Interesting enough the sun's intensity during the summer months in these is areas in less than that of central USA. So I would think something like 30-40% would work well.

Remember, morning and early afternoon is best for plant photosynthesis and is least damaging to plants than late afternoon early evening light. You should take advantage of this phenomena when selection planting areas.

Thanks, I had concern about the 60% but in Haiti our large house faced N/S and the walls, covered with poultry wire were 5 feet high giving lots of morning and evening sun. So it wasn't a problem. In Honduras, we have more clouds and rain so the plants were suffering. Also, in Haiti we have built several family sized shade houses Quonset hut type 14 X 20 feet with ends covered by poultry wire. They seem to be a bit too shady alhough they grow good cabbage and greens.

Thanks for the advice. I think we could settle on 40% fairly safely. Whatever we can grow will be a great help because after all the Haitians often have to eat dirt cookies and tree leaves just to stay alive.

Thanks for your help.

I took a few minutes to search "growing foods crops + haiti" to familarize myself with your growing conditions. It is sad to see a once productive country so destroyed by nature and the human hand.

Over the past 14 years I have researched and experimented looking for the answer to the question you ask. Petzold in the post above provides a helpful thought. The bottom line of my research is...either grow in morning sun, afternoon shade or container grow (especially tomatoes) in dappled light in the shade of tall trees or lathe houses which provide dappled shade. Are you under the aspices of the UN or working with one of the classroom/teacher projects being sponsored in Haiti?

We are just a few guys who believe that God never intended for people to go hungry because afterall man's first home was in a garden. Just a few knuckle heads that believe the impossible is possible if you aren't afraid to get your hands into the donkey manure. We use raised beds also and the Haitians cover them with palm fronds during the hottest part of the day. We would like to use shade cloth there also because in some places palm trees don't grow. Growing food during the rainy season is not a problem it is those other 9 months and of course those areas that get only a few inches of rain each year. We found the soil temp. 2 inches deep in the hottest summer was about 90-92 degrees and inside the shade house it was 78-80 degrees. Needless to say not much can grow with a soil temp of 90 degrees. Success is getting to the point that folks don't need us or at least need only seed and an occasional tool.

I think you guys are do something more people should do. One note, most fruit producing vegs. do not set fruit when the air temp. is above 90 degrees and is some case, do not set flowers. With this in mind, you should set your planting/seeding time to allow for fruit setting before the temps get that high, i.e. start in late winter or mid summer. This way you get two growing seasons.

A site that may be helpful: echonet.org is a interdenominational Christian organization dedicated to fighting world hunger. ECHO provides agricultural information, consultation, training and seeds to those working with subsistence farmers or urban gardeners in developing countries.

If you need further help, contact me through this site.

God Bless you.

Some additional thoughts...Are you growing the grain amaranths? High in protein. Young leaves are nutritious and seeds can be ground into flour. Search for and contact the Rodale Research Center as it is the expert on growing amaranth. You should find them very willing to work with you and answer questions.

Also, I have been experimenting with the 'wild Florida tomato' which is a rampant grower and should be close to perennial in your climate, thrives in heat and hot sun, setting abundant clusters of tiny, current size tomatoes easily in 100 degree temperatures. Rather than growing this one on upright staking I install 2-8' hoops of 1/2" PVC pipe (could be freshly cut bamboo) about 15" apart and weave the tomato vine between them. This allows for underplanting beneath the hoops of a vegetable that needs filtered shade in the heat. I also found that if I grafted other types of tomatoes onto the wild Florida tomato roots I had better fruit production during the torrid months. Do a search for "grafting tomatoes" to understand the technique. Is really quite easy. This is an idea I plan to continue researching. Suggest you try your hand at it. Seeds for the wild Florida tomato are available on-line.

Have you done a search for "Japanese vegetables for hot climates"? There are some choice, nutritious ones.

Wow! I can't believe the wonderful responses. I have gotten help from ECHO and spent a week there also. They introduced me to African Okra and the Tropical Pumpkin that proved to be very successful. I also got "Quail Grass" seed from them. it is a type of amaranth and you can eat the leaves raw or cook them in Legim or greens. We also found flat leaf parsley and lovage grow really well. And of all things, collards and mustard greens were great new crops. I am very interested in the tomatoes and especially in grafting. Thanks again everyone it is great to hear from folks who know what they are doing !!

While at ECHO, did they introduce you to the Maringa tree. If not check it out it be something valuable to your protect.

I'm just curious as to whether some of the less common crops you are introducing are actually popular enough with the locals that they want to eat them? With any newer fruit/vegetable, there is sometimes a steep acceptance curve that inhibits commercial success in developed country markets, isn't this also a factor there in Haiti?

When I see news reports on Haiti, it appears as eroded as parts of Madagascar, with whole sections of the country virtually devoid of top soil, and the ocean waters muddy from all the silt. Add a punishing dry season, torrential rains that destroy crops or wash them away, and a simple lack of resources, and it seems almost insurmountable.

I wish you good luck with your projects, and I hope you are making a difference for the better. I wonder if focusing on solar ovens that are locally afordable, to minimize cutting of the hillside forests in combination with reforestation for erosion control aren't also a necessary component to improving local conditions. I pray that this hiccup in the USA, Japan and European economies doesn't end up devastating poorer countries, but I saw the direct effects of the 1970's USA recession on Brazil when I was living down there, and it took Brazil another 10 years to recover and start growing again, and most importantly grow their economy and attract foreign investment.

Yes, I learned about the Moringa tree and they have it in Haiti. The Creole name is Dolive. The missionaries in the N/W Haiti have experimented with Moringa leaf powder. It is packed with much needed vitamins. The Haitians seem a little reluctant to eat the leaves because they are a little bitter but a few mixed in with the other greens in their legim are not noticed and add lots of vitamins.

On the new crops, they love the mustard, collard greens, and quail grss since they are similiar to other plants they eat. Also, the Tropical Pumpkin was a perfect fit since they love squash. The African Okra is a good replacement for their local okra since it is more heat and drought resistant and produces heavily from April until the severe drought in December. Our carrot is the Red Core which is a short fat carrot and the common Detroit Red beet works pretty good also. They eat both the beet and top. They have several good beans and I really like the pwa congo or congo pea. It is a short shrub that produces for 2 to 4 years and also returns nitrogen to the soil.

The soil in northwestern Haiti is very poor. The area is covered with coral and quite often only pockets of soil are available to be planted. Often soft limestone is covered with an inch or so of soil. Here we dug pot holes about 30 inches wide and 30 inches deep and filled them with a mixture of compost, crushed donkey manure, and sifted dirt. Bananas, yams, and other plants do really well in these holes.

Northwestern Haiti is extremely poor and isolated by bad roads. A trip from Port au Prince of about 140 miles can take as long as 18 hours. A good trip is about 10 hours. There is no government help. Natural disasters, AIDS, and other medical problems take their toll. Water supply is often polluted and limited. I believe that if Haiti had clean water and good food that 2/3 of the medical problems would disappear. Throw into the mix various opportunist and not the best leaders and you have a real mess.

Sorry, I got to rambling on. Right now we are working with a few missionaries there supplying seed, expertise, and materials to help the local gardeners. Occasionally we have a little money to help with disasters such as the last series of huricanes. By spreading the work among others more progress can be made. And we know the help we send will get to the ones who need it.