Day 61 Coronavirus, terraces, and trees.

Watering on this rocky, steep land is not easy

Haiti's coronavirus cases are starting to climb more rapidly.

With very limited testing in Haiti and a stigma of being sick keeping most people from getting tested, the true numbers are much higher.

Latest numbers show positive cases in all of Haiti: 533 cases, with 21 deaths and 21 recoveries and over 2,000 suspected cases.

So far no one in the village has symptoms of corona.

So life goes on here pretty normal, another week of planting trees, building rock terraces, moving dirt and praying for rain.

The terrace area was low fertility, not even growing weeds very well.

The workers probably think Cory is a bit crazy but he learned on LaGonave how much higher the chalky gravel soils are in fertility compared to red dirt.

So the terrace soils are being mixed with chalk (lime) and topsoil from piles made during the house and pond construction.

Part of the skill set of growing trees is picking the best possible locations for them to grow: how much sun they like; need of wind protection; size of adult tree and how close to plant neighboring trees, amount of fertilizer needed and more.

Trees planted by the driveway will benefit from extra soil, water, protection from easterly winds, and shade in the mornings.

Trees now growing by the drive way include: coffee, avocado, malay apple, velvet apple, lychee, jack fruit, cherimoya, cupuasu (chocolate relative), egg fruit, 2 rare mangosteen relatives, black sapote, star fruit, loquat, and dragon fruit.

The nursery hoop house is still pretty full of trees and plants but no longer overly crowded as it was, so you can actually walk in and not be on a tiny pathway.

The perennial kitchen garden plants are looking good and Cory planted a Brazilian perennial spinach.

One new terrace was planted today with corn and beans, half of another terrace is getting popcorn.

Artemisia will soon be ready, along with some vegetables.

On Saturday Fritz and I planted some mammoth sunflower seeds in a small patch that Cory prepared by the front of the house.

Last year we planted a few by the solar panels-not thinking about the direction of the sun and we always saw the backs of the flowers.

This time they will face the house and we're planting them in the spring so they will have more growing time before the days start to shorten.

Fritzlin and I started 4th grade on the day after Mother's Day.

So far we've been doing very well.

He is enjoying the kitten we've had for a couple weeks.

Please join us in praying for Haiti: for rain; good crops; food assistance for millions in need; political stability; limited serious cases of coronavirus; and revival.

Driveway on right.