When to plant Tea in Nossa Senhora do Livramento

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Tea

Ribeira Grande, Cabo Verde

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an evergreen highland bush you grow not for one harvest but as a living plucking table — a flat-topped hedge, kept pruned to about waist height, that pushes out soft new shoots again and again for a whole generation.

Tea in Nossa Senhora do Livramento, rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant (establish) 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 open now
Expected harvest about 3.0 t/ha
Work it takes 213–430 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Nossa Senhora do Livramento is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 1 Jan 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Nossa Senhora do Livramento

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 76%
The lie of the land 18%

For tea in Nossa Senhora do Livramento, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 18%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2027 season in Nossa Senhora do Livramento

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedAugust 2027 to November 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 414 mm
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 414 mm falling roughly when it always does
What that supportsenough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 60% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
60% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 98 growing days · about 400 mm · August to November
40% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 89 growing days · about 380 mm · August to November

last updated 1 October 2026

Sloping ground holds back about 30% of yield here.

What tea needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 4.5 and 5.5
Spacing 120 cm between rows, 60 cm between plants
Feed it most with nitrogen, potassium and zinc

What it takes to grow tea in Nossa Senhora do Livramento

Planting materialAbout 12,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 150 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 22 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 75 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work213–430 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a tea crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Soil pH outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (acidifier)Correctable with liming

Grow Tea with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Nossa Senhora do Livramento as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will tea grow well in Nossa Senhora do Livramento?

Nossa Senhora do Livramento rates as favourable for tea.

When should I plant tea in Nossa Senhora do Livramento?

Typically 21 Jan 2026 to 1 Jan 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Nossa Senhora do Livramento, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Nossa Senhora do Livramento

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.