A fertile soil is a soil rich in micronutrients ,essential for plant growth,  resulting from the decomposition of organic matter. Poor soil should be enriched before considering crop production. Soil fertilization processes are multiple : you will find below several ways to enrich the soil according to your needs and to your means.

 

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Planting courgettes in Sandiare

As part of the seed project involving Agrosemens, APAF and The Ivory Foundation, Thieleme, the technician in charge of greenhouses in the Mbour region, planted courgette seedlings in the Sandiare and Nobadane greenhouses. The varieties were selected to best suit … Read More

The Sentiou Maka vegetable garden in Bala, Senegal

Sentiou Maka is one of the community vegetable gardens set up on the outskirts of Bala. The solar pump has allowed good irrigation of the garden and within three months, it has been fully cultivated. Thanks to the expertise of … Read More

Seed training at Dawady garden, Senegal

A training session has been organized by The Ivory Foundation and Agrosemens to train the women of Dawady in the use of organic fertilizers and seed production. Natural ingredients such as Neem oil and Neem cake (organic residue after pressing … Read More

A Nursery of Fertilising trees at the Bala garden, Sénégal

The Bala seed farm follows the principles of agro-forestry, where a fertiliser tree nursery has been set up.  The seedlings are prepared in plastic bags deep enough for the trees to develop strong downward roots. The seedlings are prepared in … Read More

Introduction to composting and observation of the compost’s useful insects

In front of the Grand Potager’s compost, the students from Lauris’ nursery school learned how to sort their waste. Plastic ? In the recycling bin ! Leftover chicken ? In the garbage can ! Vegetable peel ? In the compost … Read More

Milpa and biochar

2 cultivation plots of 14m long were set up to carry out 8 experiments on 24 squares of 50×50 x50cm deep. Experimentation of biochar on a plot of Milpa The milpa was chosen to experiment biochar, as it allows to … Read More

Experiments around the Milpa

Also known as the three sisters, milpa is an ancestral crop association of corn, climbing beans and squash. Corn serves as a stake for the beans that climbs over it. The beans fix the nitrogen beneficial to the growth of … Read More

The fertilizer tree of Yagma

Trees grow in Yagma’s garden! Fertilizing trees and fruit trees are growing and will soon bring shade to the garden!  

A pedagogical composter

At La Traversine, a demonstration compost bin was designed to show children the evolution of the decomposition process. We fill the tank by the left, mixing leftovers, peelings (nitrogenous matter) with the dead leaves recovered from the courtyard. Then, when … Read More

Chickens and biochar

In Roosboom garden, the hen house is also a place for experimenting biochar. It is mixed with straw on the ground of the shelter. this combination has a double effect: -First, it cleans the henhouse, absorbs liquids, eliminates odors, and … Read More

The leaves of the yard

It’s autumn, not the greenest season for Traversine, but the opportunity to prepare biomass for spring! Every day, the staff of the 3 establishments (kindergarten, elementary and college), sweep the schoolyard to clear the dead leaves. Nothing was planned to … Read More

Preparing the soil for the plant nursery

One of the first steps in APAF’s agroforestry training in Southern Africa was to prepare the nursery for seed sowing. This required identifying local fertilizer trees similar to the seeds to be planted, in order to recover soil near the … Read More

Use of termite mounds

Abandoned termite mounds are used as bio-fertilizers for growing the vegetables. The soil will be recovererd and mixed to be used in the greenhouse.

Search for indigenous fertilizer trees, Piggs Peak – Swaziland

During the training given by APAF International, Pascal Humbert has been searching for fertilizer trees in the Piggs Peak region. He quickly identified the Leuceana. The Leuceana is a great asset in agroforestry: it fertilizes the soil that nourishes it, … Read More

La Traversine – Filling of the trays

The construction of the beds is finished, they must now be filled! The first step is to cover the inside of the beds with a waterproof plastic sheet. For this, we used the bags of potted soil, recycling what could … Read More

First fertilizing tree seedlings – Yagma

The fertilizing trees are now ready to be transplanted onto the growing beds.

Fertilizer tree nursery

The compost was used and incorporated into the plots. The shaded hut and the trenches dugged for the compost will be used now as a nursery for the fertilizing trees. Plastic bags, filled with a mixture of soil and compost, … Read More

Planting Chaya – Ladysmith

Chaya is a plant of Central America similar to spinach. Chaya is easy to grow in temperate climate. It is tolerant to heavy rain and drought. Propagation can be done easily by cutting 20cm of the stems and planting them … Read More

Macambeni – Preparation of the soil

The first step in taking over Macambeni’s garden consisted in clearing it. Dry grasses, cuts of trees and bushes were recovered to form a compost prepared under a garden tree. The soil extracted below a swamp was used to enrich … Read More

Preparation of compost beds

The first step in the launch of the Koudougou garden is the preparation of the compost beds. Two trenches 7m long and 1m wide, 20cm deep were dug. The first trench is used for the creation of the compost bed, … Read More

Grand Potager – Setting up the composting area

A composting area of 20 meters long has been set up on the Grand Potager, in order to upgrade green waste and create compartments for the storage of elements in different stages of maturation, as well as to allow them … Read More

Implementing compost at Yagma

The implementation of the activities linked to the project of creating an agro-forestry garden at Lycée Sainte Marie de Yagma in the outskirts of Ouagadougou, started with the support of The Ivory Foundation in March 2017. APAF Burkina, the local … Read More

Agroforestry by APAF in Burkina Faso

This film presents the action of APAF in agroforestry in Burkina Faso. APAF is a pioneer in agroforestry in West Africa, with knowledge of local fertilizer tree species helping to regenerate the soil, in association with organic market gardening, and … Read More

Installation of a compost

After several months of throwing organic waste in the garden without organization, the children of the Half Way House decided to follow the advice of comics on permaculture and created a compost pile in the garden.  

Bulembu Garden

The team of 6 trainers in permaculture from Designing Hope in Piggs Peak have been setting up an experimental garden in Bulembu, border town with South Africa. The experiment involves the use of locally produced biochar, integrated in permaculture raised beds, … Read More

Culture beds enriched with Biochar

At Roosboom Garden, the children started 2 new culture beds to compare the impact of biochar on crops. The first bed was cultivated with biochar imbibed with vermicompost, and the second one was incorporated dry in the culture plates. In … Read More