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This month we are
taking a look at the Winterthorn tree (Faidherbia albida).
Winterthorn is a
large deciduous tree which can grow up to thirty metres high with
large spreading branches and a wide rounded crown.
It is a valuable
fodder tree for wild game and also domesticated animals such as
cattle. The leaves are highly nutritious and provide fodder during
the winter months. The pods are high in starch and contain up to
ten percent protein. Each tree can produce up to a tonne of pods
every year which can also be dried and ground into a flour. The
seeds are also high in protein and the bark has a number of
medicinal properties and can be used as a natural dye.
The most useful
property of this tree is that it fixes nitrogen in the soil. Not
only is this of interest to farmers, but it is also of interest to
gardeners, as it improves the condition of the soil in your garden
without having to resort to non-organic fertilizers. In a farming
context, the nitrogen that it fixes is equivalent to 8 bags of urea
per hectare, two bags of phosphates and calcium – a tidy gift from
one of Africa’s indigenous trees. One can see evidence of this in
some areas where farmers have left the trees in the middle of their
fields – the plants immediately surrounding the tree are much larger
and much healthier than the other plants in the field.
Winterthorn helps
with soil improvement – the leaves it drops act as a mulch and with
the help of earthworms, a natural fertilizer and soil conditioner is
formed. The tree can also be used as a windbreak. The deep root
system holds the soil together and does not compete with other
plants planted under its canopy.
The winterthorn
is truly a useful tree in the garden as apart from the benefit it
imparts to the soil, it also provides shade.
The
author of our monthly column is a horticulturalist who can be
contacted on email at
pete@kantemba.com
or by phone on 096 747-990 for your gardening queries. |
April 2004