Lockdown Project - Garden Beds
Photographs and Text By Tristan Calvet
Published on 13th June, 2020
The coronavirus crisis has at least taught us that worldwide pandemics may initiate from the consumption of unsafe meat. Thus as the Chinese should reduce contact with wild pangolins and bats or other animals to mitigate risks of new pandemics, other countries should do so too. Originating from France, I have thus decided to stop eating wild frogs or snails I would find in my garden, despite the fact they taste so good!!!
So during the current pandemic, instead of collecting toilet paper rolls, pasta boxes or listening to politicians saying they shake hands with everyone. I thought again about my food autonomy and decided to swap my meat based diary to a more veggie based alimentation. I then planned to build DIY raised garden beds to grow my own plants.
Instead of buying wood coming from Brazil and thus contributing to globalisation which favours the transmission of viruses, I found some old wood used for cupboards and converted it for my beds layout. Here are images of progress over a week-end of hard work under the sun.
With the Madagascar president recommending herbal teas or even D. Trump saying drinking Dettol could provide coronavirus immunity, it was clear that diversity for my plantation would be essential. This would increase my chances of possessing the ‘miraculous’ plant that would save us from upcoming pandemics. I will then harvest: coriander, parsley, lemongrass, pickles, tomatoes, cucumber and more. With the current ‘amazing’ political trends, it seems totally impossible that none of these would not be recommended by at least some politician for covid-20!
Anyway, as you can see from the picture below, it is all nice and finished now!
…Hum, well not quite when you take a closer look!
Overall it was good fun! Even though I got sunburned really bad and wood planks landed on my feet twice! I also could not finish in time (for not having Mercedes chasing me because of a late article) but will tan more next week-end and hopefully get it finally done!
Anyway, stay safe and healthy! =)
Tristan
Tristan Calvet is a First Year PhD Student at Imperial College. His PhD involves The analysis of Creep-Fatigue Crack Growth in W-9Cr Steels Brazed Joints for future Fusion Reactors.