The Green Gardener

This healthy banana plant is growing under a natal fig tree (omutuba in Luganda) a big root of which was chopped into two to create room for the deep and wide hole in which the sucker was planted. Because the ground is stony and rocky, the deep hole was backfilled with loam soil and a bit of animal dung. Every so often, the thick weeds are hand-harvested to form a layer of mulch around the plant.

According to Mr. Kasasa, the simple peasant gardener “… the end of the big root that remains attached to the tree constantly “sheds its tears” into the hole thus watering the plant to an amazing degree. The moderate-shade tree allows in enough light for the plant to thrive”. To the biological scientist, this is the nurse tree concept. It is possible to grow food in the woods without killing the trees. To the extent possible, we should scatter the plants in the relatively sunny spots within the woodland or grow them under nurse trees. #WhispersofNature