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Growing up in Jamaica , 99.9% of the stories I heard about a gardener involved a male gardener. The women who dealt with flowers were usually called "Florists".
Farming was done only in the rural areas or places like St. Ann, Portland, St. Mary and Manchester. So if we had relatives visiting us from "country", we always looked forward to the goods they brought especially the sugar cane and coconut jelly.
There was a time when not many people were interested in agriculture. As for myself I lost interest in agriculture after planting a sweet mango seed and it didn't grow.
I was so disappointed, for years I thought that only special people could plant food.
Fast forward to the COVID pandemic in 2019, many people realised the importance of growing your own food. With rising cost of food worldwide and some things being scarce, we had to find a way to help people survive.
I went to Sovereign Shopping Centre one evening to drop off something for a relative and saw a man selling strawberry plants.
I loved strawberries a lot, so I just had to buy a plant from him. I went home, prayed and then planted the strawberry tree. It looked droopey for a few days, then it began to flourish. I was so happy that I went and bought pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, cucumber seeds, broccoli and I think tomato or sweet pepper seeds.
The pumpkin grew, blossomed then dried up. I still cant find the cucumber. The broccoli grew big beautiful leaves and some form of pest keep attacking the leaves.
The melon grew, blossomed and bore fruit but somehow the vine broke before the melon matured. I was so sad and disappointed.
As for the strawberry plant that was growing nicely, oh well the "wackermen" just cut it down like it was weed while cutting our lawn. I cried.
So much time and effort and resources went into monitoring those plants I almost gave up. But I didnt. I just prayed to God Almighty and came up with a new project.
We built a fence. We weeded our grass ourselves. I didnt have the tools but we used tarpaulin, newspaper, cardboard and weed barrier fabric to stop the weeds from growing where we wanted to plant. I think linoleum works best at stopping the weeds.
We bought pots and planted seeds in them with potting soil. I did not know that I was supposed to use a spray bottle to water the seedlings so I lost a lot of seedlings due to heavy water pressure on the young plants.
Am I a farmer yet or gardener? Nope i'm just a trainee. Its one of the best learning experiences i've had so far outside of formal educational training.
Today I learnt that when we only watch videos on YouTube just to learn how to do something, we end up only mimicking what others do. It is better to research, ask the professionals, read books as well as watch the YouTube videos so that we can know the foundational stuff like why, when, where and how. I still attend the YouTube School of Agricultural Science and the Google Research Institute.
Wooow! Its October already and it is Oral Health month in Jamaica. In the month of October it is also National Dental Hygiene Awareness month. Today October 18,2021 is celebrated as National Heroes day.
Our tip for you is to visit your Dentist or Dental Hygienist if you haven't done so for a while now. At this visit you will have your entire mouth examined and be updated about the existing condition of your teeth.
This way you can make a fresh start by getting your teeth cleaned. Your efforts of homecare will be evaluated based on the amount of dental plaque , calculus and stains found on your teeth.
You will be taught how to floss your teeth and brush your teeth using the recommended brushing technique. Take this opportunity to find out if you could benfit from teeth whitening. Learn more about the prevention of gum disease, cavities and tooth sensitivity.
Learn more about medicated mouthwashes and how you could benefit from them during COVID-19.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to spend more time indoors due to lockdowns in Jamaica. Getting up and seeing the walls everyday and occasionally peeping through the window was insufficient for me.
I felt swollen like something inside of me was gonna explode just to break free spiritually because my body was goverened by the laws of the land.
I just could't get use to not getting up in the mornings for work. I still cannot get used to not buying what I want and whenever I want it. Every week the cost of food goes up at the supermarket.
The nights came but the sleep abandoned me. I thought many times that I would get up and do some exercises to stay fit but my body would not cooperate with my mind.
I was eating several times a day and using the restroom less. I couldnt concentrate on doing anything.
I tried to imagine being in another place but still couldn't focus because partying felt like 100 years ago.
I felt as though I watched everything on TV so I was no longer amused by the things I used to enjoy.
I scrolled through instagram constantly checking for updates and watched tiktok in between. I was even more sad because everyone seemed happy and appeared to be having a good time. "Jamaica No Problem" yeah right, big problem in my head.
Yep I was still feeling sad and worried and tired all at the same time but as soon as I
tried to sleep the mind decides that it has no intention to rest.
So I tossed and turned at the sound of every tik and tok of the clock. I went to bed at 9pm and slept for hours. When I got up it was merely 11:45pm.
So I turned to Youtube for the Audiobible and sounds of the rain. I even tried those bamboo flute Chinese style meditation music with soft piano keys and the sounds of the ocean.
I
heard about depression but I don't really know what it is. I have never met anyone who was diagnosed with depression.
Google defines depression as feelings of severe despondency and dejection.
"self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to depression".
Medical News Today stated that, "Sadness, feeling down, and having a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities are
familiar feelings for all of us. But if they persist and affect our lives substantially, the issue may be depression.
Wow..Am I depressed? I wondered to myself. What do I do about it? Who do I speak to? With
all this social distancing and spaced out appointments would online therapy by a professional be effective?
As I thought more and more about how many people were losing sleep at nights, sad or worried about
something I couldn't help feeling helpless to know I can't help them because I am going through the same thing.
I purchased a book online entitled "Worry Less and Pray More" by Donna K Maltese. Since I started
reading the book I started to feel better.
The book speaks about how we can deal with our worries the biblical way through building a better connection with Jesus and trusting God to take care of us.
Its The last day of summer in Jamaica and I miss going to the GoKart track just to spend time outdoors with the wind blowing through my hair while I burn the tracks with my tires and laugh at my family trying to keep up to my speed.
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