On this September 9, ejiditarios from the Municipality of Tule come to take the last group of agave, some 1,000 Tobala, from the nursery to transplant and take root in an ejido land in Santa Maria del Tule. And with this movement, we close out the first season and cycle of the Vivero Amigos del Maguey y Biodiversidad project. It’s been three-months of pulling out agave one by one by pick, shovel and hand. Three months trimming their roots, and leading them into countless “costales” loaded onto the backs of trucks and the pseudo trunk of my small rental car. Three-months making holes with shovels and picks under an intense sun, re-settling agave into an array of lands and soils by hand. But we’ve been fortunate to have good results with most all agave taking to their new lands.
It was the first time that Tobala had been planted like this, Berta commented, on a hillside between trees, amidst copales, nopales and, other plants. Nobody and I mean nobody is planting Tepeztate, said Reina as we filled costales with 450 Tepeztate. Regardless of whether true or not, we do hope others take note and begin to copy the practice. Chisme and boasting can after all lead to great results.
In all approx. 16,128 agave were transplanted, all having come to life from seed aside from 300 espadin hijuelos. They were counted and in a practice of transparency a list of what went where:
Berta Vasquez, San Baltazar Chichicapam: 3,877, Espadin, Tobala, Madrecuish, Tobaziche, Tepeztate
Aureliano Hernandez, San Baltazar Guelevila: 7,030 Coyote, Tobala, Espadilla
Simeon & Apolonio Ramirez, San Agustin Amatengo: 890 Tobaziche, Tepeztate, Espadin
Alberto Martinez, Santa Catarina Albarradas, Atenogenes Garcia of San Isidro Guishe (via Jason Paul Cox, Cinco Sentidos): 2,636 Madrecuish & Tobala
Abel Martinez, Santo Domingo Albarradas: 145 Mexicanito
Reina Sanchez, San Luis Amatlan: 450 Tepeztate
El Municipio de Santa Maria del Tule: 935 Tobala
Carmen Vasquez, Miahuatlan: 200 Karwinski
rezpiral.com 