HOW TO PLANT A TREE IN THE RIGHT WAY

The rains are here and the call is plant trees.

But wait.

How many people can plant a tree(s) properly?

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It is noteworthy to point out that not all who would want to plant a tree(s) attended forestry class. Hence the need for the post.

First thing first.

Why plant trees?

Trees clean the air we breathe, decrease air pollution, mitigate climate change, support wildlife, slow storm water runoff, conserve rainwater, buffer noise pollution, and bolster people’s health, provide fuelwood,construction material and money.

Which tree to plant ?

Start by looking around the neighborhood. Make a list of trees that appeal to you through the seasons and which ones appear to flourish. Visit local parks and arboretums to see native trees that have already adapted to your region and tend to succeed. A forester, local arborist, and county extension officer can also identify the best trees for your area. Do your research before selecting a variety. Visualize the tree’s mature size and shape and how it would fit in with your landscape

What size to plant ?

When buying a new tree seedling, go for sturdiness over speed. Sturdy seedlings are healthy, vibrant and disease free. Recommended size for planting is from 30cm or 1ft high seedlings.

How to plant tree correctly.

Digging a wide planting hole is the key to fast growth of your new tree. Recommendations often specify a hole twice as wide as the root ball; three times as wide is even better. The depth should be no more than the height of the root ball.

1. Marking a planting hole:

The distance between one tree to the other depends on its crown at full growth. Tree with wider crown at maturity should be more spaced than those with smaller ones. Common spacing are 1x1, 2x2, 4x4, 4.5x4.5, 5x5, 7x7 etc. All are in metres.

2. Digging the hole(Pitting)

Prepare a hole two to three times as wide as the root ball of your tree seedling. Common dimension is 1ft by 1ft by 1ft hole. This is for rootballs in 4x6 polytubes which is a half foot high.

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Note:Sperate top soil from subsoil by placing a half of the dug soil on either sides of the hole. Top soil is the humus richest, needed for backfilling.

3. Put the seedling in the hole.

Handle the root ball carefully to keep it intact while you place it in middle of the hole. Once  it's in, turn it so the best side of the tree is facing the direction you want.

Note: Ensure the seedling's root collar( where soil reaches when seedling in in the tube) is in level with ground level.

4. Backfill with soil.

Return the dug top soil back to the hole around the root ball as you press back the soil with your palm or heel (lightly) to remove air pockets( trapped air in the soil). Frequently check the trunk to ensure that it's straight. Use leftover soil as a barrier on lower side of the  slope (2inches high and 1ft away from the stem) for flowing water to create a watering well.

Non-stagnant-water tolerant-tree -species' holes ,unlike others, should be backfilled completely without leaving a depresion e.g Melia volkensii( mukau). 

You can mix the top soil with organic manure(FYM) in the ratio or 1:1 for better results.

Note: Plant small trees (that reach 30 feet tall or less) at least 10 feet from your home’s foundation and utility lines. Plant large trees (30 to 70 feet tall) at least 15 feet from foundations and lines; give 70-foot trees 20 feet of distance.

5. Water the planted seedling

Water the tree soon after planting and every day for several weeks afterward until the soil is averagely wet. Avoid over watering or under watering. By that point, the roots will have begun to grow out into the surrounding soil, and you can begin to gradually reduce the frequency of watering.

Fertilizer is of marginal benefit at planting time, and can even be harmful. Wait until the following year, then provide a moderate dose of fertilizer. A 3-inch layer of mulch around the base of the tree will keep weeds out and reduce water loss.

Note:  Newly planted trees should only be pruned to remove broken, dead, or diseased limbs. Otherwise, leave them be until after their first growing season.

PARTING SHOT:

Correct selection of a tree species, Properly planting a tree and Caring for it as it grows are the 3 main determinants of tree growing success.

SHARE AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN, IT WILL SAVE A TREE.

ENVIRONMENT ACTIVISM

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What is EA?

