Sowing the seed

A squash sprout

It’s late in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and Tshering Phuntsho, Pema Dorji and Leki Dorji have sown bean, spinach, and squash seeds in their gardens to experiment with the growth of different vegetables. 

The sowing of the seeds was accompanied by question marks in their head about the right time for planting in Dewathang. A few students have said that the sowing season in Dewathang is after the celebration of the Blessed Rainy Day or sometime in the eighth month of  the lunar calendar. However, we have decided to sow the seeds and check their growth. After three days of sowing seeds, we have checked the garden and to our excitement we found fresh squash, bean and spinach sprouts emerging out from the soil.

There are hopes from our students that these vegetables will grow, nevertheless rainy season in Dewathang is not yet completely stopped. Some students are concerned about the last heavy rain for the summer yet to fall, which would hamper the new vegetable sprouts in their gardens.

Samdrup Tshering and Leki Dorji transplanting cabbage sprouts.

On the other hand Leki Dorji and Samdrup Tshering have transplanted their cabbage sprouts in their beds. They have brought two bunches of the sprouts from the neighbor’s to plant in their gardens. Both of them were quite positive with their transplantings and were looking forward to productive growth. 

A bean sprout

Karma Phunstho has sown the lettuce seeds in his small bed and he was confident that his lettuce growth will be successful. A few students are willing to wait for the last heavy rain to go away before they sow their seeds and they are working to extend and add more new beds.

Karma Phuntsho's Lettuce garden