The bountiful harvests of Uvurkhangai

Just got back from my second trip out to assess the progress of the gardens after a nice long Naadam break. I was excited to go out to Arvaikheer, in Uvurkhangai aimag. The people there are extremely friendly and hospitable, and the countryside is like a painting. We had a nice trip that was neither boring nor stressful. At every ger we were offered freshly made milk products including aaraal (dried yoghurt), eetzgii (dried cheese), and airag (fermented mare's milk). The fresh countryside airag was much tastier than I remembered. It was fizzy and refreshing. The eetzgii and aaraal were also tastier than I remembered. At one ger we were offered shimiin arikh, a clear liquor made by distilling milk. Perhaps the milk of animals in midsummer is milder, because this too was quite pleasant.

People were excited to show us their gardens, which to their and my delight were flourishing. Compared to Ondorkhaan, the gardens here were doing even better! More plants per planter were alive, and those that were growing were more robust than those in Ondorkhaan. It'll take more time poring over the data to draw conclusions about why that is.

There were some nice surprises on this trip too. One family had been so taken with the gardening idea that they had started their own, growing some special grass for their livestock in plastic containers they kept in the bed of their truck. Another family had replaced the plants that hadn't grown with garlic cloves they had bought themselves. Another family whom I gave two sets of gardens consolidated the plants into one planter when some had been eaten by goats. It was great to see people's innovation!

During our trip we had one snag. In the search for one family we got stuck in a boggy mud patch. With the help of a nearby herder and a shovel he lent us, with me driving the car and the driver, Chingerel, and the man pushing the car, we managed to get out without too much trouble. It's not a trip to the countryside if you don't break down at least once or get stuck in mud!

Some photos of the gardens:

Proud gardeners!

Special grass for his livestock

The alyssum bloomed!

Uvurkhangai, a beautiful, empty place

The goats were nibbling the gardens so they put them up higher.

Lots of lettuce!

Look at all that garlic! It's flourishing!

These people rigged up a post to attach their gardens to!