May in Malawi

Our crops are now drying in preparation for treating and packaging for next year's planting which will take place hopefully in December with the rains.  The maize cobs are moved from the field by ox cart and stored in a well ventilated area free from rodents
 

Storing cobs

Carting maize stalks

The harvest

The maize and legume stalks are stored, they provide  additional cattle fodder until the rains come.
Some farmers burn the stalks on the field; as they burn, small rodents escape, these are trapped providing sport and a high protein dinner.

Cotton
Semi drought resistant, native cotton  grows well in Malawi and is a popular cash crop.  The cotton industry has declined due to imported cloth from Asia, lack of maintenance at the ginneries and the arrival of second hand clothing bales from European, American and Asian charities.

 

This year's crop is poor due to the short rains

Cotton boll after 160 days

 Farmers will store their bolls until the price rises.  Price starts at 30p per kilo rising to 40p.









Harvest in the Garden

Ripe lemons

The citrus trees in our garden  are bearing and we race the monkeys for the ripe fruit.  Thus far we have managed lemonade and lemon curd.

Lemonade and lemon curd

Terri spent 2 happy weeks in UK catching up with family and friends, she is now back in the tropics. We are both enjoying the 'Winter' with temperatures sometimes below 30 degrees.

T and I

Harvest Continues

Groundnuts (peanuts) are now being harvested. They have a strange growth pattern, nodules appear from the flowers, above ground, and grow downwards into the soil where the nuts form.


The mechanical lifter loosens the soil and plants; these are pulled from the ground by hand, stooked to dry then the nuts are plucked from the plant.
A sheller is used to remove the nuts from the shells which are then hand graded prior to being packed for sale as seed.

The Baobab is a strange tree, Rudyard Kipling described  it as having been pulled from the ground and pushed back in again the wrong way up with the roots in the air.

Autumn colours are now appearing

Children risk life and limb to pick the fruits.

Baobab fruits are now recognised as a Super Food. They seem to contain one of everything we need and six times more than anything else!
The white pith contains a large number of seeds which taste very bitter. Does you good though.







Jonny and Jody visited for 10 days and we were able to show them what we have been doing on the Farms as well as a taste of what Malawi has to offer, including two nights at the Mvuu camp in Liwonde Game Park where we saw a good selection of animals.

This elephant suddenly appeared and decided it wanted to swim across the Shire river.
Trunks can be useful at times when you sink to the bottom

Anyone know of a good dentist?

Terri went back to England with Jonny and Jody to catch up with the family and see Emily and Thomas, our grandchildren.
Normal service will be resumed for the next Blog.