6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

GARDENING FOLK | Frank & Anita Vella
there for weeks. It would then get placed in a
chill room for six months; then it would sit in a
truck and be transported to stores.
“It was a real eye-opener for me and
ever since that day, I prefer to grow my own
vegetables. This is why people get allergies
and diseases.”
Among other steps towards sustainability,
says Anita, “We chop our own wood and use
our fireplace. We collect water and recycle
it. Our shower and bath water goes onto the
vegetables. We have a compost bin that we
place leaves in from our trees.”
They don’t employ any pest control,
preferring to use garlic spray and pick bugs
by hand. They compost using kitchen scraps
and pea straw and their fertilisers are, of
course, all natural, including chook and alpaca
poo. Frank also makes his own fertiliser from
bran and mealworms.
They don’t pull weeds, either. Adds Anita,
“We let our weeds grow wild, especially milk
thistles. Frank breaks off the plant to reveal
white sap for his exotic birds to drink. They
go crazy over it.”
A former builder and renovator, Frank is
passionate about breeding chickens as well
as rare birds including Gouldian finches and
Indian silverbills, which he feeds with his
mealworms. He also supplies mealworms to
pet stores by the kilo.
“You can dry-roast mealworms and
refrigerate them,” says Frank. “Roasting
removes the moisture while retaining its
nutritional value and protein.”
No waste
As for what the humans on the property eat,
Anita’s specialty is ghagin il forn (Maltese for
“pasta in the oven”). Similar to macaroni, it’s a
pasta bake with lots of vegetables, mince and
leftovers. She also makes another traditional
Maltese dish, a bread pudding called puddina,
with day-old bread, sultanas and cocoa.
Compost under the tree
Elvis the rooster and his lovely wife
Quail incubation
38 | Good Organic Gardening