Hello, I'm new to this forum. I live in northern MZ and I work for a community development organization. We have a small resource center that we are trying to establish. We have a hectacre of land available to plant Jatropha for annual seed production and distribution among interested local farmers. We don't have access to a tractor. We try to develop projects that are easily imitatible so we constantly think simply and cheaply. This hectacre has never been farmed before so we are mulching the whole hectare with grass (after the vegetation has been hand hoed down). Our soil is heavy in clay. We are planting directly into the field but I need some advice on the planting hole. We are spacing the jatroph 2.5 x 2.5. However, what kind of soil treatment should I do for where I will directly plant? Should I dig a hole and refill it with a mix of something? Once the tree is established we will periodically compost the area around the plant, but my main concern now is the planting process. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Peace
Kyle