Hugh MartinSPRING IN a tropical country is never as appreciated, as anticipated, nor as welcomed as in the temperate zones where the cold dreary winter, exhausting its welcome, leaves the spirit longing for the warmth of the sun, the sweetness of the bird's song and the return of greenness to those leafless trees. Here in the tropics the seasons pass in a seamless cycle, flowing imperceptibly from one period to the other. But the land feels the changes and the plants respond in their own ways. So, in the north the grass blades struggle up from the thawing earth and the leaves uncurl to greet the sun. Here, down south, the poui trees crown themselves in triumphant blossoms that later cover the ground in carpets of pink and gold. And there are those plants too that behave the same wherever they occur.
I haven't seen this phenomenon since I was a child but these days each Easter it comes back to my otherwise faltering memory. One day nothing is in this spot and the next day there it is, a beautiful bloom unfolding almost before your very eyes! Just the stalk and its trumpet-shaped flower, no trunk, no leaves, pushing its way up from the soft dark earth. "The Resurrection Lily!" Aunt Becky declares, her eyes wide with delight as is her toothless grin. She is the garden enthusiast and the supplier of flowers for decorating the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Alva every Saturday. I am her assistant and frequent carrier of those huge bundles and she has taught me all the names of the flowers she has planted in the several gardens around the house. But I had never seen her plant this one or even water the spot. Yet she knew it was coming up and that's why we are here this morning a couple of days after Easter Sunday.
She explains in her way that it symbolises Christ's Resurrection. That, more than anything else, confirmed my faith. Over the next several days the leaves emerge and eventually the flower fades. I learnt much later that the corm of this plant remains dormant during the winter months and returns to life come spring. And I learnt too, what all farmers know, that this is the most important time of year for planting and replanting. Cane farmers in particular will confirm that it is also the best time to reap for the cane is at its ripest and will therefore yield more sugar than at any other time.
RAPID RE-GROWTH
Reaping at this time will also allow for more rapid re-growth of the ratoon fields as well as allow for replanting where this is required. April, the first full month of spring, is therefore very dear to the farmer so its choice for 'Farmers Month' is obvious. This is not to say that planting of crops at other times is discouraged. There is in fact a second major planting season in the fall when much of our cash crops (vegetables, pulses) are put in to catch the lucrative Christmas trade. And there are the specially developed varieties and hybrids bred to do well even when planted out of the traditional seasons.
But spring, with its April showers and May rains and autumn with its October rains provide the ideal climate for crop production. Yet, even though Nature has set these clearly defined periods of growth and renewal man's interventions in the course of development have resulted in periodic disruptions that have in recent times been catastrophic. And so we've had terrible floods in December and January, the traditional dry period, and scorching droughts in April and May when the crops should have been flourishing.
We don't hear much about Global Warming or the Greenhouse Effect these days, the phenomenon that's responsible for the fluctuating weather pattern. Perhaps enough has been done in time to prevent the further damage to the Ozone layer which protects us from the sun's ultraviolet rays. Perhaps. But the hurricanes have become more numerous and much stronger and the season, stretching from June to November now, a month longer. All this has served to make agriculture the riskiest of all enterprises and the farmer the most beleaguered of all entrepreneurs.
No one should therefore begrudge him this accolade of a month in his honour. He earns it every time he ploughs a field or plants a seed. He does this knowing the odds are against him. If the rains don't come he is burnt out. If they come for too long he is washed up. Too heavy winds and he could be blown away. But the weather could be kind and he could survive the ravages of pests and diseases to anticipate a bounteous harvest. And then the cruellest cut of all - be robbed by the praedial thief. The farmer plants by faith. This is the season when his faith is strongest. This is the month of his honouring. Let us honour him.
Hugh Martin is a communication specialist and farm broadcaster. E-mail: humar@cwjamaica.com
