A Tale of Three Pumpkins (and a Whole Lot of Hard Work)
Our Tenerife dream was starting to take shape in 2018. Fruit trees were sprouting, terraces were taking form, and the promise of homegrown goodness filled the air.
It was all thanks to our amazing Workaway volunteers – some stayed for weeks, others for months, and some, like Nick and Noah, stayed for over a year and became like family members.
But paradise has its perils. Our pine forest home was in the firing line for summer wildfires – dry bushes, hot winds, and the Sahara’s fiery breath were a dangerous combo. On the eastern side of our house lies a ravine, or “barranco” in Spanish. Though not officially part of our property, its neglected state with dry bushes and dead was a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
So, we rolled up our sleeves and transformed the barranco from a fire hazard into a potential goldmine.
To our surprise, beneath the rubble of bushes, dead trees, and rocks, we discovered ancient terraces, probably centuries old from when the barranco was maintained.
We decided to use these terraces for our vegetable beds. Our community was growing, and our balcony vegetable garden just wasn’t cutting it anymore.
We planted our desired vegetables, and lo and behold, a few months later, the results were astonishing!
Pumpkins the size of small planets were our crowning glory.
Getting them out of the Barranco required a three-man lifting team – Yoni, Noah, and Nick.
Curiosity piqued, and we wanted to know how much each pumpkin weighed. But first, we needed a scale capable of weighing these behemoths.
Nick, the ever-creative mind, came up with an idea, and he and Noah put their carpenter skills to work. The whole community placed bets on the pumpkin weights.
We were all surprised by the results – the smallest pumpkin weighed 13 kg, and the others were 15 and 18 kg each.
We ate pumpkin in every conceivable way throughout the winter until March 2019! From soups to pies, we enjoyed pumpkin perfection all winter long.
It was a sweet victory over the barren barranco, and a testament to the power of community and a little elbow grease.
Who knew turning a fire hazard into a food haven would be so rewarding?
