Hi all,
I hope you had a great day. Just pics of a very good day yesterday. We planted
Chillies, Mangoes, Flame trees, Acacia, Water Melons, lemon, moringa and papaya. We are all excited but bloody hell the watering is tough.
Quick question, do rootless banana trees /stems/ grow ?
Cheers
W
Am excited though !
Looks like it must be springtime where you are. By the way, welcome to the conversation and the group.
Thank you kind sir. It actually is our hot season. Temps are ridiculously high mate.
Was all the vegetation killed? It looks like some thistles are rebounding. I’m trying to put the pieces together. Those are some ‘awfully’ large bags to grow seedlings in I’m thinking right now.
Cheers mate,
Dax
Just curious. . .why are you planting everything in plastic bags instead of directly in the ground?
@Barkslip
Hi Dax,
The large black plastic bags have chilli in them. We transplant them after 12 or so weeks. We are surrounded by an invasive species’ of a tree plus reeds so nothing else grows around the beach. We using the tree for much need shade.
We have a litter problem. It s bad. Will take photos of how bad. Guys, for most education is basic right while here I cannot begin to describe the massive institutional problems we have with our education system hence we have issue such deforestation, erosion and plastic littered all over and we are using this to grow plants as a way of educating our community on how to recycle, keep our water sources clean( Lake Niassa) , The importance of Conserving trees and planting them as well.
Well, good luck. I hope what you’re doing makes a positive impact! Keep the updates coming!
On my way to work this morning. How can you not be excited with all this beauty around us ? We are very lucky but we need to work even harder to protect our environment.
That’ s the scale of our problem. It s scary no ? Hence our commitment to slow or reverse this catastrophe.
That’s awesome you are off to a great start there. Possibly you can find some leaves or compost to top off around the seedlings to help conserve water or leaves spread near the bags keeping the sun off may reduce water consumption. I can’t really think of a good way for you to utilize wick watering with that system but maybe you could look up “terra preta” and making some of this to help with water conservation and nutrient storage?
I love you are cleaning up all the litter, its very sad we gotta figure out why we make so much plastic and what we really want to do with it as a human species.
@RichardRoundTree
Hi Richard,
Always great to hear from you. With so much excitement I find I can pretty much grow anything. Hopefully in the process, catch one or two kids who can learn a thing or two.
We just burnt a patch in order to clear it. We tried to control where possible. What are downsides clearing with fires besides the major sin of ruining an eco- system. Trying to learn so I can pass it on as it our one sure way of clearing.
You know i feel fire is a ancient tool and not that bad when used properly, however it has a will of its own and can be very dangerous. I doubt clearing a field with fire and then replanting trees that would absorb a lot more co2 and provide food/shade would be a bad thing for the eco system. I think its mainly burning large trees that is bad and a much better use for that carbon is burying it in the ground as a water absorber (Hugelkulture). Small fires can kill the life in the topsoil and if plants dont resprout soon large amounts of erosion and topsoil loss which is bad. The large forest fires are the problem that burn old trees and into the roots far down in the soil. The hard part is doing it safe and timing it correctly with the weather. The idea behind the terra preta is you would use woodstove ash and any biochar (I think alot may be available as a waste or excess product in mozambique with woodstoves? ) and culture beneficial bacteria and then deposit it into the soil to create more life and CEC (nutrient holding capacity). You just gotta be super careful with fire.
@RichardRoundTree - Just noticed your surname is round tree - Beautiful name sir !
Fire was well controlled. Now the battle is clearing reed roots.
Had a cool day collecting mango seeds from round the village. Have a sack. The irony is I will be handing that same seed to the community very soon.
What is the problem tree you are trying to remove? Is there anyway to get woodchips or leaf biomass or something to use as a mulch to conserve water after you plant?
Morning Richard. They are invasive species. Nothing else grows and they love water. They are mostly on Lago shore. We mostly use for shade at the garden but intend to replace all with fruit trees.
This is Dalia, my little mate. She is related to my host family. We mango picking at for this morning. Good fun but why the hell don’t we have our own tree ?
We have the climate, the space yet there not a lot of mango trees.
She is adorable and that’s awesome you have a helper! Helping out when i was young was what got me interested and kept me open minded as i grew up. Mangos are just plain amazing, can you plant guavas also? Maybe @jujubemulberry or others could tell you if jackfruit or breadfruit would work in your location. Those would be important because a trio of mango, jackfruit or breadfruit and guavas make great trees for tropical locations and the trio seems to keep pests under control. What about kei apples?
Maybe some pictures of the problem trees leaves, just thinking the internet would have good ideas on how to remove them?
I think a lot of times things are just done wrong or not being done because no one tries and a lack of knowledge or no interest in learning. When i look at your dirt it seems really dry so that was why i was recomending mulch or biomass if you could do something to stop the sun from bleaching the ground it would save a ton of water! and would let beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae (Beneficial fungi that lives on perrenials and trees) multiply! We can definitely terra form a desert type climates to a semi arid farmable climate with proper cultivation. There is a ton of ancient south american agricultural techniques that in my opinion surpass our current day farming techniques in north america.
Some fun reads
I really would like to visit
yeah, that list is the champ. I christened myself jujube mulberry, but that is mainly because of the location am currently growing stuff at. Anyway, if grafted specimens are expensive in @thewezi 's locale, propagating them from seeds would be the next best thing, and costs close to nothing. Guavas and jackfruit have plenty!
the most delightful youngsters are those who play musical instruments. And/or those who enjoy growing stuff 
Thank you both for the recommendations. We tons of work ahead of us. I can get from sister s garden. There are fruiting at the moment.
I am keen on expanding variety. Our problem so far has been sourcing seeds. I ve been working at it and have set up links with old friends who are willing to do swaps. Am headed to one of the most beautiful islands one the this weekend. Will post photos.
Am hope we catch them young then who knows.
@RichardRoundTree - I love this time of the day as I have me tea and read your responses. Thank you so much kind sir.
