Work Stuff

Michael (dad) was also able to see what type of work I do in site. It was good to have someone from the outside there to observe and give ideas as well as another take on the issues I was teaching about. He came to check out my demonstration plot. Now that winter is almost here it is time to play my winter green manures. I invited a neighbor (kai Andres) over to help me since he has a rollocuchillo (rolling knife). This is a great farming tool used to cut and press down green manures, leaving a thick mulch. It is a simple farm implement; it is a heavy metal cylinder with blades that, when pulled, cut and press the plant matter to the ground. I used it on my patch of Mucuna, the nitrogen fixing vine. We did this before the plant flowered and set seed so that all the Nitrogen fixed in the soil stays in the soil. Prior to rolling over the Mucuna I seeded the plot with black oats, the winter cover crop that also makes great animal forage and mulch. I seeded before we used the rollocuchilo so that the seeds had a chance to get to the ground. Had I seeded afterwards the seeds would sit on the mulch and not sprout. When I came back from Ecuador the Avena had already sprouted and looks great.


This is a panorama view of my demoplot. The mucuna (on the left side) is what I will cut and use as a mulch.

Avena is seeded by hand.

Kai Andres and the Rollocuchillo.

It turned out to be a good teaching day. He had a lot of questions regarding planting avena and mucuna.

This is the rollocuchillo.

This is what it looks like after being chopped and pressed down.

Update - The Avena has sprouted, though the mucuna mulch was so thick that there are parts in which the Avena could not come through. I plan on planting sunflowers in this patches.


He also came to school with me. I am starting a reforestation program in the school. Deforestation is a huge problem here in Paraguay and the earlier the kids learn about the value of trees the better. I started this program with basics: what do we use trees for, what does deforestation mean, what does reforestation mean, what is agroforestry etc. I will continue with sessions on how to treat seeds and properly plant them in the garden. How to take care of trees, etc. Eventually all the children will take trees back home and plant them.






Finally, he came down to check out one of the womens committees. I gave a short charla on companion planting in the garden. It is garden season and everyone is getting ready. Most people here plant a mini monoculture in their garden; one line of tomatos, one line of carrots, one of lettuce etc. It is a better practice to associate plants of different space requirements and nutrient requirements together. In this way the space in the garden can be used more effectively and also certain associations keep bugs away from plants while others help plants grow even better. Examples are carrots and tomatos, basil and tomatos, beets and lettuce. etc



Finally, this is a beautiful shot of Rubito's year old pineapple field. After talking to him about it for a long, long time he decided to leave all the weeds he took out from between the pineapple lines. The resulting mulch is so thick that no other weeds will grow.