Back in the UK we'd had an allotment, grew some veggies and to be honest it was very worthwhile. So hey why can't we do that in Bulgaria?
Well we do, but with varying success. Fruit trees are in abundance here. We have plums, cherries, pears, apples, peaches, quinces, grapevines, walnuts, mulberries, elderberries, blackberries and probably more fruit than we can ever eat. Oh and there's a Medlar tree too, first time we've ever seen one of those.
Armed with packets of seeds bought in the sales in the UK I decided I'd make a start on a vegetable garden....the land hadn't been worked for around 5 years so it wasn't an easy task. Luckily we have a donkey who'll happily clear some of the weeds while fertilizing at the same time.
Needless to say it took me quite a while to make any good progress and it's still a battle during planting and growing seasons to get everything ready and then keep it growing.
What I didn't think about properly was how different the climate is here - planting instructions on English seed packets are no good and Bulgarian seeds packets can be a little vague. Mainly I think the knowledge of what to plant and when has been handed down rough Bulgarian generations, although they do use the seasons as a guide.
So the first year we grew peas, tomatoes, mange tout, cucumbers, onions, peppers, chillies, squash, cauliflowers, broccoli and cabbages. And on the most part were successful.
And then came more animals........which is another post of it's own!
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