Zea mays

Back in February I was given 11 little corn plants from the farmers' market along with some beautiful little dwarf green beans. I planted these in an alternating zig-zag pattern in a spot that I realized only afterwards was not quite as sunny as I'd hoped, but all of the corn survived and only one of the beans didn't, so I think they're doing all right!

15 February, 2015
heirloom variety of corn, Zea mays, interplanted with dwarf green beans and some edible, red celosia at the end
photo by Lydia Green

Less than two months later and they're already blooming! Although, there are no pretty flower petals to attract pollinators because corn is essentially wind (or human!) pollinated.

08 April, 2015
the little cuties grew!
photo by Lydia Green

Corn is monoecious, meaning it has both male and female flowers on the same plant. 

08 April, 2015
pollen-bearing anthers on a tassle of Zea mays
photo by Lydia Green

The tassles up at the top are the male flowering parts and the little ears with silky bits coming out the top are the female flowering parts. 

08 April, 2015
silk leading to the ovules which will become kernels on an ear of Zea mays when successfully pollinated
photo by Lydia Green

Each silk strand connects to an ovule which, if pollinated, will develop into a corn kernel. If not pollinated, no corn. This is why it's sometimes recommended to plant corn in blocks, so that the pollen will be more likely to land on the silks. You can also hand pollinate if you time things right in the morning, post-dew, by taking a tassle of pollen-bearing anthers (that are fully open!) and brushing them onto the silks of the ears. The ears appear slightly after the tassles, so you've got to wait a bit for both to be there! 

Okra flowers 3 + even more exciting news

I know that the development of the okra flower is deeply captivating, so I have included a photo of what it looks like now as a little update: almost ready to pick and with a new flower opened up today!

I spotted another ladybug climbing all over the plant a couple days ago, so it seems to be keeping the flower buds healthy by eating the pests. I've also been encouraging the spiders, mantises, and lizards to hang around, which they seem quite happy to do (possibly helped by us not adding anything that is not organic to the garden). And I've learned another photography lesson, which is to pay more attention to background and to the depth of field to cut out unnecessary intrusions of pavement (oops!).

Okra fruit and flower. Photo by Lydia Green

But perhaps even more exciting than the okra's ongoing development is the news I woke up to yesterday morning: the little papaya seeds I stuck in the ground have started to sprout! There are three little patches of these bright new papaya-sprouts in the garden now. Soon there will be actual papaya trees with actual papaya fruit!

Carica papaya seedlings. Photo by Lydia Green

It seems everything is sprouting! Two Sugar Pumpkins have also poked up their heads (only one pictured below - the other is on the opposite side of the garden bed). The borage and tarragon are also sprouting (not pictured). The eggplant has a fruit and a flower. Some of the corn already has tussle-y ears, and it looks like most of the heirloom corn and bean transplants have survived and may well produce fruit this season.

Sugar pumpkin seedling. Photo by Lydia Green

And probably the most beautiful of all the plants at the moment, the 'Nagami' kumquat (on dwarf root stock) is covered in beautiful flowers (and quite a few under-ripe fruit it came with already!), which I hope is a sign that it is flourishing. Thanks, honey!

'Nagami' kumquat flowers. Photo by Lydia Green

Okra flowers 2

A brief update to the highly exciting development of the okra story: the little fruit is developing nicely! (Though it looks as if aphids are perhaps settling into the future flower buds - I saw a beautiful yellow spotty ladybug on my kumquat tree this morning and encouraged it to stay!)

Okra, immature fruit. Photo by Lydia Green

Okra flowers

After several years of traveling incessantly, I at last am in a house where I will be settled in for the foreseeable year or so as I finish writing my PhD. And more importantly, there is space in the back for a garden.

Australia keeps shocking me, as I learn more and more things that grow well here. "You mean I can grow a papaya in my backyard?" I asked incredulously. "And tamarind? Mango? Turmeric? Bananas? Passionfruit? Pineapple? Pomegranate?"

Needless to say, I've stuck some papaya seeds in one of the garden beds and am hoping that enough will germinate that I can be sure to have trees with female flowers and at least one (or find a neighbor nearby with one) that has male flowers, or they won't produce any fruit. Maybe I'll get lucky with a tree that has both!

