In order to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Colegio Bolivar the agricultural plant science students are going to undertake an inventory exercise of the college campus. It is hoped that this will be the first step in determining the carbon footprint of the campus, by determining the amount of carbon that is currently stored and […]
Getting the greenhouse ready for planting for over the summer months has been hard work and has involved all students. Beds have had to cleared and weeded, and sowed with new vegetables. Unfortunately, our nice big beef tomatoes were attacked by maize worm – an effect of growing maize with tomato – something we shall […]
During the Bolivar Garden Saturday, we were pleased to host Drs Vaast and Souniga, experts in coffee and cacao to the school garden to informally assess the work that we are doing and to give advice on what should be our next steps. The location of the cacao plot were discussed, as was the spacing […]
Following the ratification of the project, students have been tasked with measuring the location suggested, and seeing where cacao seedlings will be planted. It was discussed with students how to best minimize soil erosion and nutrient run-off and so as with the coffee plantation, students are using basic methods using an A-Frame to determine the […]
Data has been collected by students during many sessions of the class. It has been pleasing to see how students have taken to this task, taking responsibility to complete it and ensure the map is up to date with accurate and correct data. First results indicate that we have over 100 different types of tree […]
I have met with Dr Nagy, Mr Tim Shirk, and Dr Fayadd to spell out the justification for the Cacao plantation, together with a suggested location and a tentative number of 75 plants that can be planted. Students and I have been researching the spacing of plants, the planting density and the requirements needed for […]
Agrosavia in Palmira has a large collection of different clonal types of Theobroma cacao, the scientific name for cacao. On the 29th March, all agriculture students together with myself and Mrs Katie Neal visited Agrosavia to learn about cacao, see their collection and visit their arboretum of tropical fruit trees. The day started with us […]
During our Bolivar Garden Saturday this month, the school was visited by Dr Vaast to discuss the viability of planting cacao at the school. The following The area is well suited to the planting of cacao The first step is to peg out the area in a 3mx3m triangular system to see the carrying capacity […]
The maize and tomatoes are both doing really well. Just look and see Thomas in the picture with the plants. We have also added a bed of garlic chives, basil, and some French beans.
Maps of the campus were printed and brought to the agricultural class and students and myself set about determining the location of and size of suitable areas to conduct the inventory. Groups were made and were assigned to at least two specific areas out of 21 designated areas in the campus. All areas of the […]
