A Maizing Progress!

News is slow at the moment. Probably because schools are out and the children make some of the most interesting entertainment. I have been resting my ankle injury and the prognosis is good for an almost complete recovery by the time I head for the south and my final brace of visitors in Ghana. My Kindle is emitting smoke as I work my way through a range of literature of very differing quality.

I have paid a few visits to the farm. The maize has been benefiting from the copious falls of rain we have been enjoying recently. It certainly shot up after the fertilisation a few weeks ago and bearing in mind we only planted it 6 weeks ago, I think you will agree it looks pretty fine!  (I’m only in for scale, of course, and to allow my mother to see I am not wasting away!)

Last week we paid a squad of 4 boys from P6 to complete the process of supporting the plants by digging mounds around them. The workforce could have been greater. However, they are canny enough to know that the team shares the spoils and the bigger the group the thinner it is spread. The going rate is GHc 5 (£2) a day each.  This included water and a meal. They were delighted at the end of 3 days’ work and didn’t expect the GHc 15 a piece that they proudly carried away.

 I helped with the second round of fertiliser spreading, a small amount at the base of each plant. Our prayers for rain are answered with increasing regularity and I imagine when I walk down there tomorrow another foot of growth will be evident.

Apparently, there is nothing left to do now except walk up and down offering encouragement to each plant and wait until October and harvest time. We may be employing an army for that. Who knows?