If we want food, we have to take care of the seed and watch all along the growing process of the plant.
An important part of a complete farm is the food forest; one or more zones where you plant fruit and nut trees. Once these trees are grown and begin producing, you can relax because there will be plenty of fresh and sweet fruit to feed the family, the community and even to sell. But it is important to start soon, and sometimes from the seed.
One of the first labors we iniciated in this Farm project was the construction of a plant nursery.
This is a traditional seedbed for tobacco that peasants built to iniciate every crop. The only element that counts as external input for construction is the metallic chicken wire used to protect the seeds and saplings.
This is our version of the plant nursery. We utilized the trunk of young oaks, which grow abundantly in the plot. We did not put a soil bed to plant directly on it, but rather experimented constructing a table to put saplings on.
The first saplings to arrive: turmeric, avocado, dates and bleo.
An important part of a complete farm is the food forest; one or more zones where you plant fruit and nut trees. Once these trees are grown and begin producing, you can relax because there will be plenty of fresh and sweet fruit to feed the family, the community and even to sell. But it is important to start soon, and sometimes from the seed.
One of the first labors we iniciated in this Farm project was the construction of a plant nursery.
This is a traditional seedbed for tobacco that peasants built to iniciate every crop. The only element that counts as external input for construction is the metallic chicken wire used to protect the seeds and saplings.
Tobacco seedbed in El Salado, Montes de María. Photo: Loraine López
As we dont´h have palms in the farm, we brought a synthetic shade cloth for the nursery. So in our case the number of external inputs for construction is bigger than in the traditional tobacco seedbed. It is important to think about how much you need to buy or bring from the outside world and if there is an option to reduce those inputs. We definitely need to plant palms for the future.
More seedlings keep on coming. Papaya, tomato, tamarind and pomegranate are kept in the nursery until their definitive spot is found inside the food forest.
During this first dry season at the farm, we begun the nursery at home. First, because it is very exciting to watch a plant sprout, second, because it is a great way to get to know each plant and be able to recognize it later, and third, because it is easier to water the little plants. When the saplings grow for a couple of weeks, they are transported to the farm´s nursery where the plants can adapt to their new habitat.
Can date palms grow and give fruit in this region? We shall see.
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