The local farmers' market is a short bicycle ride away and full of friendly plant sellers. One of these vendors had a couple of okra plants that desperately needed to find a good home and be planted out. I volunteered for the job, took them home, and prepared a nice bed of 'lasagna mulch' for them. 

The soil at this house seems to be pretty poor, and very sandy, so I followed my flatmate's advice and tried making a mulch bed, which I've never done quite like this before. We'll see how it goes. To do this I watered the ground really well, then laid down a layer of grass clippings and a layer of cardboard/newspaper (as much as I had) to keep the grass from growing back up through it. I watered it again so it was well soaked, then put down another thin layer of grass clippings, some compost (don't have much yet, but the compost pile is working away quickly on our kitchen scraps in this heat!), some soil, and then a thick layer of sugar cane mulch, which is dried and compacted leftover fiber from sugar cane processing. Apparently it's great, and it's really cheap here. It expands to be a thick layer of cover for the new bed, which will help keep in moisture and do other magical garden-y things. I watered it all again, then dug little holes into the mulch for each transplant and filled them with more compost and soil. The little plants had been soaking up water getting ready for their big move, and when it was cool enough and dark enough, I carefully planted them out into their new homes, so as not to give them too much of a shock.

My attempt at a layed mulch bed. Photo by Lydia Green

They seem to be thriving in their mulch bed, and to my great excitement two days ago I woke up to see that one of them had bloomed! I missed my chance to get a photo, as I didn't realize they only bloom for about half a day (dawn to midday, I've read) before they are pollinated (luckily they are self-pollinating, as there weren't any other okra flowers nearby for it!) and set fruit. But this morning I noticed that the other one was blooming, so I rushed out and snapped a couple photos. 

Okra flower! (photo by Lydia Green)

I probably should have waited until it was a bit cloudier for more evenly diffused light, but now I've learned that lesson (photography lessons continue with practice and lots of mistakes!).

Okra flower up a bit closer! (photo by Lydia Green)

I'm a huge fan of okra, and loved whenever my homestay family in Ghana prepared it for me. I think spicy pickled okra is probably one of my favorite pickled foods, too. Even my Grammy, who doesn't like okra at all, loves spicy pickled okra, so when I visit her it's one of our special treats to have with dinner. Maybe this year I'll be able to have a hand at making some of my own!

Mother, please don't read this.

I don't like talking about this particular subject publicly not because I am uninterested in it, but because I'd rather avoid unnecessarily alarming certain people in my life who love me and whom I love.

However, today was so interesting I think I need to share, with all due respect to the subject matter.

The family I stay with told me that while I was away, they had seen a snake. They said it was small, no thicker than my big toe, and green. "Ah," I said. "Have you seen it since?"

"Oh! No!" was the reply.

Today, while we drank our koko (porridge made from fermented corn, cooked with ginger and lots of other spices) with groundnuts, my homestay mother became very alarmed and pointed to a nearby tree growing behind a corrugated metal fence.

A snake!

Tree behind fence.

"Don't go near it!" she said, as I rushed to grab my camera. The photo above was taken from as close as I was allowed to go (actually, a few steps further - I was quickly called to come back). So here is a zoomed in crop. I'm very sorry to say that the focus fell slightly behind the snake. I am really still a beginner with photography and my strengths at the moment are macro shots of things that don't move rather than far away things which are the same color as their background and quickly trying to escape. But here it is anyway!

Snake in tree, probably western green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis)

I believe it was most likely a green mamba, and probably the western green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis), which is more common to this area. However, I am not an expert in snakes and am basing this mostly on its color, movements, location, and the fact it was quite happy in trees, after having dug through the lovely field guide, "West African Snakes" by G. S. Cansdale, published in 1961 by Longmans, and ruling out other species of snake with similar head shape and color forms.

This description of the green mamba's behavior comes from pages 45-46:

"Above all, the Green Mamba has an alive, active look about it, balancing itself perfectly among the branches and with the front part of the body held free on the alert."

The book, by the way, is excellent! The author worked for 14 years in the Forestry Department in Ghana and dedicated the book as follows (from page vi):

"To my wife, who even lets me keep snakes in the drawing-room."

