counterclockwise

Three times now, I’ve tried to plant acelga (or by its more cumbersome English name, Swiss chard) for my little garden. It’s one of the very few leafy greens that tolerates the heat here well, and it’s good nutrition in a diet which is otherwise heavy on starch and dairy.

But three times now, what’s come out of my little starter pots has been beets. I’ve bought seeds of 2 different brands from 3 different sources over a span of about 4 months. Beets, beets, and more beets.

I’m baffled.

Every Paraguayan I’ve asked has reassured me that no, “acelga” is not just a little-documented nickname for beets. And everyone I’ve shown the seedlings to has verified that they’re definitely not just really funny looking acelga. Sometimes what I miss most about the US the quality control for manufactured goods.

Well, we’re past the solstice now. Our days are getting shorter and, hopefully, cooler. In another few weeks the climate should be a lot more lettuce-friendly and if I’m really lucky I’ll be able to find the seeds for broccoli.

The Guaraní word of the day is poty, meaning flower or bud. The previous resident in the house that I’m renting was a little old granny who dearly loved her flower beds. She died in the first half of 2007, but her prize roses live on even if the picket fence is getting a bit shabby.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Guaraní, Pictures, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.