According to FreeDictionary.com. , an Environmental Activist is  a person who advocates for, or works towards, protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution.

Environmental activism encompasses a broad array of individuals and organizations working in scientific, social, conservational, and political fields that address the concerns of environmentalism.

But really, an environmental activist is not more than a responsible person with a conscience.

As mentioned above, an environmental activist can be any person: from the protester holding a banner to the lawyer, parliamentarian or congressman trying to pass a law that protects the environment.

Today, Earth is the only home we have. Humans, animals and plants —all of us — are bound to dwell on this planet for as long as it will have us. And that time might very well end soon.

Human activities have damaged Earth so deeply that the planet might be inhospitable by the turn of next century . It is more disturbing yet that harm is still being done, despite numerous hints at what is to come.

An environmental activist is a person who is aware of the impact human actions have had —and still have— on the planet and its inhabitants, and advocates for the implementation of sustainable, environmentally sound methods towards the development of mankind.

Normally, the need to become an environmentalist, whether it be a private or educational environmentalist, or an environmental activist, is a “response to some type of threat to a person’s environment, their family or an area or place that they love” ( Chase , 1999).

Environmental Activism Approaches.

1. Solution driven activism: Encompasses finding a solution to a specific problem and demanding steps be taken in order to implement said solution.

2 Change focused activism: This engages and aims for the establishment of an alternative to the pre-existing flawed one.

3. Revolutionary activism: This seeks to create immediate, significant change.

KIGELIA AFRICANA: THE SAUSAGE TREE'S 10 MAGICS

Botanical name: Kigelia africana

Trade name: The Sausage tree/Cucumber tree

Family: Bignoniaceae

Local Names:
English (Sausage tree); Luo (Yago) Kamba (Muatine); Kikuyu (Muratina); Kipsigis (Ratuinet); Luhya (Kumufunga); Maasai (Oldarpoi); Marakwet (Rotio); Meru (Muratina); Nandi (Ratinuet); Pokot (Roti); Swahili (Mwengea); Taita (Mwasina)

Kigelia africana is a tree widespread across Africa and found in wet savannah and riverine areas. Seedlings and direct sowing at site can be used to propagate it. Soaking the seeds in boiling water for 1 minute aids germination—an 80% success rate has been noted. Cuttings can also be used for propagation. The tree grows to 20 m (66 feet) tall or more. The growth rate is about 1m/year. It is semi-deciduous with smooth grey-brown bark and velvety maroon flowers.

 Kigelia begin to flower from the age of 6 years. The unusual grey, sausage-shaped fruit that gives the tree its common name (the sausage tree) hangs from rope-like stalks. They can reach over a metre in length and weigh as much as 10kg. The fruit pulp within the thin skin is firm and fibrous fruit pulp and contains many small seeds.

Traditional Uses

Traditional African healers use kigelia to treat a wide range of skin ailments from fungal infections, boils, acne and psoriasis, through to more serious diseases, such as leprosy, syphilis and skin cancer. It is also used effectively to dress wounds and sores.The powdered mature fruit is applied as a dressing in the treatment of wounds, abscesses, and ulcers.

Known Tested Traditional Uses:

1. Enlarges Genitalia and Enhance Firmer Bigger Breasts:

Young men and women use the fruits and bark to enhance the growth and development of their genitalia and firmer breasts respectively. Fruit is also used by the Vhavenda men of the Limpopo province of South Africa to increase penis size. The fruit is rubbed on the breasts of young girls in Cape Verde to enhance their development.

How does it work? You ask.... 

Kigeline is a phyto-hormone derived from the fruit of the Kigelia Africana tree and acts to prevent the relaxing of skin tissue while increasing firmness and tension. Phyto-hormones are plant chemicals remarkably similar to human hormone secretions. They are rich in bioflavonoids and they contain effective antioxidants. For those who want breast enlargement but don't want implants, this is one options to consider. Kegelia also reduce swelling and mastitis of the breasts. 

