We started off at the Carmey Avdat winery, a few km away. The guest cabins are very simple and away from it all. The hammocks in front were calling our names.
The grounds are beautiful, with many flowering trees, even in the winter.
This is an almond tree.
We enjoyed a tour of the winery with the friendly owner, who ten years ago had never grown grapes nor made wine. The vineyard is on the same land farmed nearly 2000 years ago by the Nabateans. The grapes would have been taken to Avdat to be pressed and made into wine. Today, they do the winemaking on-site. They grow two kinds of grapes, and from them make several wines from Rose to Merlot and Cabernet to Port.
Jay tasting
Following our wine tasting, we had a 9 am meeting (yes, you read the chronology correctly!) with the mayor of Ramat Negev, Shmuel Rifman. Jay and I had wondered what to wear for meetings with dignitaries. We packed very light, so didn’t have much selection, but did wash our jeans and wear our nicest shirts for the occasion. We need not have worried. Dress is decidedly casual here. Mayor Rifman gets up every morning at 5:30 am and takes a picture at sunrise. A series of his photos adorns the walls. I’m embarrassed to say I’m off my normal schedule and haven’t been up before 7 yet, but I'm inspired to follow his example. He is reputed to be an excellent cook and I’d read somewhere that he teaches cooking classes. When I asked about taking one, he responded that we should come to his house for dinner sometime.
Next we went to the Ramat Negev AgroResearch Center. The Center is finding ways to grow vegetables in the desert. It’s both a research center and an extension service. Staff spend several days a week taking what they’ve learned to local farmers. Students from Burma and Viet Nam also come to learn the latest farming techniques. It is almost mind-boggling to think of this arid region as a major vegetable exporter.
Water, in very scarce supply in all of Israel and especially here, is the key to agriculture in the desert. The researchers at the AgroCenter are learning how to grow crops with brackish (partly salty) water. They drill down 1000m and find an aquifer of hot (~105 degrees F) brackish water. It naturally rises to sea level and they pump it up the remaining 300m. The brackish water is mixed with fresh water, experimenting to find what the plants will tolerate. The whole thing is computer controlled.
Check out the size of these tomatoes! They are actually hoisted up as they grow.
Tomatoes start with fresh water, and, as they grow, brackish water is slowly introduced. The plants grow better if their roots are warm. You probably think of it as hot here, but now—winter—it’s often in the 60s during the day and 40s or 50s at night, pretty cool for tomatoes. Turns out warming the roots helps the plants tolerate the brackish water better too. So, they pipe the hot brackish water coming out of the ground along the rows of plants before using it for irrigation. Using these methods, 1/4 of an acre of greenhouse/nethouse can produce 25 tons of tomatoes annually.
Notice how little soil these huge plants are growing in. The salt from the brackish water accumulates in the soil, so the soil has to be changed each year.
The bees which fertilize the plants come in boxes instead of hives. There’s a company that delivers bees-in-a-box regularly.
The tomatoes are incredibly sweet. The researchers adjust the amount of water, light, etc, and measure the results in the tomatoes. They’re currently working on cherry tomatoes that ripen evenly all the way down the bunch, as opposed to the furthest ones out being greener, as they naturally are. They are developing cherry tomatoes that are sweet and ripe when they’re green. We tried them and they are delicious. The advantage for the farmers is they can be picked and shipped green and will have a longer shelf life.
We also saw red peppers and chives and strawberries.
Chive research focuses on chives whose tips don't turn brown.
At the end of our tour, we saw a hedge of “salty plant.” This plant, native here, will grow with very little water, and it can be completely brackish water. The AgroCenter is growing it as a way to use the very salty water remaining from desalinization plants. The salty plant has adapted to the desert environment by covering its leaves with a layer of salt, which attracts moisture from the air. It tastes pleasantly salty. I thought it would be a splendid addition to salads. The AgroCenter sent some to Europe to see if it would sell, and it was quite popular. The challenge is that the leaves wilt within a few minutes of picking. They are working on a way to extend shelf life.
We came home from our tour impressed, inspired and hungry. I made a huge salad for lunch, which was waiting for Rebekah when she came home from school.
That’s another of the pleasures of this trip. The girls are done with school at 1:30 and we sit down together for lunch every day, if they're not out with friends. Those of you who know me well as the mom whose kids were allowed to make their own Mac&Cheese—Annie’s, of course—at a very early age may be surprised. I love having the time to prepare meals. Of course, we don't really have a choice: there are no prepared foods at the small supermarket and no restaurants (except pizza and hummus) in town. This schedule may all change if I take ulpan, a Hebrew immersion course, which would have me getting home from school after the girls do. Maybe they’ll have lunch waiting for me?
Our day ended with a house concert of Valentine’s music. I didn’t get the name of the singer, an Israeli from Tel Aviv who has spent many years in the States. The program of love songs included several Beatles sing-alongs and songs by the 3 modern “prophets” Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen, some in Hebrew with interpretive dance.
What a day! Happy Valentine’s!
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