Garden Update

Sunday, July 23, 2006
I haven't talked much about the Hopital Fann Garden lately, so I wanted to give you an update. While I haven't talked about it, don't think I haven't been busy there.

Last week on Friday, we had the wife of an American diplomat who was visiting Dakar came to the garden with a group from the Embassy, including bodyguards (which was cool). Much of the past week or two was spent ironing out the details and then getting the garden shape as well. Whether it is a high-profile visit or just an individual coming to look at the garden, they are all very important to the potential expansion of the garden as well as the idea behind it. In the end, this visit seemed to go very well.

This week at the garden will hopefully be an eventful one as well. The plan is begin excavation on a second garden on the grounds of the Infectious Maladies Department. The purpose of this new garden will initially be for fruits (papaya trees, banana trees, and melon), but eventually expand into medicinal plants as well. Currently, the site is covered with rocks and improperly disposed medical supplies, so Tuesday, we are hoping to get it cleaned up.

The second thing that I hope to get done this week is initiate new pest management procedures. Currently, we use mostly chemical pesticides and apply them when needed, not on a schedule. The new plan is to try to use natural pesticides on a 2 or 3 week rotation. The purpose of this is to make the garden a little more natural (I'm not going to say organic) and hopefully less expensive to maintain. The question is, will it work?

I am hoping to use a tobacco based liquid solution, tobacco dusting for certain crops, and a solution potentially consisting of peppers, mint, onion, garlic and soap. I am currently trying to do a little more research and in talks with my Peace Corps boss and another volunteer who currently has an all-natural garden. Hopefully I can conclude my research early this week and start making and applying these solutions.

So, this is what is currently going on at the garden, on top of its daily maintenance, upkeep, and increase in temperatures. Thanks for all the support and interest a lot of you have shown.