Earlier in the week I had received this email invite to a Grow Your Own Food Expo at a local garden centre.
Today being my jaunt day, I thought it would be good to check it out.
Even though we're experiencing a drought, I needed to plant a few more edibles in my herb/veggie garden.
Of course the kale in the advert caught my eye, and I had a vision of me returning home with a large tray of kale seedlings.
I arrived early for the 9am start, and waited patiently, not realising that the store had kept its regular eight o'clock opening hour.
There were quite a few shoppers on the inside by the time I pushed the door to enter the store.
A good selection of seedlings
The kale was already potted......not the seedling trays I had hoped for so I did not purchase any.
The vendors on the outside had lovely produce displays which I couldn't resist.
I bought some okras and cucumbers.
The Butterfly Choice Mulch stall caught my interest.
Operated by the SBRC (Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre Inc.)
Various blends of mulches made from 100% recycled organic materials were available for sale.
Coconut & Wood Mulch is porous and repels snails, and provides a protective layer over the soil surface hence reducing water cost and suppressing weeds.
Green Waste Mulch is an excellent organic soil cover which improves the drainage of clay soil and reduces soil erosion. It can also be used as a raw material by adding manure for composting.
Wood Chip Mulch is a decorative medium for covering footpaths and makes a great weed suppressant.
I was happy to see this banner and to learn that this service was available to us plant lovers when we have a problem with diseased plants.
I tried the Jergens lotion and liked the Aloe/Cucumber one the best.
Who can pass up free Dannon yogurt at the sample stall?
I enjoyed a blueberry-flavoured one.
Plant purchases were placed not too far away while the samples were enjoyed.
Cookies......
....and Costa Rican gourmet coffee were also sampled.
I guess you're wondering if I didn't purchase any seedlings since the kale packs were not available...well yes I did.
I planted them in this evening when the sun was lower in the sky and gave them a good watering to make them comfy. I hope they do well.
Those lettuce look good. I love the type you can pick leaf at a time as you need some. Now our Summer is over I should plant some myself.
ReplyDeleteI'll be picking off the outer leaves and having them in salads....they should last a long while this way.
DeleteHurry up and get yours planted....homegrown food tastes best.
I'm hoping that I will be able to erect a polytunnel (I shall blog about it) and start growing my own vegetables now that I shall be on Lewis year round. You have made me wonder whether our local recycling centre makes compost and mulches: the one in Napier did.
ReplyDeleteYour polytunnel sounds like an interesting project...looking forward to your blog post.
DeleteWhat will you be planting? All the good stuff that you like to eat I imagine...have fun.
I hope you find local mulch and compost for your garden plans.