build perimeter walls with plants. I started planting. I have planted side by side 14 bushes of lemons, oranges and tangerines. They are still small, no more than a meter high. But they are blocking the way there. On the other side, I have bananas plants, and different kind of plantains plants. They have harvested from here and have already had other shoots that will be ready to bear fruit next year.

Also on the same side are planted close to each other 9 papaya plants. At another end I set up a kind of mesh with wires with several bushes of passion fruits that are entangled in the mesh, giving the sensation of a vegetable gate. I have an extension with a lemon balm bush.

I surrounded myself on all sides with the plants. Now people don't come in. Sometimes a dog passes by but my pet Amber makes him run very fast. Amber is like me, jealous of her yard, she protects her area, she doesn't even let a cat pass by... hahaha.

The soil is not as dry as it was at the beginning, now I have sweet peppers, paprika and chives. I have spinach, white basil, purple basil, good weed, and oregano.

I have prepared quite a bit of sweetened papaya from the papayas plants. I have already eaten several bunches of banana and plantain from my harvest. Last week we cut the last bunch of bananas of the season. And I have other new plants to bear fruit next year.

From the aromatic plants, I have prepared hot tea and made some sauces or creams that are spectacular to accompany lunch with steamed potatoes or meats. Very tasty.

I have harvested pumpkins, sweet potatoes, melon, cucumber, and sweet potatoes. They leave my yard with a lot of vines to remove at the end of their products but they are worth it. Sweet potatoes, and pumpkins are special for making cakes. Large cucumbers for salads.

I have several hibiscus bushes. When they are in bloom we make juice. What a delight to drink cold hibiscus flower juice.

I have cactus and succulents, of which I make landscape compositions in clay pots. I used to sell them by order but now this enterprise is paralyzed for the moment. But latent, someday I will take it up again.

I have all that in my yard. God has been so generous with me that he has given me fruit on dry land.

In conclusion and as a way of reflection, I will tell you the following, in the life of each one of us the same thing happens. Just as each one of us sows in good works, so too, in time, we will reap good fruits, in blessings.

 "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully" 2 Corinthians 9:6.

I am always grateful for the time you spend reading my posts and to my sponsors and readers in general for your great support, thank you very much.