Quarantine Gardening

Quarantine Gardening has been a great project for us to learn and grow from. Halfway through the quarter, we were happy to hear from one of our instagram followers, the__seed. We were excited to hear about the progress they have made since they started growing at the end of March.

Challenges
Growing in Oman’s climate is vastly different to the climate that we are used to. In Oman, the “summers are mostly around 122 degrees. Last year it was 125 for a couple of days.” The plants in Oman lose leaves and sometimes die from the harsh heat. There are only two local organic farms, so most people like buying organic imported produce. “I am trying to prove that we can still grow through summer here. A lot of the gardens go through summer dormancy.” 
 

A challenge with living in the city compound is that most of the electrical wiring goes through their backyard. Additionally, they cannot grow in the ground because of all the wires, pipes and cement. Therefore, all of the plants are in containers and pots outside. 

Solution
They conquered the challenging climate and their backyard with an innovative solution of using pots and building a shade house. The shade cloth “I use provides 40% shade.” 

They are currently growing vegetables that can tolerate our summers in full sun. “I am experimenting this summer by regrowing the seeds to make them come up with a variety that is more heat and drought resistant.” Their goal is to keep the plants alive in order to get fruit.

  
    Their journey has been a rollercoaster ride with the pests, the sunburn (plants and myself), and the DIYs. It is so rewarding!”  With our mission to inspire others to grow we are happy to hear that the__seed will be helping to manage family and friends’ gardens once lockdown has eased. We are proud of the challenges they have overcome in order to grow.

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