When growing cocoa, not everything always goes perfectly. And so it should come as no surprise that after about five years, some of our cocoa trees are just beginning to produce their first blossoms, while others are already loaden with fruit. One of our showcase specimens is the tree with the sonorous name “Mondkristall”, which you can admire here in this photo. We've already snacked on some of his delicious fruits and he's obviously making sure we will get more.
But where do these differences come from? There's a lot to be found there... The location with the right mix of light, shade and wind obviously makes a big difference. And of course the soil conditions and nutrient supply which are not equally in all places. Some trees benefit from a slope, others are close to our stream, where they sometimes get wet feet in the rainy season.
But in my case, there is another important factor: As an "immigrant" cocoa farmer, I only found out about many things over time. Although I had "gained" a lot of knowledge about the basics and techniques of cocoa cultivation, in the end it was a matter of experience as to what the right mix of light and shade was, at which times of the year the lush ground vegetation should best be mowed away, how tree pruning differs with a view to the coming dry and rainy seasons or how nutrient deficiencies and acidity in the soil can be identified and regulated without laboratory tests.
“Learning by doing is a lengthy process. But I now have a much better understanding on the plantation, from sustainable compost production to timely management. In addition, over time the natural diversity in our cocoa forest is increasingly helping us. Nature does a lot of the work. The soil has improved significantly and we hardly need insecticides anymore, for example.
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