Faith Home Honduras Gardening

March 2008 Faith Home gets a new garden tiller

The tio's put it to work

Garden getting into shape

June a good corn crop growing



August harvesting the corn



Two truck loads of corn

Shucking and silking the ears

Final inspection

Cutting it off the ear

After the corn is cut off the ear, it is dried and

then ground into masa to make tortillas.

Aluminet cover

A couple of pictures of the aluminet cover

Angel slide show

Some neat photos by Dan Beardsley, Chuck Martindale, and Joe Perkins

SFP Events Week 11/17/08

Shade Cloth and Sweet Corn

For some time we have been concerned about the correct percentage of sun shade to use for optimum crop growth. After seeking help through a professional garden forum I received some valuable information. We have come to believe that a 40% shade cloth would serve better than 60% to allow more sunlight. This would also allow more heat so we have ordered a new type of shade cloth, aluminet, to test in Honduras. The new cloth will be 40% to increase light but due to its unique composition will also lower the heat by reflecting it. The new cloth is more expensive but we want to provide quality materials and good advice to those seeking help from us.

So what’s the big deal with shade cloth? It sounds expensive and like a lot of work. The idea behind shade cloth is to allow food production during the hot dry times when nothing else will grow, or to increase crop production when conditions are marginal. If you have too much direct sun as in the tropical regions during the summer plants will burn. If you have temperatures over 90 degrees plants won’t make fruit. If you have too much shade the plants will be spindly. So this is why we are still testing and researching. It is during these times that food shortage can be very severe. The importance of fresh vegetables, particularly green leafy ones, in a diet cannot be overstated.

George Truelove in Mare Rouj, Haiti emailed me about a type of Hawaiian sweet corn that had been grown in southern Haiti. I searched the internet and emailed the University of Hawaii about a good tropical sweet corn. This is a type that will develop with fewer daylight hours such as we have in the tropics. They informed me about a variety, Supersweet #9, that grows well in Hawaii year round and is open pollinated so seed can be saved for replanting. We will be ordering seed to send in with the Global Compassion Team traveling to Haiti in January ’09.

Basic Gardening Slide Show

Shade House Gardening

When temperatures are too high, the sun too intense, and water scarce, you can still grow food by using shade houses.

Shade House gardening at Bombardopolis, Haiti

Family size shade house Bombardopolis, Haiti

Living Waters Ti Paradi, Haiti

Mole St. Nicole, Haiti

Mare Rouj, Haiti

Faith Home El Pourvenier, Honduras

Zorange, Haiti

Mission Statement

MISSION STATEMENT OF SFP


As Christ’s ministers we dedicate ourselves to the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. We further dedicate ourselves to set a Godly example to those we serve through a Christian lifestyle, bear witness of what Christ has done in our lives, and share the Gospel message with the lost. We pledge ourselves to respect the work of other ministries, to lift them up in prayer, and to work with them for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom. We further pledge to be good stewards of the monies with which we are entrusted and to hold ourselves accountable to God and to those who contribute to this ministry. We seek no glory other than that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Sustainable Food Production, SFP, is a Christian based organization dedicated to helping people help themselves by growing better gardens and healthier livestock. We are a small group of men representing several church denominations and operating as a part of Global Compassion Ministries. Our goal is to introduce improved gardening techniques, provide quality seed, and improve goat and chicken production in order to strengthen families and promote food production independence. Our work includes but is not be limited to:

Soil and water conservation
Soil improvement
Building plant beds for intensive gardening
Building both large and family size shade type green houses
Experimenting with new crops and improved varieties of current crops
Animal husbandry

Isaiah 58:10
If you extend you soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul.
Then your light shall dawn in darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.