MAKING COMPOST

I started a compost pile last spring and kept it hot for a couple of months, then let it just sit over the summer. We activated it again this fall and after what seems like a really long time, we are finally producing compost for the garden. The challenge is coming up with enough green material. People around here feed everything green they can find to their sheep and goats, which makes it difficult to come by. I asked a couple of people to collect hair trimmings from their favorite barber shop and a bag of that went into the pile yesterday. I think Kawtar might think I am crazy.

 

PALO VERDE AND POMEGRANATE

 Kawtar and I finished dumping gravel in the last few meters of the diversion ditch. Although the chances of getting irrigation water from the oued are few and far between, the ditch was necessary to keep any overflow water away from the sites for the studio and the house. This (kind of) French drain will also act as a swale during those infrequent times of flowing water. Also during a heavy rain, if we ever get one again.

Aziz from Aghmat delivered two palo verde trees (known as Jerusalem thorn in these parts) and a pomegranate, pictured above. The pomegranate was planted in one of the small garden beds between two zeitouns, as was one of the palo verdes. The other was planted next to the zai pit bed.

 

The palo verde has been a favorite of mine since my Arizona days. There is something remarkable about these elegant, graceful trees-they have the ability to photosynthesize through their branches, which are a bright green color. They grow like weeds here-there are hundreds on the side of the road in the 25 minute drive from Marrakech to the garden home.

More plants are producing flowers but still, no pollinators in sight. Not all plants require pollinators, and I think I recall that beans are self-pollinators but I still look forward to seeing bees in the garden.

Our old neighbor on Riad Zeitoun, Hassan, brought out a roof he made for the bamboo palace. It was too small so he will have to redo it but the color is perfect. It matches the color of the bamboo perfectly on the outside, and on the inside, the sun streaming through turns the palace into a warm, , golden, glowing space.

DIVERSION DITCH AND ZEITOUNS

 

We had a busy couple of days this week. Two workers came to dig a diversion ditch that will act as an overflow for the irrigation water from the oued. It will be filled with gravel so water can filter through it but we will still be able to walk over it. Kawtar and I finished stripping the zeitoun leaves, and Hassan created a new berm for a tree I hope will be arriving soon.

Kareem and Hassan digging the diversion ditch 

for the oued irrigation system.

Our bean plants are flowering but there are no pollinators in sight.

Kawtar using the "beat the bush" system of stripping the leaves off 

of zeitoun branches. That job has been completed, next is trimming 

the branches to size them for either mulch or fire starting.

Zeitoun berms mulched with leaves.

Piles of stripped branches and compost pile in the center.

Hassan made us a new berm next to the zai garden for a 

palo verdi/Jerusalem thorn I hope to have soon. I have 

loved these trees since my Arizona years and plan on 

having at least two on the property.

Our old neighbor on Zeitoun Lakdim made us a couple of canvas covers for the water tanks. Between those and the black paint, 

we hope to keep the algae issue to a minimum.

GARDENS AND ART

Another thing has fallen victim to Omar's tractor wheels. We left the rake in his path. He was a bit sheepish, as always, even when it was not his fault, and I offered to take his old broken rake in exchange. We will use it as a tool for now, but ultimately that beautiful piece of metal is destined to grace a garden wall.

Kawtar and I had a temporary delay in getting started with our zeitoun branch cutting. Mustapha delivered 8 bales of hay, which we spread around the area that will eventually be the courtyard garden. It will offer a layer of protection from the sun on the soil, and start the breaking down process over the winter. We will get another load next week, to spread along the area in front of the north property wall, adjacent to the bamboo.

 

ENDLESS ZEITOUN BRANCHES

It is becoming apparent that the process of cutting the zeitoun branches into small pieces for mulch and the compost pile is going to be a long one. With two of us cutting the smaller branches into 4" pieces, it was several hours to get enough for the area under one of the trees and another small pile for the compost.  I am dreaming of wood chippers, which do not seem to be an item used here.

Here, a 3" layer of new zeitoun mulch under the tree. 

One down, five to go!

Manu made a prototype of a small sandbag and we had a tailor near the cafe sew us up half a dozen. I am exploring different ways to make the irrigation system in the zeitoun garden as user friendly as possible. The traditional way here is to scoop up piles of mud to block inlets and outlets for directing the flow of the water. For me, it is too messy and too difficult. I think these sandbags, which are small and not too heavy, may be the way to go.

It was a beautiful day in the garden yesterday-daytime temperatures are finally dipping below 80 F.  We often take a break from the hard work for some playful projects, like this bamboo trellis. The bean plants are beginning to send forth shoots, and now they have someplace to climb.

 We also planted the third of these beautiful plants taken from the terrace of the house in Marrakech.

ZEITOUN AND EARTHWORMS

We arrived this morning to find a very large load of olive tree branches that had been delivered the day before. Some went in the compost pile and the rest will be torn into smaller pieces for mulch. From the viewpoint of a lap full of leaves while facing the pile, it is looking like a very time consuming task.

The exciting part of the day came when we dug a hole to 

plant something from the terrace of the kasbah house.  We found 

the first earthworm! This is as exciting as finding that 

mushroom-these are both signs that we are indeed 

improving the soil at the garden home, bit by bit.

