Kilimanjaro, TZ – MGA family garden – 8 Oct 2013

The MGA family continues to work hard in their garden and try to tackle problems proactively. Almost every time the Lishe Bora team visits they find a few of their children enjoying ugali corn porridge and vegetables.

This week they started picking cucumbers in addition to the leafy greens and zucchinis they were already harvesting.  After they first planted their garden, they were very excited and also planted a number of vegetables, including tomatoes, around the perimeter of their garden and outside the garden fence. This week their tomato plants were looking very strong.  They had planted them outside the garden, but had used the methods they were taught by the Lishe Bora team for tying up cucumbers as well as some advice from friends.

If the MGAs can continue working hard and Lishe Bora can help them find a solution to their water problem, they could benefit greatly from the energy they are putting towards expanding their garden. A constant supply of healthy vegetables as well as something to sell when money is tight will be a huge benefit.  It is good to see them expanding on the skills they have learned. The Lishe Bora team is really hoping they will be interested in learning to make their own compost soon so they can continue to expand their garden.

The MGA’s zucchinis continue to be afflicted by the white fungus (powdery mildew). They have been applying the garlic fungicide as we recommended but it is not working. This is too bad because they say they really like eating the zucchinis. It appears the fungus is also starting to spread to some other plants (cucumbers and loshuu) but we are not sure if it is the same thing. They have been advised that they completely remove all leaves that are badly afflicted and continue applying the fungicide to any plants where the fungus shows up.

Written by:  Sam Barnes of Tuko Pamoja Mkyashi