Growth after one week

I wanted to show you the dramatic growth of the Jatropha after just one week. The two photos below show the Jatropha plants on May 23rd (top) and May 30th (bottom). I reversed the middle two pots. The difference really has been in fertilizing the plants and ensuring that the soil stays moist. It also helps that Orlando temperatures are now in the upper 80s during the day and around 70 at night.

The roots are now long enough that I will have to replant the Jatropha into larger pots soon. Note that the cutting on the left is still alive, but the buds are not growing noticeably. We’ll keep experimenting with this one.

I took a close-up photo of a Jatropha leaf below. This plant is quite healthy, with no pest or disease evidence. By the way, this is a Jatropha Curcas L variety. I was at a plant nursery recently with my family and the staff there showed me a couple of other varieties. One of them had red flowers. Jatropha Curcas L flowers and produces a fruit containing the seed pod. It is not an ornamental.

I’ll give a quick status update on the Burundi test plantation. I received the laptop for Jean-Marie. That will be sent out with the digital camera in mid-June with the team that is traveling from Spirit of Joy church.

John

“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:23-24

Jatropha Project Update

Orlando cutting experiment

In my last posting I talked about our experiment with fertilizer. After just over 1 week, I have good news to report. In addition to adding an 18-18-21 fertilizer blend, we mixed in Black Cow manure to the soil. As you can see in the photo below, the original cutting that I planted is doing very well (see far right). We have seen significant leaf growth in the past week. The cutting second from the right went from one small bud to several areas of leaf growth. The next one was completely stalled and now we are getting leaf growth at the top. The last one is currently stalled, but we’ll keep working on it.

It rained almost constantly this week (5 days straight), so we had to put the cuttings under shelter to keep them from getting too saturated. I suspect that as we put them out into the sun, we’ll see

a higher growth rate.

Burundi plantation progress

I am in the processing of purchasing a Dell D610 laptop off ebay to ship to Jean-Marie in Burundi, along with a digital camera. I’ll be sending them with a team that leaves in mid-June. Since Jean-Marie will be in Rwanda for a couple of weeks, returning in early July, I’ll have to wait until July to post photos of the plantation.

I will be wiring the first funding increment next week that will fund the irrigation system and the land clearing. Much of our initial work will begin in June, so I should have more updates coming soon.

 

John

 

“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you,

all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:23-24

 

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Jatropha fertilization and watering

I wanted to pass along some thoughts on fertilization and watering of Jatropha because there is some misleading information on the internet. Much of the information on the internet suggests that because Jatropha will grow on marginal lands with very little water, you don't have to worry about irrigation or fertilization. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you intend to grow Jatropha for harvesting seeds, then irrigation and proper fertilization is essential. Otherwise, the yields will be mediocre at best.

I have 4 Jatropha micro stems that I planted - one last November and three in early April. The cutting I planted in November began to shows buds in February and is doing well. The other three started to bud a week after planting, but didn't do very much after that. It turns out that we were doing a couple of things wrong. My daughter Elizabeth replanted the three cuttings into soil that holds moisture better than the soil we started with. In general, we water them every other day, but the key is making sure the soil stays moist. The next thing she did was to add fertilizer. We are currently experimenting with 18-18-21 fertilizer. This made a difference since the 3 newest cuttings are now beginning to show more buds and the buds that were there before are finally starting to grow. I will continue to provide updates as these plants mature.

Jean-Marie is working on the small test plantation in Burundi, getting it ready for planting. I will be placing an order for our first 300 cuttings in a few weeks. Until then, I will provide periodic updates.

John

Developing Partnerships

I dream of the day when our Jatropha farm in Burundi, Africa is planted and produces the first crop. We are now less than two months away from planting. God willing, a year from now we will be harvesting seed, although it will take up to five years to reach full yields. It’s all about patience and prayer – plenty of prayer.

The photo below is from the Costa Rica Seed Company farm in Tarcoles where I will be getting my first batch of cuttings. They will ship out in mid-June. Note the small Papaya plant in the foreground. Intercropping other plants is common and is something we plan to do as well.

 

I believe that strong partnerships are critical to the success of a venture such as this. That is why I continually search for organizations to partner with. Recently I discovered an organization called Destiny Florida. They are located not far from central Florida. Billed as America’s first Eco-Sustainable City, they would make a good partner for sharing technology and ideas. Next week I have a telecon with them to discuss their progress to date. I hope to visit them in the near future.

Soil Analysis

Last week I spoke with an agronomist to get a better idea of what to look for in the soil analysis. He gave me the following information:

1. Determine your soil type (sand, loam, clay or a mix). This will help determine irrigation time.

2. Determine the pH of the soil. Jatropha grows best in soil that has a pH of about 6.8. However, it is best to measure the pH where other Jatropha is growing naturally and use the data for comparison.

3. Test the soil for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels. You can also test for micronutrients, although this is not essential.

Armed with this information, we will begin soil testing soon and use this data to help determine fertilization and irrigation requirements.

- John

Mark 11:23-24

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