Fruit trees for Uganda

I have heard people in the southern parts of the USA say that Lychee trees can grow like weeds. Unfortunately I have learned that in Uganda this is not the case!!!

Lychee fruits are delicious as we all know. A rubbery white pulp encased in a thin shell with a black seed in the center. The lychee fruits we get in Uganda are all imported from Asia and 1 pound (1/2 kilo) retails for about $2.95. As Uganda has a similar climate to many places in Asia, it seems we should be able to grow them here too right? Wrong. Apparently the seeds are quite sweet so little critters in the soil try to eat them before the sees even germinate! Then if the poor seeds do get a little spring of green growth- we have a bunch of nasty tiny little wasps that are determined to chew the new shoot to the ground! So far we have planted about 50 Lychee seeds- of which about a dozen germinated and THREE (out of 50- seriously!!!) grew big enough that we planted them at the farm. Where a goat ate them. *facepalm*

Fortunately, we recently visited another small farm in the area owned by Najib, an elderly Indian man who collects fruit trees from around the world. Najib has two lychee trees on his farm and BOTH of them are bringing fruit! He said he bought them about 10 years ago from a friend, and he loves the fruit, but that the monkeys often pick and eat it before he gets a chance to. This was truly inspiring!

So we are attempting to grow lychee trees again. The current plan is to steam the soil to sterilize it and get rid of critters so the seeds can germinate. Then keep the seedlings in a protected enclosed area where they are free from nasty munching wasps. Then- when they are big enough- plant them with small fences around them to prevent escaped goats from snacking on them.

It seems like a lot of effort for one type of fruit, but we are determined! And we’ll keep you posted when we succeed!

Links:

• Grassroots Uganda Facebook Page