Growing vegetables (and fruit) in Africa

14 years ago

Hey, My family and I live in Tanzania, Africa. We're at a pretty high altitude (5,500 ft.) so the climate is really nice. Right now is the coolest part of the year, averaging low 70's Hi/ high 40's Lo. This is also the most dry time of the year with us not getting any more rain until late October. We can irrigate though so water isn't an issue. My issues are that I'm new to gardening (mainly because the veggies and fruit we loved back in the States are rarely or not at all available here) and that the climate here isn't like any place at home. I have a bunch of seeds I ordered and need to know when the best time to plant is. At the end of July, the temperature will begin climbing again topping out in December and January at upper 80's in the day and mid 60's at night.

Here's the list of what I have to plant:

Sweet corn

Watermelon

Celery

Pumpkin

Spinach

Yellow Squash

Green Beans

Lima Beans

Okra

Carrots

Cantaloupe

Lettuce

Broccoli

Zucchini

Cucumber

Basil

Cilantro

Can anybody help me out as to when is best to plant each of these?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

mauirose
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
the veggies and fruit we loved back in the States are rarely or not at all available here

One of the best bits of advice i can offer to anyone learning to garden in a new area, let alone a new part of the world, is to look around and see what your neighbors are growing so i'm curious about your statement. Do you mean that fresh produce is rarely available or just that the fresh produce you are accustomed to buying in America is not available? Where did your seeds come from, did you bring them along with you? What is the soil like in your new home? What will you use for fertilizer? i am very curious, aren't i ; )

Some of the crops you list are typically warm weather crops-okra, limas, probably the squash and melons. i'd give the celery a pass since i've read that it needs large amounts of water and can be a bit fussy to grow. Cilantro, broccoli, spinach, lettuce and carrots would probably like your current temps. Maybe others too but i'm not so experienced with temps that low. Lots of other more experienced gardeners will probably chime in but i wanted to offer a little bit of help after asking so many questions ; )
0
ediej1209 AL Zn 7
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
That's funny, I have a bunch of questions, too! Most of which just got asked, but I can't help but wonder what kinds of pests you are going to be dealing with? I know there are LOTS of critters there that we don't have here; on the other hand you may never have to deal with Squash Vine Borers!! As far as planting goes, I am far from expert, but I'd think that planting your corn and melons a little later would probably help, they like really warm temps. But lettuce really doesn't like heat so I'd get it going now. You may have to harvest it fairly quickly, unless you have a variety that is "slow to bolt". Here in Central Ohio, most lettuces are done by the end of June; the slower-bolting ones by the middle of July. Best of luck to you, and do keep us informed of your progress!

