Time For A Little Note and Reflection

It really has been quite an eventful few months here and to be quite honest a struggle. Not much time as usual for the things I want to do, namely cycling and blogging, but that is just down to life as it is here. How many of the population here have time to do what they want to do whilst trying to earn a living and grow the food that is essential for surviving through to the next season?

The rains have been prolific over the last few months and the tomato and grape crops are bordering on failure in many household and agro businesses. My tomatoes are just salvageable but the grapes are doomed. No rakia this year from the crops although the sliva is thriving on the rainfall we have had. The only stumbling block there is being able to afford the supplement of sugar needed to make it. The amount of work I do for the money to any western eyes may seem ridiculous, but this is why I am here to experience how it 'really' is in Bulgaria and not on a crest of a financial wave of indulgence. It has hardened me up to appreciate the little good things in life that were just not realised. 

I hope all that read this blog are well in their own blogging circles. I'm not too sure how many have realised that this blog has reverted to the blogspot domain which has now a PR2 rating as opposed to the PR0 of before. Strange how this works with Google....

I will try and write more regularly but it is difficult what with the work routine being the same almost everyday. Besides this it is a time for being outside in the slightly cooler evening air in the evenings after work, not stuck in front of a laptop in the kitchen.

A Peach Of An Idea For The Bulgarian Village Farm

Peach Tree Blossom

It was a great idea today that sprung to mind when slaving away on the sticky mud trying to prepare the soil for the cold season that should have been on us, but the winter has been delayed for some reason with the warm weather that is set to continue this coming week.

Over the last few years the stress of living in the town and playing catch up in the village at weekends during the growing season has been something I have tried to eliminate. Growing crops that don’t need water every day was a tactic that didn’t work. I needed the help of my neighbour to bale me out in the really hot weather and they had their own crops to take care of. This was another stress I could do without.

So, today the thoughts were all about how to overcome this and trees were the answer. Peach trees were the answer to be exact. The area in which the produce is grown each year could take nine peach trees and of course they need no daily or bi-daily attention. Spaying is needed and of course keeping the jungle down around them, but this could easily be done each weekend without the need for assistance from neighbours.

Peaches are common in Bulgaria especially in this area and are eaten fresh, as a conserve in winter and used for rakia. The need for weekly watering in the summer is essential and they will be planted within reach of the well water so no worries there either, Once they are established after around 3-4 years, the shade they provide will quell the undergrowth and less maintenance is needed. The fruit will also be that much bigger.

The thought of planting vines took hold for a while, but event though the area is perfect and they are easily managed the cost of setting this up was too expensive for use. This made our decision so much easier, alongside the birds that would steal our crop each year with us not there for five days of the week.

We will seek advice from peach growing maestro when we get back to work as they have them there, newly planted last year. We hope to get some saplings soon and of course cheaper than what they retail for in bazaars. This is the Bulgarian way.

July And August In Bulgaria - Very Hot And Usually No Rain

July and August here in Bulgaria are the dry months and apart from being unseasonably flooded out early this month we are back into the trend of no rain and sweltering temperatures. This Saturday it was 42+ C! No one was outside expect grazing animals during the day; it was just watering crops early in the morning and last thing at night.

There was no water again this weekend it would have been nice to have a shower after grafting in the fields, but we were lucky that we have the well water to rely on and a ice cold shower in the heat was to say the least certainly refreshing.

We have a problem again here with our grapes. The thieving starling wait until our backs are turned and swarms of them clamber around every bunch of ripening grapes where most of them fall to the ground. This happens every year and there is nothing we can do about it. We cannot be there all the time and it is so frustrating after al the time and effort we put into looking after the vines. It could well be that there will be no wine or rakia this season with the damage they have done. I have written about this before and the Bulgarian way of dealing with it is do nothing, just be there.

The potatoes have been invaded with thousands of little orange beetles, but that is not so much of a problem as the actual buried potatoes are now full to size and just waiting to be dug out. The foliage being eaten to smithereens now doesn’t matter so I let them get on with it, in fact their doing me a favour by devouring them, less for me to transport to the tip at the top of the hill.

Watermelons and honey melons are set and just need a little extra time to 'sweeten up'. This is the first time I have grown these and I am very excited at the prospect, although Galia is quite keen to try them, but she can’t see what the fuss it all about when she can buy one for a couple of leva that is just as good or better in the bazaar and not get her hands dirty!

We get strawberries every week now albeit smaller with only watering once a week, but they’re sweet enough. The pumpkins have taken off and their massive umbrella leave spread out and suppress weeds that now get no light. They are such a low maintenance crop to grow once the roots settle in. We have created a small reservoir by the base of the source root and fill it up before we go back to town it last five days quite well now.

The proudest crop this year in the Skalitsa village farm is the sweet corn. Again, before this year I had failure after failure, but I’ve got it right this year albeit on a much smaller scale. Next year I will more than double the crop. Once again the foliage once grown suppresses weeds and they look after themselves if doused with water once a week.