For well toned skin, the Tonga women of the Zambezi valley apply cosmetic preparations of kigelia to their faces to ensure a blemish-free complexion. 

2. Aphrodisiac/ Love Food

Sexual complaints such as infertility, poor libido, sexual asthenia and impotence are treated with medicines containing the kigelia fruits, roots or leaves. A small amount of unripe fruit is chewed, or an aqueous preparation is taken orally as a sexual stimulant, and traditional beer to which they are added is drunk as an aphrodisiac - food or drink that stimulates sexual desire.

3. Making Local Brews: in Kenya.

Reminder: The fresh fruit is poisonous and strongly purgative if ingested raw and fresh.

Fruit are prepared for consumption by drying, roasting or fermentation. In central Kenya, the dried fruits are used to make an alcoholic beverage called Muratina which is a core components in cultural events in Central Kenya.

4. Treat Diabetes, Malaria, Pneumonia and Intestinal worms

Kigelia is taken internally to treat conditions such as dysentery, ringworm, malaria, diabetes and pneumonia.

5. Skin Cancer:

Several papers support the use of kigelia extract for treating skin cancer while the extract has found a market in Europe and the Far East as the active ingredient in tumour reducing cytotoxic activity

6. Sarcoma:

Effective in the treatment of solar keratosis and Kaposi’s sarcoma, an HIV-related skin ailment. Research by PhytoTrade Africa supports its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

7. Digestive disorders

An infusion is made from the ground bark and fruits to treat stomach problems in children. The roots, bark, leaves, stems, twigs and fruits are pound and boiled to treat digestive disorders. Administration is typically by oral ingestion or as an enema. The roots, bark and ripe or unripe fruits are taken as a laxative or emetic, to treat chronic and acute digestive disorders and against gastric infections like ulcers

8. Sexually Transmitted Infections

Infections of the genito-urinary tract, particularly venereal diseases, are treated both internally and externally with preparations of the roots, bark, leaves, stems and twigs. In West and Central Africa, palm wine, in which dried and ground bark is macerated, is taken against syphilis. Stem bark is used to treat Candida albicans infections

9. Timber : 

The wood is easy to work and produces a good-quality timber for general use, mostly bee hives.

10. Non Wood Forest Products:

Food : Ripe fruits are inedible, although slices of baked fruit are added to beer to aid in fermentation of local honey beer, for example throughout East Africa. In times of food shortage, the seeds are roasted in hot ashes and eaten.

Fodder: When the flowers and leaves fall to the ground they are eaten by game and livestock.

Apiculture: The large, maroon flowers attract bees and are a source of bee forage

Tannin or dyestuff : A black dye can be produced from the fruit. Tannin can be extracted from the roots and stem bark.

Poison : extracts from the fruit have molluscicidal properties and raw fruits are poisonous to humans.

Environmental Services:

Erosion control : The sausage tree is suitable for riverbank stabilization.

Shade or shelter : It provides a good shade but should be avoided during fruition as its fruit which weigh about 10 kg are deadly if they fall on you.

Ornamental: the tree is fast growing; its spreading canopy and interesting flowers and fruits, it makes a good ornamental tree.:

Break seed dormancy: In Nigeria pieces of fruit soaked in water, together with small pieces of metal, are sprinkled with young palm fronds to stimulate germination of yam tubers as well as promote a good harvest.

YOU CAN ADD HOW YOU USE IT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW....

Sources/Studies

Burkill, H. M. (1985) Kigelia africana . Useful plants of west tropical Africa, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. 1: 254-257; 738-739; 754; 757.

Grace, O. M., Light, M.E., Lindsey, K.L., Mulholland, D.A., van Staden, J. and Jäger, A.K., (2002). Antibacterial activity and isolation of active compounds from fruit of the traditional African medicinal tree Kigelia africana . South African Journal of Botany 68 (2): 220-222.