Tropical Sweet Potato (Camote)
The Sweet Potato (not yams), called CAMOTE in Spanish, are native to Costa Rica and considered to be one of the healthiest of all vegetables. They grow in poor soil with little oversight or care, with their vines spreading out on top of the soil and their tasty tubers developing underground. The leaves are […]
Giant Grenadilla
We have a mature “Giant Grenadilla” plant growing on the farm, and a young one as well. This amazing, fast growing and huge vine is truly impressive. Right now as I write this there are over 100 of these huge fruits, growing up to 10 inches long, on a single vine, practically crushing the […]
Tat Soi – an Asian Leafy Green
Tat Soi is a leafy green vegetable from Asia. I had reasoned that vegetables that grow in the humid tropics of Asia would also grow well here in the similar Costa Rica climate, and so far that has been true with a few things. The plant is something like a cross between spinach and […]
Purslane – a Wild Superfood Weed
Purslane, known as verdulaga in spanish, is a weed and a superfood, and we found is growing here in a few spots. Known to have one of the highest levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in the plant kingdom, this superweed is a plant that humans can live on for many months in times of […]
Goldenberries or Tomatillo?
We discovered these “Goldenberries”, which are considered to be a superfood, growing wild on the farm, and have been able to save the seeds so we can grow more. Later, after researching on the internet, I found that actually they’re not goldenberries, but in fact Wild Tomatillos. We planted the seeds and they grew like […]
Black Betty is Chicken One
When we went to buy our first chickens to produce eggs for us, there was only one left. This poor thing was missing most of her feathers, probably from bullying by stronger ones that were crowded in the cage with her. She was so ugly and pitiful that no one wanted would buy her. […]
Mini Peppers
These little peppers are sweet (meaning that they’re not spicy) and are easy to grow. They don’t make much if a meal, but we think that food should be fun and beautiful, not just nutritious. So we’re planting all kinds of varieties of everything when we can find it. Like all the peppers we […]
Bell Peppers
Peppers are native to Central America and so they should grow pretty well here. But with all the centuries of inbreeding them to create a bigger and tastier vegetable, food plants will often lose their natural defenses against pests, disease, etc, becoming more fragile. The large peppers shown here are susceptible to fungus, and […]
Building soil in raised beds
The soil here is great, but very thin, so we’re working on building it up. We’ve plowed it with a tractor and then piled it up in rows and then added a very thick layer of grass, leaves, chicken poop, cow manure, and rice hulls. Now we wait, keeping it hydrated and letting it […]
Green Drinks from the Farm
The world has been learning about the amazing health benefits and healing properties of green drinks, so producing ingredients for them has been a priority for me. There are some great fruit and veggies, such as the broccoli and green apples shown in the lower part of the photo, that we must bring from […]
