New seeds!

This week new seed have arrived from Africa! TREE AID's new Chief Executive Philip Goodwin has just returned from a field visit to West Africa, and managed to pick up some different types of tree seeds. After finally getting arund to repotting the baobabs and neems into more cartons and larger plastic drinks bottle, it'll be good to go through the fun of the germination process again.

The baobabs are still looking pretty good, and the roots are certainly looking healthy, with fibrous tap roots developing well in most of them. The neems were interesting to repot, as their root network looked a lot more like a non desert plant - much more spread out with no distinct tap root. I've put them in cartons for now, but depending on what they look like next time I'll probably put them in you standard dimension pot.

On to the new seeds! I'd asked for some different seeds before Philip left for Africa, and he brought back two new types. I've got Dawadawa seeds (Parkia biglobosa) and Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) too. These trees are often grown in drylands Africa and have many uses as nutritious foods, bee forage and ultimately income generators. They will need the same treatment in hot water as the last batch of seeds, so I can't do anything with them today as I'll need to get them soaking the day before.

Interestingly though, Philip also brought back some Shea seeds (in the picture above) which weren't inteded for planting but just to show where shea butter comes from, which is a valuable product for earning cash to pay for healthcare and schooling. On the way back though, three sprouted in the bag! Seizing the opportunity they were whipped out, and potted up straight away so that they didn't dry out. There's no sign of green shoots yet, but it's early days so we'll see what happens there!

Why am I growing tree seeds?

The question isn't one of despair (!) or philosophical musing, but one that seems to be more relevant as the seedlings get bigger. Having salvaged one of the seedlings that had been looking a bit off, with plans to try a repot on the other two, and with all of the plants still growing and in need of another repotting next week I figured it's about time I thought about why I'm growing and looking after the Baobabs and Neems.

Now it's been good to do some research and remind myself of words like cotyledon, and the novelty and entertainment value has been pretty good too; certainly if you're someone who enjoys seeing things grow. Novelty and entertainment on the other hand are most likely not the most important consideration of people living in rural, drylands Africa who use these trees and their products in every day life. People like Anna Noali, from Nagre in Burkina Faso, will be growing and caring for large batches of seelings. They will plant them around their villages and farm lands so that they and their children can develop long term sources of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as well as looking after their soils and land.

I, of course, have none of this sense of urgency. I suppose that in the same way as growing carrots in your garden or allotment, growing the tree Neems and Baobabs from seed has given me a better and more tangible understanding of what it might be like to take such practical steps to providing for your future. And more practical steps are urgently needed next week - namely sand, compost and another round of improvised pots!