Edie
0
Related Discussions
no fruit or vegetables
Q
Comments (16)
The standard explanation for tall tomatoes with no fruit is too much nitrogen. Which MG did you use? There are different products with different formulations. Look on the package for the 3 numbers. [Nitrogen - phosphorus - potassium, also referred to as NPK -- those letters are the symbols for the chemical elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; if you didn't study chemistry, they're in alphabetical order.] The numbers refer to the weight of each nutrient in a 100 lb. bag of fertilizer. But the ratio of the numbers is also important. "Nitrogen helps plants make the proteins they need to produce new tissues. In nature, nitrogen is often in short supply so plants have evolved to take up as much nitrogen as possible, even if it means not taking up other necessary elements. If too much nitrogen is available, the plant may grow abundant foliage but not produce fruit or flowers. "Phosphorous stimulates root growth, helps the plant set buds and flowers, improves vitality and increases seed size. To absorb phosphorous, most plants require a soil pH of 6.5 to 6.8. "Potassium improves overall vigor of the plant." More here: http://www.gardeners.com/Fertilizer-Basics/5161,default,pg.html So for fruit (tomatoes, melons, peppers, etc.), you do not want the first of the 3 numbers (nitrogen) to be too high compared with the others. Here are some of the different Miracle-Gro products: All-Purpose Miracle-Gro: 24-8-16 Miracle-Gro Shake 'N Feed: 10-10-10 Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster: 15-30-15 Miracle-Gro for Tomatoes: 18-18-21 Espoma's Tomato-tone (everybody's favorite): 3-4-6. Compare the two tomato fertilizers: slightly different ratios, yet both highest on potassium and lowest on nitrogen: different from the first three Miracle-Gro products. [The Espoma numbers are smaller because it contains a higher percentage of other ingredients.] It's not only an issue of what ratio your fertilizer has. If you fertilize too often or use too much fertilizer, you can still overwhelm the plants with nitrogen. Keep in mind that there are other sources of nitrogen besides Miracle-gro; for instance, manure. You bought the soil from a farm: do they raise livestock of one type or another? Might the soil have contained a significant amount of manure? === You say you don't have a pollination problem, but you're using Sevin, which kills all types of insects: not only the bad ones, but the pollinators as well. (Maybe yellowjackets are tougher than pollinators.) Some plants are wind-pollinated (for example, corn). Other are self-pollinated (tomatoes). Cucurbits need insect pollinators -- I read recently that it takes dozens of different insect visits to fertilize each flower. You can do the pollination yourself and be sure: remove a male flower and rub the pollen on the female flower. It's best to do this early in the day.
...See More
What kind of vegetables / fruit can i plant to entertain my wife?
Q
Comments (9)
You're welcome. Green beans are popular, easy-to-grow and the flavor of fresh snap beans is so superior to that of canned or frozen beans that it isn't even funny. Bush beans would give you a pretty rapid harvest---some of the earlier varieties begin producing a harvest about 50 to 55 days after the seeds were sown. Sugar snap peas are the same way. Pole beans are trickier in terms of getting a harvest early. Some years, our heat here cranks up so high that you find the heat causing blossom drop almost as soon as the plants start flowering. In that sort of situation, there's nothing you can do but keep the plants watered and happy and wait for temperatures to drop in the fall. I usually plant bush beans for a spring and summer harvest and pole beans for a fall harvest. I cannot remember if any of us mentioned summer squash, but those also are relatively easy, at least until the squash bugs and squash vine borers find the plants. I love summer squash, but some people don't care for it. We like to grill zucchini outdoors when we're grilling meat for a meal. A lot of people hesitate to even plant squash because of all the pest issues, but I grew winter squash of all kinds and summer squash as well for a good 5 or 6 years before the squash vine borers and squash bugs even discovered our garden. It is a lot harder to get a good harvest now, but to me it is still worth it. I think my husband would be perpetually happy with the garden if all it ever produced was peppers, tomatoes, onions, melons and lettuce, but he'll eat just about anything I can grow. Once you get used to the superior flavor of vine-ripe food brought in from the garden to the house to eat the same day, you'll find it harder and harder to purchase produce at the grocery store. Once we got used to home-grown melons, we completely stopped buying melons at the store. Now we just eat our own fresh melons in season and rarely eat them the rest of the year. You mind find that y'all develop a taste for veggies that you think you don't like if you give them a chance. So many vegetables are so much better fresh from the garden that some people who don't like veggies suddenly discover they like them after all. I would have suggested sweet corn, but I wasn't sure how much space you have. Sweet corn from the garden is so yummy! I try to grow enough plants to harvest at least 200 ears per year. We eat all the fresh corn we can stand to eat, and freeze the rest the same day it is picked. I grow 3 or 4 varieties every year, choosing varieties with different DTMs so that the harvest is spread over a longer period. If I plan it well, and if Mother Nature cooperates, we have fresh corn for at least 2 months. Potatoes are one vegetable that a lot of people don't grow. Either they don't want to do all the digging involved in harvesting, or they feel like potatoes from the grocery store are so cheap that they'd rather buy them. However, the flavor of fresh potatoes is so incredibly earthy and good that they'll ruin you forever---you'll never want to eat another store-bought tomatoes. You know how much better home-grown tomatoes are than store-bought tomatoes? Well, home-grown potatoes are the same way. The first year I grew potatoes, their fresh flavor knocked our socks off. I think the trick is to try things your wife and daughters might like, and just continue to try something new every year until y'all figure out what it is you like to eat fresh from the garden. Everything I've tried has not been a success. Eggplant is an example. I love growing eggplant, and the fruit are available in so many interesting colors and shapes....but no one in our family (including me) cares for eggplant,so I don't plant it any more. Kohlrabi is another thing I cannot get anyone to eat, although it is easy to grow and looks interesting in the garden. Part of the fun of garden is experimenting and finding what you like. If you've never grown Sungold (or the similar Sun Sugar) cherry tomatoes for your family, I think y'all would like them. Everyone to whom I've ever given a Sungold tomato has just raved about how flavorful they are. Sungold and Sun Sugar have a sort of tropical fruitiness you don't find in any other tomato. Fruit is my favorite thing to grow, but the results can be a lot more erratic than those in the veggie garden. Partly it is that recurring late freezes experienced in our climate often kills the flowers or tiny fruit on fruit trees early in the season. The other issue is pests. Because fruit is so sweet, you really have to fight the pests, birds and varmints some years in order to get a harvest. I generally grow blackberries, plums, peaches and figs. I have citrus trees in pots I carry inside in the worst weather. Right now they're out in the greenhouse just loving these sunny days. Strawberries have been erratic for me. They do great in a cooler year with lots of moisture, but then along comes a hot dry summer like 2011 and kills the strawberry plants. I'm in a part of OK that gets less moisture and more drought than central and northeastern and eastern OK, so strawberries are hit and miss here. When you have the right soil and the right weather, though, they are delightful.
...See More
Can any vegetable or fruit grow under a black walnut tree
Q
Comments (8)
Sure, there are many websites that list those that can be grown successfully. I don't have personal experience because I planted a native plant garden under mine, not edibles. Here are a couple of those websites, good luck! http://www.americanplant.net/index.php/gardening-tips/plant-care-and-gardening-information/13-resource-library/plant-care-sheets/60-plants-to-grow-under-black-walnuts http://www.groworganic.com/organic-gardening/articles/companion-plants-that-tolerate-black-walnut-tree-toxicity http://www.edgewaterhomeandgarden.com/pdf/black_walnut_trees_.pdf (this one says black raspberry and grapes--I know wild grapes thrive under mine) two25acres--that is just horrible, I really feel for you!
...See More
Why vegetable plants are getting yellow in color & not bearing fruits
Q
Comments (2)
Cuke plant looks like it has a severe case of powdery mildew and maybe even spider mites - can't tell for sure about them from the pics. But given all the interveinal chlorosis they were nutrient deprived before the PM developed. That plant is likely not salvageable at this stage. The yellowing on the tomato plants combined with their retarded development and the leaf roll indicates over-watering along with nutrient deprivation. Neither is of a size to begin bearing fruit. So what, how much, and how often have you fed them? Dave
...See More
ruthieg__tx
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'd get the spring stuff in right away..carrots, lettuce, spinach, cilantro....might be too late for broccoli but you could try anyway and as soon as your nights start to warm up start planting the other stuff. Now the only thing I am going on is the temperatures that you mentioned. It sounds though like temp wise, you have wonderful growing temps. I hope you have lots of success...