Galia isn’t with me this weekend and stayed in Yambol as she has gone down with the flu, she was much better by Sunday when I got back to Yambol. We wanted to go to the Black Sea this weekend for a little break, but the apartment we found that had a great offer on was fully booked, everything else was too expensive so w have to wait for another deal probably not until September now.

Home Grown Crops On The Dinner Table

The produce is rolling off the land now both in town and country. The food we eat at lunchtime and evenings nearly always has home grown produce in it. It is exciting have the end product on you plate and tasting as good as it does. There is something very special about doing something like this.

Let’s start and see what on the dinner table on a day-to-day basis right now. We have had a continuous supply of onions and garlic and these will last us right through the winter. The lettuce now has finished its season and the space that was left has been filled with more peppers. After May it becomes too hot for lettuce here and you can’t freeze or preserve it.

The strawberries were the next; we had two crops and are still in the middle of the second. Not enough o make jam with but this is the first year they have been laid down. Always enough for a family dessert at the weekend as they are grown in the village. I am not too sure whether I will keep these here next year. The reason is they need watering regularly for a good harvest and that isn’t happening, hence the relatively small fruits we are getting from them. Also, they need to be harvested every day and that isn’t happening either so a lot of waste form over-ripe fruit each weekend.

The beans I though was going to be a complete failure. I planted 12 rows of beans and only two survived. I didn’t know why. Locals tell me that the seeds were old, but I felt that the two rows that did survive would indicate another reason, perhaps over-watering. Anyway the crops that come from the ones that survived where great. We got at least 8 kg of superb white beans from just that little crop.

The potatoes looked fantastic with the foliage and flowering more pertaining to a flowerbed than a potato crop. All the Colorado beetle and other gorging vegetarian insects were contained with no damage throughout the crop. There was however a massive disappointment on pulling up the first crop. Only a couple of potatoes were found and they were the size of golf ball. It was later realised that this was the shallow end of the troughs made for the watering and apart from the first couple of plants that stood there the rest were a fine crop. It is such a joy to see some potatoes of different shapes rather than the uniformed specimens in imported potatoes in supermarkets.

The beans and potatoes made into a soup by Baba and we just couldn’t get enough of it eaten hot or cold or in a secret raid of the fridge between meals.

Other crops aren’t quite ready yet and we can’t wait. This will be the most successful season growing here because for the first time I have been listening and watching and copying the Bulgarians. Still never as good and it never will, they just seem to have the magic touch with growing here, but I will improve each time I’m sure.

Free Marijuana (Cannabis) In Bulgaria

I had heard many times that marijuana or cannabis grows wild in Bulgaria. This is true as have located lots growing wild near my farmhouse each year. Yesterday whilst working on the factory farm clearing some undergrowth I came across some more healthy specimens growing quite happily alongside vegetables and fruit trees. My mind was reminded about it again and got to thinking about the possibilities of business that could be made here out of a product that just needs no attention to cultivate. Surely some people here must do this, on a small scale as a private business, but my inquiries told me otherwise.

It was mentioned to workers in the factory that Marijuana is growing on the factory grounds. They all knew about it and couldn’t understand why I mentioned it. They knew it was a narcotic and every few weeks it is cut down along with the other weeds, dried out for a few days and feed to the chickens and rabbits, which are kept on the factory grounds. Bulgarians it seems accept marijuana as part of the food chain for animals and not for human consumption; this was hard to take in board for me who comes from a culture where this weed is abused and exchanges hands for lots of money. Surely the business must go on her in the bigger towns and cities.

Allegedly there is commercial marijuana farms further west in Bulgaria that are up and running and run by the mafia and largely ignored by politicians (and wisely so.) As long as it keeps the peace I suppose is the reason for this. Also, I’m sure other countries have their own productions of supplies run by mafia based businesses. This I feel might this may be a very good reason why no small entrepreneurs are trying to capture any business in the marijuana market – They might find themselves in a very compromising position if found out by the men in black. To me the fear of interfering with mafia business is a far greater deterrent than any government, but then one might argue that many government circles conspire with mafia anyway.

Now whether you are a fan of marijuana or not, you can’t eradicate the weed as it is a natural part of the ecology in Bulgaria. It is very good to know that in the main it is not abused, but then magic mushrooms (Psilocybin mushrooms) grow here as well and they are not abused. It looks like there is no need for narcotics here for the Bulgarian people. With their respectful family units and social etiquette, the use of drugs and such things are not needed. My opinion is that if you have a country that makes its own excellent Rakia and some of the world’s best beer all at an affordable price, who really needs it?

Skalitsa Springing Into Action

It seems quite unbelievable that now from worrying about not being able to grow crops this season to now having two plots and other that I can take up if I wish. There is now a never-ending supply of food making resources at my disposal.

