Wednesday, September 18, 2019

September 18



As we finish up planting and fence work, we plan to start digging a water storage tank/pond for fish and irrigation (we have no options for ground water).

It is a relief to see the plants in the nursery and the trees and crops on campus growing well. 

The first year on the mountian, with our focus on building the house, almost everything planted (at the neighbor’s mission) without compost or fertilizer just survived without growing or grew discouragingly slowly.
Soil good enough for glads but not squash


In most areas the soil is so infertile that the response of plants to compost and fertilizer is dramatic to say the least. Some areas aren’t as bad so the grass and weeds are recovering well now that overgrazing has ended.

We have two tiny “greenhouses” with white plastic to try starting apple rootstocks from cuttings. When the trees are bigger we will try cuttings of the actual varieties to avoid grafting.

Next week will be half a year since planting the apples so those photos are planned for next week.

Fritz has about 100 tadpoles that we rescued from the last bit of evaporating water on the patch of cement behind the house where mortar was mixed by hand during the house build.

how squash grows with compost and fertilizer, same age as with glads
Haitian squash is excellent quality, dry (starchy) as potato,
 mild sweet flavor.

apple cuttings




Haitian sweet potatoes, mild flavor, very sweet, dry and
 white or light yellow inside
Tadpoles
Former gravel pit with cuttings "shadehouse" and good shelter for
carambola/starfruit and banana plants, peach palm


Part of the nursery

Tropical yams and sweet potato (NOT the same thing) planted several
 months ago and beans more recently, all by employees 


The small corn garden looked very sad due to thin rocky soil and hail damage but
 production is good considering how it looks

Sweet potato, yacon (right side) and corn on the nursery soil pile

Light from Cory's family dating to the late 1800's,
 survived luggage well and recently installed.




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