By Tessa
I love to have my hands in the dirt, and so as soon as we arrived we set out to find seeds and clean soil. There is little need to buy seeds here – they are all around us. Every couple of days we’d buy from our favorite vendor. His rusted old Nissan pickup is always exploding with seasonal fruits and vegetables (all grown locally in the DR).
We have a routine – buy, eat, plant, compost. I hope that someday we’ll stay long enough to literally enjoy the fruits of our labor. But in the meantime…
We saved veggie scraps and each week brought it to the school compost to make our own soil. We have learned how to open the pits of mangos, to plant the tops of pineapples, to grow pitahaya (dragonfruit), chinola, tamarind and avocados. We have also grown peppers, cucumbers and bok choy.
We’ve also found some wild fruits to enjoy like these beach grapes.
Makena has taken a real liking to caring for the plants. Each day she waters them and has transplanted many into creatively recycled containers. Our small balcony has turned into a lovely peaceful place.
The most rewarding part has been to giving the seedlings away. We are leaving soon, so we gave Harriett (the environment teacher and school gardener) several plants for the school garden, and gave the larger plants to our friends Manuel and Icidro. Each are finishing their new homes here and will plant these fruits and vegetables in their gardens.
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