Tell us the story of how you got to Africa or what took you there...and more about your life there.
0
pnbrown
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I hope you can add more things to your list. If you order onion-seed you'll want to make sure it's a short-day variety. Seems like tomatoes would do very well and probably be perennial if they don't get blights (and there is a distant relative, a perennial shrub called tree-tomato that I know is grown in the african highlands). Peppers could be perennial, and so many other things - most in fact. A completely frost-free temperate zone is something north-american gardeners can only dream about.....
0
growingafrica
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
@mauirose - most of what is grown around here is only done during the rainy season. Two seasons here, dry & rainy which are cool and warm, respectively. They plant and grow then due to the free and ABUNDANT water supply. Whereas now, their gathered water is used for simply living day-to-day. But, what they do grow here mainly is maize, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, onions.

Do you mean that fresh produce is rarely available or just that the fresh produce you are accustomed to buying in America is not available?
Well, a little of both but more of the latter. Cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, beans and a few other things are regularly available in the markets. Yellow squash. Nada. Zucchini. Only seen twice in a whole year and not at all good and expensive. Okra. Moderately available but expensive. Sweet Corn. Nada. Watermelon. Tasteless. Cantaloupe, celery, lima beans. Nada. There are a lot of other things we'd eventually like to grow that aren't on my list. But, being beginners, we're starting out slow.

Where did your seeds come from, did you bring them along with you?
Most of what we have are from the States. Parkseed.com and Burpee are the two main brands we have. I plan to try to seed harvest so I don't have to rely on a shipment from back home.

What is the soil like in your new home?
Umm... I'm not familiar with soil types but I know it definitely isn't clay. It's dark and kinda clumpy. Very dry and light right now because of dry season.

What will you use for fertilizer?
I haven't yet, but plan to build a compost bin to make my own. I have no idea exactly how to do that but I just love the resources online! Plenty of cows around and I'm sure we'll be a spectacle asking some common Tanzanian if we can buy their cow poop.

@Edie - I haven't a clue about the critters although there doesn't seem to be an evidently large population of them. May be the fierce African sun! We did find zucchini twice in the main town market but all of it had hole eaten into it by some kind of pest. What are symptoms of a Squash Vine Borer?

@ruthieg__tx - to keep the word count low (as I'm already many lines deep) the best way for me to tell you about us is to refer you to our family website, www.mccalled.com. It has a ton of information about us on there as well as links to our (me, my wife and our 15 mo old son) blogs. Yes, my son has his own blog already. We maintain it, of course. But, if you get on there and want to send us a question, just use the contact link and fill out the form. The messages go to both Dana and I (Jonathan) and we absolutely love using the internet to keep in touch with people who are interested in our lives here!!! Karibuni sana! (Swahili for "Welcome (very much or a lot)")

Currently we have the following growing (planted in):
Yellow squash (late Apr)
Zucchini (late Apr; 3 plants already have fruit)
Sweet Corn (Apr)
Cucumber (late May)
Tomatoes (Mar & Jun; local variety)
Strawberries (long time ago; they produce year round here)
Bananas (young trees; expect fruit this time next year)
Avacado (young trees)
Mango (young tree)
Orange (young tree)
Papaya (young tree)
Peach (young tree)
Carrot (ending 1 harvest; just planted more yesterday)
Grapes (REALLY no idea what's going on here, we just bought a large vine; I think it is going into hibernation)
Lettuce (early Jun; starting indoors)
Broccoli (early Jun; starting indoors)

@pnbrown - Onion seed we don't have. Tomatoes seem to do good year round here. I've seen the tree-tomato shrub. I wonder how hard/easy it is to grow? This climate is quite spectacular. With water and a little TLC, it almost seems as if anything can grow at any time here, except the really cool weather stuff, of course.
0

Growing vegetables (and fruit) in Africa

Comments (5)

mauirose

ediej1209 AL Zn 7

Related Discussions

ruthieg__tx

pnbrown

growingafrica
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Growing vegetables (and fruit) in Africa

Comments (5)

mauirose

ediej1209 AL Zn 7

Related Discussions

ruthieg__tx

pnbrown

growingafricaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

growingafrica
Original Author