Low cost household nursery

It is not always possible for people to purchase trees for household, farm or village planting programmes. And again, it is not everyone's interest to spend time growing seedlings especially in hotter/drier areas.

If you remember my Footsteps NZ - TZ blog about Mama Bustani, there are some people who will want to grow a few trees and may no have financial resources to put into the project.

A person may be able to grow only twenty trees and there are of course no limits.

 This small nursery site is designed to maintain moisture levels and assist the establishment of pricked out seedlings of cuttings.

The nursery site is dug into the soil [the soil dug out can be used in the pots - soil mix]. If some plastic sheeting is available, lining the excavated hole is an added benefit. Large stones are placed at the bottom and finer  gravel as a floor to sit the pots on and to level the bottom.

Use bricks or stones to hold up a removable shade-frame made from sticks, bush or any light material.

Pots may be reused polythene pots that are commonly in use, or any container that is suitable [with drain holes] or containers can be made out of banana trunk fibre [bark] or light similar material.

The fibre strip needs to be about 6cm wide and placed in a cross and stand a bottle in the center.
Fold the the strips up the bottle and tie a thin piece of banana fibre/string to hold in place. Trim with a sharp knife

The fibre takes the shape of the bottle and the bottle can be carefully removed then the cavity left is simply filled with soil mix.

A seedling can be pricked out into the pot, or a seed/seeds can be sowed directly. The pot can be set on the nursery site and grown on.
It is a good idea to harden the plants off - exposing them to harsher weather conditions - before outplanting.

There is no need to remove the fibre pot at planting, but the whole thing should be buried because fibre exposed to the air could act as a wick, drawing moisture from the plant.

Not every location has banana fibre available - other suitable materials are - sacking, fertilizer bags, old trouser material, cardboard.

It is always interesting to experiment.

Adansonia digitata

The Baobab is an icon of all Africa as is the flat-topped Acacia. Mbuyu in Swahili and is the tree in my story 'Ndoto ya Grace' Grace's Dream.

The Baobab differs in form throughout Africa but can still be recognized. 'The tree that God planed upside down' because for much of the year the tree is leafless.

It is one of the longest living trees in the world >1000 years! The tree is remarkably drought resistant and the pithy wood holds a lot of moisture - my main picture on the Footsteps NZ - TZ blog is of a Baobab with a hole in it made by elephants searching for water.

Description: I don't really need to describe the tree. A large, deciduous tree with a thick trunk >8m, with  the tree reaching >20m in height - thick branches. The tree is bare for as long as 9 months. The bark is smooth and grey, very thick. Leaves - like fat fingers for the name - and lightish green (and usually a long way from the ground). Flowers are large and white, opening at night to attract bats for fertilization - the nectar has an unpleasant fragrance. Fruit are large, hairy and yellow/brown on long stalks - easily seen on the bare tree. There are around 100 seeds lying in a white/pink powdery pulp, which is edible.

Uses: Fodder - the fallen leaves are eaten by browsing animals. Food - the leaves are eaten in some areas and the dry pulp in the seed capsule is cream of tartar - high in calcium and vitamin C. Made into drinks and coating for traditional sweets. Medicine from bark and roots.String and rope is made from fibre within the bark.

Propagation: There are + - 2 500 seeds per kg and propagation is best by seed. Germination rate is sporadic and can even take as long as seven years! Nicking the seed is beneficial and germination may occur within 30 - 50 days.

The tree grows quickly and is both fire and termite resistant.

Seeds are eaten by monkeys - and humans.

We never produced many Baobab trees for outplanting because they take up so much area when they grow. We did produce a few 'for fun' and they are growing well.