The Skalitsa farmhouse is a weekend project well under way, the Yambol town plot is also in progress, but the third offering was from my brother who has a home in a village 15 kilometres from Yambol. I have pruned all his vines this week, but had to decline managing the rest of his extensive grounds as this is too much for me as well as the time and cost of travel is not practical.

So this weekend arrived and the forecast was warm and sunny and the forecast was right for a change! Galia and I arrived to a display of colour that just made us gasp. the tulips where now in full bloom and a carpet of red on the fringe of the garlic bed under the vine trellises. What a difference 5 days has made as the greenery had now come into play on the field and the onions and garlic now clearly visible on the plot that was planted not so long ago.

Within ten minutes I was in my blue village outfit and working away on the land preparing for the sweet corn, melons and carrots. In my element was an understatement as Galia looked on at this crazy Englishman sweating away with his labours breaking up the soil in preparation for the honey melons that were laid a few hours later. These were sown and plastic bottled put over the top weighed down with a brick creating mini greenhouses and will probably remain for a few weeks until they greet the hotter weather towards the end of the month. This is the Bulgarian way and now mine.

Then two beds of sweet corn were prepared, both had to be square to aid cross pollination and set regimented with enough space between for the weeding that will be needed throughout the season. Again, this was quite hard work and that was the buzz for me and the mystery for Galia who again thought I was possessed with my eagerness.

Galia helped with the sowing after the groundwork had been completed, three corn seeds per hole as an insurance; the strongest on germination will just remain. Again, all these crops don't need daily watering and should survive 4-5 days without any supplementary water.

Carrots were sown at the back of the strawberry patch and watermelons at the front of the house where a bit of space was found. The soil isn't too good there so I don't expect a bumper crop, but there's nowhere else now with all the farming areas filled.

In the summerhouse the tomato and cucumber seeds had germinated with this warm weather and they would be taken back to the Yambol plot with their thirst for water. All is under control and it feels great.


The vines are now weeping as we sit in the sun under the trellises being dripped on, we just move to avoid them never every getting annoyed, this is spring, this is nature starting another cycle gathering up momentum, this is a wonderful feeling watching it happen before us.

Galia loves flowers as she gathers bunches to take back to Yambol for Baba. What a treat and all for free! That’s the beauty of it all, no reliance on anyone but ourselves and nature.

Skalitsa Village Farm - Planning Crops

Back to the Skalitsa farmhouse and jobs on the farm were waiting. There had to be potatoes sown (yes more). Not knowing what the weather was like we knew that generally it is always different from the Yambol weather even though just 35 kilometres away and we never usually know until we get there.

Arriving is always exciting here in the village, it had been six days since I was last here and the onions and garlic were making a move skywards already, the tuliups had began to open their head and the bird life was deafening around us. A stork had already taken up residence in a local telegraph pole and the whole scene was about to burst into life. Galia now having seena stork placed here Martenitsi on a lilac tree with the others we had put there from the past years.

Looking at the ground, there must have been a lot more snow yesturday than in Yambol, it was too heavy to work with even though the very warm sun had been drying it out for a couple of days. Therer wasn't much I could do as far as planting and digging was concerned to my attention fell on the black covering that had lay on an extended part of the land for a year.

The plan was for each year to cover a section of land each year with the black nylon material to stop the grow of lucerne and couch grass, then each spring uncover it and another section will be ready for putting crops effectively the area for growing will be bigger each year.

As I uncovered the strip on turned it over for another strip to become ready next year, the area left was perfect now for digging over and planting, but far to wet, it would have to wait another day or so to dry out. Now this method is my own English method and looked upon as very strange from neighbours who query what I do. All they would do to prepare fallow land is plough it up with either a tractor or a horse and plough prior to winter, and another session prior to April, the frost would have also done the business and it's ready for planting in spring. I suppose I should succum to this method which was used in my first year here, but it's about getting this system organised and only being here a couple of days a week makes that quite tricky. Besides which, my neighbours would have certainly taken over telling me that the whole area should be farmed - Not what I want, but as usual they always know what is best for me.

By the end of the weekend and a little drier all the working areas were prepared for the sweetworn, two melon varieties and pumpkins. All these could go without water for up to a week and less stress on my part. Also the strawberry patch was weeded, there was a 70% success rate of the newly planted seedlings from the autumn, not too bad. the runners that form later in the spring will fill in the gaps so no worries there. Again, they can survive a while without water in the summer as they have established quite deep root bases now and they will be under the shade of the vines leaves overhead that will form a canopy by the end of spring.

It is all about organising and choosing the right crops for the right growing environment. Hopefully the thought that has gone for the Skalitsa farm will make me sleep better in Yambol knowing that the crops have a good chance of survival this year with minimum maintenance.

Yambol City Farming Begins

So, 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. I 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.

The 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.