Gardening in South Sudan
January 15, 2012 6 Comments
Vegetables are expensive in Wau as South Sudan has a very little agriculture and so I decided to start gardening in the backyard.
Only four percent of South Sudan is farmland. Some vegetables are imported and those that are local are still expensive due to the but the cost of fuel to bring them to the main cities. In Wau, we get tomatoes, beans, onions, something generic called “greens” . Currently for fruit, there are oranges with mangos and papaya coming in a few months. None of these vegetables and fruit are of a decent quality but this is something all international NGO workers must deal with when living in a low resource country.
The first step is to acquire seeds that may or may not grow in hot African climates. For some reason, I also brought some fertilizer with me. The unlabeled bag on the left is filled with tomato seeds.
The garden space started off with burnt patches and a variety of broken CFL bulbs and plastic bottles scattered around.
After dissolving mud from my trip to Mapel, we planted seeds in egg cartons and left sprout.
We cleaned the area and turned the soil. Even the security guard joined in on the fun.
This is the start of a real garden. I have never gardened in my life and especially not in Africa. There are many questions: Will the seeds grow in this soil? Will the bugs eat my plant to pieces? Is it too dry for to grow these plants?
Here is the final layout of the garden with the soil turned. It will be a few weeks before we plant…
What do you think? Success or failure? Can colder climate plants survive the harsh South Sudan environment? Have you ever had a garden in Africa? Write your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Looking forward to seeing what happens. It looks like a good experiment.
It will be. I am sure your seeds will do the best just because they are your seeds!
Can’t say I’ve gardened in Africa but I’ve watered a garden in Gerlach, which as you know has a dry and hot climate with sometimes frigid nights. Kale and tomatoes and some other plants grew, but not without two doses of water (which evaps during the day) to combat the drying effects of the heat. Also perhaps you should consider a shadecloth or some type of apparatus that will diffuse light over the plants, as too much sun will burn them. Mostly though, your gardening success will depend on the quality of your soil. You need to start composting so that you can gradually create your own O-matter. This is also dependant a bit on what kind of insects you have breaking down the soil. Also, I’m sure you already know about spritzing with soap to keep pests off your plants. Can’t wait to see the results
Great advice. Thanks!
You might want to cover the soil with a layer of mulch, to keep the moisture in–dried leaves, hay, cut grass, etc. And I agree with composting!
I agree though sourcing soil or mulch will be difficult. I definitely need to look into composting here. Right now, the mission is to get the seedlings growing but after two days, the red mud has turned to stone even though I have been watering it extensively. We ain’t in Liberia no more, right?