Now, snakes stir up a lot of emotions in people. I have a deep respect for them and would not knowingly go within an unsafe distance of them or try to catch them, but I am not afraid of them.

For the most part, snakes are considerably more frightened of humans (for good reason, as shown below) than we give them credit for; and as evidenced by my experience today, they try to get away as quickly as possible when given the chance. They are sensitive to vibrations (though Cansdale says they are otherwise mostly deaf) and when hiking in areas with lots of rattlesnakes (e.g. the beloved Blue Mountains surrounding the Walla Walla Valley) I stomp my feet to warn snakes in advance of my presence. Generally the only snakes I see are, like the one today, fleeing.

The one we saw today started moving pretty fast once it realized people had noticed it, especially when Vivian started to throw stones and shout at it. It immediately fled into the citrus tree behind it and then disappeared. Byebye snake.

Cansdale writes the following, rewritten with feminine pronouns to compensate for his day and age (p.12):

"...I think it should be stressed here that to a person going about [her] everyday life in and around a town, snakes are much less a danger to life than the bicycle or car on which [she] rides to work."

My understanding of snake behavior is that, although some are venomous (not all are! And some that are slightly venomous, such as garter snakes, have almost no means by which they can inflict that venom on humans - I spent much of my youth catching and releasing garter snakes with my friends to no ill effect), they usually only bite humans when surprised or provoked. Overall, we're not their preferred prey.

On the other hand, apparently they are the preferred prey to certain raptors.

Cansdale again (p.14):

"Many birds include snakes in their diet and several of the day birds of prey take little else. Only two specimens of the Gold Coast Serpent Eagle have been collected recently: one had just eaten 2 small Black Cobras and 1 Green Mamba, while the other contained a Green Mamba, so it looks as if this bird prefers poisonous snakes."

And snakes aren't immune to the dangers of an even more threatening (though generally considered to be less scary) creature, the ant (p.15):

"Driver Ants are a menace to almost all forms of life and even large snakes are not always able to get away. On two occasions I happened on snakes of 2 to 3 ft. in length nearly covered with ants and quite unable to escape. In the rainy season these ants are likely to be the snake's most serious enemy."

Further predators include civets, honey badgers, wild pigs, and mongooses. Certain birds, such as the secretary bird, really enjoy trampling snakes to death before eating them. Herons, monitor lizards, and of course, other snakes, are also willing to snack on a snake when given the chance. (All from pages 14-15 of Cansdale).

But, of course, the real big scary thing in this world is us. Continuing on from page 15 (I've also swapped gendered terms here, just for consistency):

"[Woman] is also an enemy, killing any snake within range, but it is by setting fire to farms and, more especially, the dry grass-lands that [she] does most damage. These fires sweep across the country at great speed and drive everything living before them, exposing them to attack by birds and other enemies, as well as claiming many direct victims. Fire is probably the snake's most serious single enemy in the long dry season."

The one good thing humans manage to do for snakes is keep stores of grain and other things that snake-prey love to eat. Where there are mice, there will be predators of mice.

Both Cansdale and Wikipedia seem to agree on the point that green mambas are dangerous, yes, and also very venomous, but most likely to try to flee if possible.

Cansdale writes, speaking about reports that green mambas guard the general area of where they have laid eggs (p.46-47):

"The aggressive habits of snakes about which so much is said probably have to do with such defence of breeding grounds during the breeding season. I have heard of only one report of a Green Mamba showing aggression: this snake came through the crown of a tree and made some threatening movements, but did not press home its attack."

And Wikipedia adds, citing Spawls, S., Branch, B. (1995). The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Blandford. pp. 51–52 (which I think is an unfortunate title):

"It is a very quick, extremely agile, alert, and nervous snake. When confronted it will quickly attempt to escape (usually up a tree if possible) and avoid any sort of confrontation. If cornered, the western green mamba is highly dangerous and will show a fearsome display of aggression, loudly hissing and striking repeatedly."

So, that's a little bit about snakes, which are actually very beautiful and simultaneously fearsome/fearful creatures.

I'm sorry, Mom.

In Logba Again (written last weekend)

The smell of burning goat tickles my nose. The rain has calmed to a steady patter and gentle, thundering rumble. The sounds of cooking, of television, of night-time insects float about on the cool, wet air. It is evening in Logba Alakpeti.

