Africanaussie

At the change of the season I always seem to have some crops that don't seem willing to move along, so that I can rip them out!  The Rosella were like that this year. They took up the front half of the bed where I plant  most of my veggies. They were inundated with some kind of bug, and it did not look as though they were going to produce flowers or fruit, so in the end I ripped them out. Some wet season plants are only now starting to fruit - notably the loofas!  This has been a  strange year with the wet season running late. Already the temperature has moderated and the humidity has dropped so it is lovely outside, although we are still getting a fair amount of rain.   I dug out the few sweet potatoes that I had planted - there were one or two tiny ones that the grubs did not get - a very disappointing crop.  The big bin against the fence started out ...

I have been thinking about the veggie seeds that I  grow for immediate consumption.  I suppose they just take from the soil, then covert it into vitamins and other goodies that we in turn use when we eat them.  I have been reading a lot about how much more nutritious our home grown organic vegetables are than those sold in most grocery stores. There are all different ways that I continually add goodness back into the soil, because if the growing vegetables are taking it out, then I better be replacing it with something. I am cropping quite intensely and also want to try to produce food year round.  I know outright of a few things I do to amend the soil, but wonder if there is something else I am missing.  If I want to take so much out of the soil how do I know I am putting enough back? Generally in this area of the tropics vegetables are grown in the "winter" or dry season, and the ground is left ...