Plants for various types of crops continue to arrive for planting.

Continuing with the planting, my husband received some more seedlings—this time ají margariteño (Margarita chili peppers). Whenever our friends start seedbeds, they bring him a few plants, since he also grows crops like corn, beans, and squash; the gifted seedlings are preferred because they have a shorter production cycle.

This method of starting seedlings makes transplanting quite difficult. When the plants are pulled from their original soil and moved to the planting hole, they undergo a major shock; most of them end up drying out and dying because, having grown so close together, they lack the vigor needed to thrive

We were also given these individual seedlings started in cups—a great way to get them going—and you can see they look nice and big, strong, and healthy.

These plants don't suffer much shock when transplanted directly into the ground because they go in with the soil from the cup; you simply remove them from the container and place them straight into the hole. This keeps them fresh and healthy, so there's no worry about them drying out or dying.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the day we’ve set aside to plant them, since my husband is off work. We’re hoping these little seedlings will yield the produce we want for our own consumption; it would mean significant savings, given how expensive things are right now with the state of the economy here in Venezuela 🇻🇪.