Yambol City Farming Begins

Yambol City Farming BeginsSo, the City farm was laying fallow in Yambol and needed more than just a bit of elbow grease to get it up and running into a food factory. This was the main reason I came to Bulgaria to produce my own organic food from the land. Now the opportunity had been given for me to do that locally and it was about to begin.

All my tools for growing were in the village farmhouse, there were a few tools in the factory outbuilding that I could use but the most important tool was the Bulgarian ralo (рало). This was a tool that every Bulgarian that works the land or garden has. It is one of the biggest discoveries for me since coming to Bulgaria and would never be without it as it is like a multi-tool for the land doing the job of a spade, fork, trowel, pick axe, axe, hammer and mallet all in one. I now have three of these, having spent 10 Lev on my third one to be kept on site of the City farm. I could quite easily write a post solely dedicated to this tool and how to use and maintain it.

The potatoes seed still in the boot of the Lada and my farming outfit along with the traditional blue dungarees and matching jacket, thick knitted Bulgarian socks fitting snugly into my Bulgaria rubber galoshes and I was off.

Five minutes later I was on site, they knew I was coming as a local resident who called Maria (surprise! surprise!) was waiting for me. She is a typical village woman who happens to be in town albeit the outskirts. In typical bundled layers of woollen clothing and headgear because there was a slight wind on this warm and sunny day she didn't waste any time in putting my potato planting to rights. What I didn't know was that she had been instructed to teach this 'green' Englishman how to plant potatoes. IYambol City Farming Begins thought I knew having done it in the village on many occasions, but I apparently hadn't a clue after extensive instruction from a woman who has been working the land for over 50 years in the same way she had been traditionally taught.

After just a couple of hours the potatoes were sown and the ground that had been worked looked just needed a couple of wooden crosses and would replicate a graveyard. Having said that, the amount of bones that were dug up was quite amazing, I assume they were human bones as they were fed to the numerous security dogs around that barked at any movements made from non-familiar faces.

Yambol City Farming BeginsThe technique used for sowing potatoes seemed quite complex at first, there were many stages of preparing mounds moving half of it laying the potatoes then the fertilizer and building the earth mound back again and finally slightly flattening and smoothing the top. Alongside each elongated mound are water channels that had been made both in line with the mounds and channels bordering the length of the whole patch. Each channel is dammed at teach end creating an effective reservoir system when watered.

The afternoon session was finished with a simple task of planting 60 lettuce seedling simply using my index finger as a dabber. Once the soil had been worked with the ralo as a forking tool, the sold was very easy to work with. the biggest problem was lucerne, an animal feed herb that is perennial with roots dug in as deep as half a metre.

This was only the first session and will now be a daily trip for me on my bicycle as everything I need to farm is on site now. There is even more excitement looming as we return to the village farmhouse this weekend to tend to sowing sweetcorn and more potatoes on the land there. This really is a dream being fulfilled right now thanks to the generosity of Galia's family giving this land to us to work on.

NOTE:
Galia was there watching all this from the office window, this was her first outing for over two weeks confined to bed. It was a lovely day and good that she could get out and catch up with news at work. She won't be working for at least another few weeks and improving every day.
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14 comments:

  1. Best wishes to Galia and I'm sure the day out must have given her a massive boost, it's good to read she is recovering well.
    The photos paint a thousand words and your words add a thousand more. Your post has a feel to it of a man who is on the crest of a wave, full of determination to succeed in living his dream. A man prepared to work his fingers to the bone to eradicate the slightest doubts of failure that may linger in the back of his mind. Life's looking rosy for you at the moment and with your work ethics I'm sure this year is going to be a big winner for you. Hard work has been the foundation of success for many a person and I hope that yourself and Galia reap the rewards for all of the hard work that you have both put into your life together. The "chips" are down, now you've just got to wait to eat them.

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  2. You should join some of the photography categories at SlogBite, I think this site qualifies.

    BTW, I came to your site today by way of SlogBite’s new game. If you haven’t tried it you really should give it whirl. http://www.slogbite.com/particpant-features/slog-machine

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  3. Martyn, you would make a fanstatic football manager and congrats on you 1000 hits I forgot to mention. byt he way we had chips last night - Real potatoes chips!

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  4. Martin this takes me back more years than I care to remember. I once owned a house in the UK with a decent vegetable plot. My favourite crop?

    Early potatoes (new) planted about now to avoid late frosts were always worth the effort for taste alone.

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  5. wow, tough job Martin, but good luck with it.
    All the best for Galia and you.
    kindest
    hans

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  6. Hi Martin,
    What a great way to spend the day! I'm very envious as we don't have a garden here, but I'm praying and hoping one might come our way some day!!! :0)

    Your pictures are very telling, too...and the garden looks to be in great form!!! :0)

    Congrats and good luck to you and Galia...I'm really happy to hear that she's making such great progress in her recovery!! :0)

    Have a great day,
    Sher :0)

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  7. Thanks for all your comments guys.
    It snowed last night, but by lunchtime is was like a summer day and the beans went in in the afternoon! I hope everyone else can get to do at least a little DIY food somewhere in or aroudn your homes, it is so rewarding and well worth the effort like Mike says.

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  8. Hi, just a quick reminder that the First Blog World Surf Day is starting soon, please refer to this post http://prague.today.com/2009/03/27/count-down-world-blog-surf-day/ to see who will link to you and to whom you have to link at the end of your post. I am looking forward to reading your post;-)

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  9. Hi Martin!

    What a nice weather to work on the farm...I can't wait to go to ours in the Philippines too.

    Hope you and Galia have a wonderful weekend!

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  10. Ahhh... nothing quite comes close to the feeling of prosperity, rightfully earned, from growing your own stuff.

    I so envy you with your wonderful garden. All that digging in the dirt, being sweetly tired and loving it, then the looking forward to the green things popping up and all.

    And after reading here for awhile, I can't help but think that there will be one heck of a harvest party.

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  11. Jade: Great minds think alike.

    Catherine: If you ever get to Bulgaria you will realise that the harvest celebrations go on all year round. Really!

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  12. All the best with your farming effort. Hard work but the rewards will be worthwhile.

    And it's good to hear about Galia recovering well.

    Best wishes to both of you!

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  13. Lina:
    Thank you fo rthsoe kiknd words. Galia is now in the willage relaxing in the warm spring air and even the tulips have opened up for her.

    If only more people grew their own food in the spaces they have, I think this world would be a much better place.

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  14. Martin, before you disappear on entrecard, you are added on Internations, see first post of today Friday.)
    Kindest
    hans

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