בס״ד
Although it is not officially winter, from traveling throughout Eretz Yisroel I can definitely feel winter in the air. Depending on one’s location in the country the winter weather has tendencies that differ depending on the part of the country. There are a vast number of climates in Eretz Yisroel ranging from deserts to mountains and coasts to inland lakes. During past week there was a storm which lasted the entire week and from my knowledge covered the entire country in some way. In Jerusalem and other are mountainous areas there was snow and as for us in Beit She’an there was a tremendous amount of rain. The Beit She’an Valley received one-third of the annual rainfall this past week. That took Beit She’an from being behind on annual rainfall to being a little ahead.
As I have explained perviously there are primarily two seasons in Eretz Yisroel just as in most of Africa and many other places around the world. There is a dry season and a wet or rainy season. During the dry season the temperature is extremely hot during the day and warm (comfortable) at night. During the wet or rainy season mostly everything is wet and it is raining quite often. Annually there is not as much precipitation in the Beit She’an Valley as there is in Jerusalem. I do not know how much it will rain in Beit She’an, but all we can do is keep praying. Until then we need to keep production going in the Organic Garden also known in Hebrew as Gan Organi (גן אורגני).
It turns out that there is always a lot of empty space in the garden. This is due to crop rotation and not having a large number of people working. Normally they average is around four or five people working every day. A few months ago there were empty spaces which are now filled and now there empty spaces which had plants growing a few months ago. This is crop rotation in full swing. In most areas of the world crop rotation relies on the season, but for some reason I do not see it being effected too much here. In the heat of the summer there is almost nothing growing except for maybe peppers and a few other plants. In the cold of winter there are so many varieties, except for those few varieties that need the summer sun.
As of now there are so many cold crops, I am beyond excited!! Here is a list of what I can see actively growing if I walked in the garden right now:
- Basil
- Beets
- Garlic
- Fennel
- Onions
- Carrots
- Kohlrabi
- Eggplant
- Green and Red Cabbage
- Romaine and Head Lettuce
- Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
- Broccoli and Cauliflower (I think)
- Bell and Cayenne Peppers (are still in the ground from summer)
- Summer Squash (which is dying from Black Aphids, I think)
There might be more, but that is what I can think of right now. There were a lot of herb growing, but most of them are were harvested and are either dying or dead. I have so many pictures and I will divide them up into sections and explain what is going on. I love taking pictures. I feel like it makes people more eager to do something than just words by themselves. This first group is that which is in the category of summer/early fall crops and is either dying or going to be harvested soon.
The second group includes any and all crops that are in full swing right now and will do fine with the cold of the winter. They are considered cold crops or fall/winter/spring crops, but because they can withstand the cold are normally just referred to as cold crops. I love growing these crops. The major difference between these and the summer/early fall crops is that these normally produce what they are going to produce and then are done. While the summer/early fall crops can produce and keep producing.
The last section includes land which is desolate and empty and the those fields which are just stating to be replanted now. The plants that can still be planted include lettuce, kohlrabi, cabbage… and so on.
I know this post was long, but I hope that the amount of pictures makes up for its intense amount of information!! Enjoy the dirt, that is what it is their for!!
-Bye
M'Afar L'Afar 