Tunisia - The incredible work with the date palms

Tunisia - The incredible work with the date palms

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In the south of Tunisia, date palms feel very comfortable because of the temperatures. Apparently, we didn't know, most of the dates in Central European supermarkets are of Tunisian origin. Another lesson learned.

Of course, date palms don't just grow in the desert. They grow in oases. Another exotic fantasy of my childhood: oases. In said oases, the groundwater is usually not quite so deep and wells bring up the water to irrigate the date plantations. The pumps, by the way, are almost all solar-powered here - there really is plenty of sun! (By the way, our battery is almost always charged to 100%, the sun gives it to us).

By the way, there is a difference between oases and date groves: One is monoculture (the groves), the other mixed culture. In oases, the large date palms shade the smaller trees such as pomegranate, orange or lemon trees. It is then possible to grow vegetables under these trees. In oases we also see banana plants or colourful flowering shrubs from time to time. The soil there is much more fertile because of the mixed culture.

But what about fertilisation?

Date palms have either only female flowers that can produce fruit or only male flowers that provide the pollen. Naturally, wind, bees or other insects pollinate the female flowers. 

This would mean that there would have to be a huge amount of male palms (which "steal" water and also space). So not a hit in commercial date breeding. Moreover, you actually only need one male palm for about 50 to 120 "ladies". That's why we do it by hand. Manual insemination is usually done by specially trained people.

To apply the pollen to the female flowers, a brush or other tool is used which is dipped in the pollen and then applied to the female flowers. 

Manual fertilisation requires a lot of tact and care. It is also important that fertilisation takes place at a time when the female flowers are receptive to ensure successful fertilisation. We learn that the whole procedure has to be done three times in March. Then the flowers are somehow also tied in a special direction so that harvesting can proceed more easily thanks to this.

The palm trees themselves need a lot of water during the summer (here the temperature ranges from 35 to almost 50°C!) and from October onwards they can be harvested. What we also learn here is that the water is first used for all kinds of things, and only then is it fed to the palms.

We are allowed to take the dates by the bucketful from our campsite boss, his are too small to sell. But even without this generous gift (now that we know how much work it all takes!) we supply ourselves with fresh dates at the market: a kilo costs about one euro. And every single date is absolutely super delicious. 

Date Fun Facts

Dates are not trees at all, but belong to the grasses. They are very similar to us ladies, 5 years old they can get pregnant and form side shoots. 

The "pregnancy" can last up to 4 years, then the side shoots are separated as independent plants and now menopause occurs in the mother plant (around the age of 15). 

This is the best time for the palm tree: it grows beyond itself, blossoms and presents people with its wonderful dates. And it does this until it is about 50 years old. 

How can you tell the difference between male and female palms? Funny, here too they resemble us humans: male palms have a very straight trunk and become somewhat broader at the top, female palms tend to have a somewhat broader trunk at the bottom or in the middle and tend to slim down "at the shoulders" below the palm fronds. 

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Merci for "travelling with us

We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.

By the way, we are travelling through Iran. It's possible that we won't be writing posts at all or will be late. We first have to see if it works for us. And whether we can even manage to write down all the fantastic impressions in good time.

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We are also very happy to hear your views, your tips or your questions. Just comment on the post!

 

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Rachel
Rachel
1 year ago

Thank you for the lesson! 👍
And Gerd reaped a Mietz. 😂👍

Heike
Heike
1 year ago
Reply to  Rachel

Cats he harvests all the time! Tunisia is a cat paradise.

It's nice if you've learned something. I also listened very well in order to reproduce everything as I learned it 🤣🤣🤣

Kind regards - Heike

Dirk
Dirk
1 year ago

Great, thank you for the excursion into desert botany!👍

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