Today was market day, though not a big one. A funeral at the top of the hill and others elsewhere (weekends are popular times for funerals, and funerals are a big occasion) occupied most of the usual market-vendors and customers. In the afternoon the rains started, stopped briefly, and then began again in earnest,  leaving most vendors scrambling to cover their wares with plastic sheets. The more common bamboo shade structures covered in palm fronds aren't as waterproof as the corrugated metal covering some of the market stalls.

I went with Vivian to buy local soap and ingredients for preparing sobolo, which is one of the common names used throughout Ghana for a beverage made out of the calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa (also used to prepare beverages which go by the name of Jamaica, sorrel, and bissap). We bought plenty of ginger, sugar, and spices to go in it.

Life goes on in the Logba Traditional Area. While I was away, all of the thousands of delicious, immature mangoes that were growing on the trees ripened and were eaten. My research assistant and his wife had a baby girl. And the rains have started to fall, causing even more lush greenery to spring up. I am told that the rains are not yet sufficient for the crops, and there is some concern among farmers about that.

So once again I am grateful to be here, grateful for the hospitality and kindness of my homestay family and the surrounding community of people. The journey from Accra only took 7 hours (three hours more than usual), rather than 9 hours like my last trip! When I alighted from the trotro with my baggage I was immediately greeted in Ikpana by two Akpanawo (autonym for the people of the Logba Traditional Area) and I felt so happy to be able to return the greeting.

Today I passed a few neighbors on the way home from the market and after we had exchanged greetings they asked, "How long will you be staying with us?" "Four weeks!" I replied. And with typical Ghanaian humor they said, "When you go, take us with you back to your place!" "All right," I agreed.

Though now I am in the Logba Traditional Area again, I spent my first week back in Ghana in Accra, meeting with the paramount ruler and the botanist, and visiting my friends while making necessary arrangements. While there, a few of us went to Aburi Botanical Gardens together, which the botanist highly recommended, as Aburi is his home town.

More on our trip to the Aburi Botanical Gardens to come. In the meantime, here is a picture of the baby gecko that hangs out on my headboard.

Geckofriend in Logba Alakpeti

How to Take a Bucket Bath

Now, I know this is probably different for everyone and there is no right or wrong way of doing it, but I thought I'd write a little bit about what I've been taught about bucket baths because maybe it is useful or interesting and it isn't something that's talked about much! As pointed out to me once by a friend, the way one makes their bed is something we sort of assume we know but never actually discuss or (rarely) see. I think showering and bathing techniques are also similarly mysterious.
Also, where I am staying at the moment there is running water in the bathroom, so I only use a bucket of water for my bath if I want to indulge in using hot water (e.g. on cold mornings or when I don't feel very well).

Sponge and mini-bucket of local soap with water added to it

So here goes: how to take a bucket bath, as taught to me by one of my homestay family members.

First, buy a small bucket, about a quart in size. Then get some local soap (especially the Volta Region style soap, which I don't have a photo of, but comes in crumbly little balls) and crumble it into the bucket. Add water and let it sit over night. The next morning it will be goopy and a bit like custard.

Each morning after you've finished the morning chores, and each evening before bed, fill your larger bath bucket with water (add some hot water if you need it to be warm), then take this with your towel, mini bucket of soap, and 'sponge' (colorful netting/webbing) to the bath area or bathroom. In some areas, the bath area has a wooden pole over the entrance and you can hang your towel or the 2 yards of cloth your body is wrapped in over this when you enter to create a removable door/towel rack. Where I am right now it is a room in a house.

When bathing, first rinse your body, using a cup to get the water out of the bucket, then take your sponge and dab it into the bucket of now nicely goopy soap. Add a bit of water and scrub it into a lather then use this to scrub your body. Rinse off all the soap, and if you need to, wash your hair (see previous posts about this, if your hair is of the non-African variety).

If you are lucky enough to have a lime tree (citrus, not tilia spp.) in your compound, then you can squeeze a bit of lime juice into your bath water before bathing to make you extra clean-smelling! And when you've finished your bath you can take the lime rind halves and rub these in your armpits for all-day freshness.

There you go. One take on how to take a bucket bath!