We discovered that some of the plants in this zeitoun bed were getting burned by the sun so we gathered small old, degraded pieces of bamboo fencing and made a shade structure. Not the most attractive thing we have ever done here, but it is functional.

MORNING IN THE OLD ZEITOUN GROVE

Late November, and the temperatures in our area are reaching the low 80s-beautiful weather. Yesterday started with a coochie ride with Jawad and his stallion Mimoun. They picked us up at the taxi 

station and we rode a short distance through the souk to an old olive grove where seasonal pruning was being done.  We filled four of the waist high feed sacks and just as we were finishing, a couple of workers brought their small table and stools over to share their coffee break with us. Laden with tea, bread and olive oil produced from that same grove, the table was set in the shade and it was a lovely moment in time.

 

We were joined by the professional pruner himself, then it was time for the coochie drive back to the garden with our load of olive branches for the compost pile. 

MULCH AND COMPANIONSHIP

When you are fortunate to have good friends willing to help and some found palm leaves for mulch, it is a good day indeed. We tied the trash palm leaves in bundles so we could drag them to the property and avoid the serious thorns on the stems, and went to work cutting the fronds. They are now spread out on an area of dry, compacted clay where the tractor can help degrade them.

Kawtar waiting for the water delivery to arrive.

Manu giving the palm a good haircut. We are saving the stems and sheared tops for other projects down the road.

 A shared language is not necessarily needed in order to enjoy some light hearted banter and some great companionship. 

WATER HARVESTING CONUNDRUMS

Trying to design a water harvesting system that will incorporate greywater, rainwater and the infrequent access to irrigation from the oued (river) is proving to be challenging. Traditionally, the irrigation channel that runs along the outside of one of the perimeter walls has been managed by constructing temporary damns made of mud, stone, plastic and other trash items. These small constructions divert the water so each property owner has equal access to the river water, 

when it exists.  Yesterday, we finished installing this grate and wood apparatus that will allow the flow by lifting the top piece of wood with its attached wire so the water can enter. It remains to be seen whether this device will win the approval of the neighbors. In these traditional cultures, thinking outside of the box is not always an option.

The best part of the day was watching our resident tortoise Frankie enjoying his breakfast!

FUNGI!

 The appearance of a mushroom in one of the small garden beds we planted with cover crops was a big surprise-and a very hopeful sign. I believe this means that we have mycelium in the soil, which is a big boost to my confidence-maybe I am really doing things the right way.

Kawtar and I went straight to the local weekly souk yesterday, and 

left there in a couchie (horse drawn taxi) with a small tree saw, 

some rope to assist the bamboo in growing straight up, and a 

few buckets to help ease the watering burden. The treasures of 

the shopping were eight unglazed clay pots to use as ollas and 

three large bags of wood chips-and the ride in the couchie.

Breaking apart the larger pieces of bark.

I am not positive that I know what any of these plants are-we threw such a huge mixture of seeds and beans in these beds. The purpose of this fall planting was to cover the soil in the garden beds with "cover crops," whose purposes are to shade the ground, help break up the heavy clay soil with their roots, and to provide fertilizer.

These old clay pots are so beautiful, it is too bad that they are 

destined to be underground...

BAMBOO!

 Today was a big day. We had 25 bamboos, each between 3 and 4 meters tall, delivered and planted along the north and west walls of the property. I saw that there was some soil improvement from the work I did last spring when I prepped the holes, so that was gratifying. We inserted 6 trees along the bamboo rows for a bit of diversity, but the primary purposes of the bamboo are privacy and shade. This is the first-and will be the last-of garden expansion until the structures are built. There is still work to be done in the olive garden, and we will continue to concentrate on that area over the fall and winter.

Aziz watering the newly planted bamboo.

Kawtar and Omar watering the olive trees.

THREE GARDENS

There are three garden areas planned on the property. The west side that receives the most brutal sun exposure will have several shade trees planted first. Succulents and perhaps a cactus or two will be initially positioned along a rock wall that will terrace a small slope at the entrance to the property. As the shade trees mature, other desert hardy plants will be added. The south side of the property is currently planted with olive trees, and a Mediterranean garden will fill the spaces between the trees and along the pathway. This garden path already supplies shade in shifting locations, and camp chairs and a small table follow the shade over the course of the workday, providing a cool breeze for coffee breaks and lunch. The remaining garden area on the east side of the property will hold a courtyard garden that will eventually be a lush oasis in the middle of property. It will feature more shade trees, a few fruit trees, shrubs, vines and ground cover plantings. A water feature is planned, as well as an outdoor shower, a fire pit and several areas to just sit and watch the wildlife and insects that I hope to attract to the garden. 

This is elephant bush, portulacaria afra. It came to me a decade ago from a riad that was being redone, and it thrived through two moves and ten years of irregular watering. The original mother plant was destroyed in the September 2023 Morocco earthquake, but I have propagated it numerous times and have many pots to transplant in the Mediterranean garden.

 The lids to small tajines are placed along rocks that line the pathway. They are temporarily stored there until I find a use for them in the gardens. In the background, various plants including a lot of grocery store bean sprouts are filling the garden beds that the ants did not disseminate in their rampage a few weeks ago.