Just Plain Corny!

Having grown up in Maryland we normally don't think of October as a time to plant. Now living in Honduras we have discovered that many people try to plant a crop by mid-October and that's exactly what we did this year.

As we are in a rural area of Honduras many of our neighbors have their own corn plots.  This doesn't mean that they own a field somewhere, they might, but more often it means that they plant every square inch of their yard that they're not using.  This is because corn is such a basic food staple used to make tortillas and many other common foods such as tamales.

This provides us a great opportunity as our mission agency, Equip International, promotes using the Farming God's Way method which has years of successful experience for growing crops both commercially and on a family scale.  Their yields are often several times, even up to ten times, that of the area average.

This method has been used for years in Africa and other countries to help the poor, show the goodness and love of God, and turn make new disciples.

The methodology is no plough which reduces the compaction of the dirt and helps maintain the protective organic layer on top.  So, individual holes are dug out and planted with three seeds each.

We used an area that is 30' by 48' divided into 25 lines with 14 holes for planting in each line.  That's a total of 350 holes and 1,050 grains of corn, which is about 2 cups worth.  At the base of each hole we put in 1 1/2 cups of aged manure, covered with soil, planted three grains in a row, and covered with top soil.  The plot we have planted is larger than many of the backyard plots but not as big as some of the other neighborhood lots.  So, it is a good size for demonstration and learning.

Corn is highly susceptible to many insect pest and one of the worst is the corn borer.  We are using Neem leaves to make a tea and spray on the plants.  This is natural type of insecticide and cost us just the time and fuel to make it as the tree is easily found here.  Weeds are also a constant problem and we are employing the hoe which is a very effective, non-toxic, method of taking care of weeds.

Our neighbors will plant 2, 3, 4 or more corn grains per hole.  This results in plants competing for the same nutrients and ending up more weak.  Often they're using chemical fertilizer and chemical herbicides and pesticides.  Those are all effective but not good for the small family finances or for the soil or for their personal health.

This is from one of our neighbors plots.  Notice the multiple plants growing out of same hole causing weak growth.

We do not need to grow corn for ourselves but this is a great opportunity to engage the community.  We hope that this is a growing method that will enable them to obtain greater yields while reducing or eliminating the costly inputs.  We desire to bless the people, to learn from them and what their needs are, to gain the opportunities to share our faith and the hope that lies within us - Jesus Christ.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." 

 John 10:10