Observations about life in Israel from a Canadian immigrant's perspective.
The most beautiful surprise this spring was a profusion of wildflowers. After the rains, the garden was transformed into a symphony of colors with its peak being April. One year ago, the property could barely support a few prickly weeds so this was a true tribute to organic gardening techniques.We had raked thick mulch all… Continue reading The Meadow
“They too have to eat.” These were Yuval’s compassionate words regarding sharing our organic greens with other critters. As we stand over buckets of water, dunking and swirling heads of lettuce, our feet in mud and our hands covered in caterpillar refuse and aphids, I keep trying to remember these words.Last Thursday, we were up… Continue reading They too have to eat
Our market garden has flourished in the warm sunshine. We had an unseasonably dry January. It was hot and sunny with cloudless blue skies, and we kept praying for precious rain. This small garden of seedlings quickly transformed into a sea of shimmering green; we had deep green dinosaur kale, curly green and red lettuces, rocket… Continue reading Does this mean we are farmers?
January marked a complete transformation of the market garden, as it turned from brown to shimmering green. With the help of super friendly people in the community, we planted over a thousand seedlings. The brown no-dig beds were soon filled with tiny organic seedlings of kale, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, arugula, coriander, and parsley. The first… Continue reading The Market Garden
December is dedicated to the dump truck. With land excavations mostly done, it was time for the filling to come. The large bulldozer left and the dump trucks arrived, leaving pile upon pile of compost and mulch. Meanwhile, a small bulldozer ferried pile upon pile of mulch and soil across the property. For most of the month… Continue reading December is Dedicated to the Dump Truck
It has been an active month in the food forest-to-be. Yuval, our food forest expert, calls this the infrastructure phase. I call this a mess. This work looks more like highway construction than forest development. A large bulldozer was joined by a small bulldozer and together, they gathered large rocks onsite to create terraces for the… Continue reading Our construction site
For those who love gardening, this shmita year seemed interminable. With Rosh Hashana now over, we can finally plant again in Israel! Not being able to do something I love for a year has fortified my patience. It forced me to sit back, research, and dream. Now, finally being outside and working on fulfilling those plans… Continue reading Our journey begins!
The quadruplets“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” As I walk across the land we recently bought, Joni Mitchell’s lyrics echo in my mind. This land is empty, save for jutting rocks and boulders. The gravelly, dry, and dusty ground crunches below my feet. A few hardy weeds grow in clumps, clinging on for… Continue reading They Paved Paradise
A food forest in Israel.With a June birthday, I have officially entered into a new decade. This decade felt more ominous when it was looming ahead; but now that I have arrived, waking up feeling exactly the same as in the previous decade, it is not so bad. I have arrived, determined not to ‘go there’… Continue reading A Farmer in the Dell
If one were to name the most common feature of Israel’s topography, 'rocks' would most certainly tumble to the top of the list. The rugged and stark Negev, Judean, and Arava Deserts are pure rock, sculpted over millennia into steep cliffs, gorges and dry, sandy wadis. Be it amber, brown, or white, the dominant feature… Continue reading Unmoving Rocks
Life in Israel 