New Gardens, by Cory

Most of the tree planting is finished in the two new purchased gardens.

The share cropper who has worked the land for years says it is a fertile garden and prodeces large sweet potato crops.

 He is planting a patch to share with Gener and Yvon.

It is a huge amount of work to scrape the weeds and surface soil into the old furrows, then hoe the hills over to cover and smother the weeds.

New path along garden

 It is a good system, leaving the weeds as fertilizer compost under the hills of potatoes.

Properly done on land that isn't sloping too much, it has little erosion.

Less erosion than crops like corn and rice that are planted on soil that isn't mounded.

Hoeing up parts of the garden will improve the soil compacted by years of cattle grazing, provide free weed control, and a small percentage of the crop.

We will also be planting some high quality forages for improved pasture, like perennial peanut, to share with other farmers.

Most of the gardens are planted to Peach Palm. Cory & Kris enjoyed them in Brazil. Here are some photos of the first bunch to ripen on campus. Note the red oil, a good source of vitamin A, on the lid of the pan they were boiled
in.

The tree was planted in 2010, on hard clay soil where bananas didn't do well.

 We are planning to head back to LaGonave on Thursday so that Kris can sit in on an important hospital meeting.

We plan to return on Saturday.

Good news today that F is adjusting to the idea of coming home and now 'excited' and 'just can't wait'.

We continue to pray for a Christmas miracle and that we would hear any day that our case has moved out of IBESR.

Thank you for praying for F and our travels.

LaGonave's internet isn't great so may not hear from us until early next week.

A newsletter should be going out by e-mail tomorrow so let us know if you would like to get it and don't.

The snail mail copies should be in the mail tomorrow having left Haiti on the mail plane today.

Have a great weekend.

Peach Palm