The secret gardener

I volunteer at a school garden every Wednesday afternoon. For about 2 hours, the kids and I will sow seeds, pull weeds, grow things and water plants. Time flies so quickly, I have very little time to do more work. Sometimes I go back during the weekend to do fertilising or mulching.

There is a patch of land in the school yard that we've been planning to convert into a vegetable garden. Trouble is, the gound is so compact, it is almost impossible to dig any holes on a normal day.

When it rained for 6 hours this morning, I knew I had to get to the school quickly to plough the land. True enough, the ground was soft and wet when I arrived.

Using a small chungko (digging tool), I started making furrows from the flat piece of land. This cat appeared from nowhere and followed me around while I worked.

After an hour or so, I created four long and narrow beds. Then I added compost to enrich the soil.

I transplanted kang kong vegetable seedlings sowed by the kids a week ago onto one bed.

The second bed was reserved for lady's finger seedlings.

Finally, I grew lemon grass on the last two beds.

I also planted pandan around the garden.

It was such a productive afternoon. The teachers and kids will be surprised when they walk into the garden on Monday.