Iguanas
Iguanas like the one shown above (technically called “Cnetosaurs”) are common here. I love them because they are small dinosaurs, and who doesn’t love dinosaurs? But I’m not happy about them snacking on our organic veggies and fruits. It’s hard enough getting stuff to grow here without these giant lizards coming along and helping themselves […]
Homemade Pepperoncinis in 5 Minutes
I adore pepperoncinis, finding them highly addictive, and have been buying expensive imported jars if them. Luckily they are easy to grow and easy to pickle them in jars, and if done right, are crunchy and amazing. I have been making them one small jar at a time and you can eat them the […]
Italian Parsley
This parsley (perejil) has grown well in our worst soil, which we bought a truckload of, and turned out to be nearly solid clay. Few things would grow well in it because of the lack of drainage. Parsley is a superfood, with very high levels of phytochemicals and other nutrients. It has a strong taste […]
Brussel Sprouts
Lots of kids hate brussel sprouts, but we love them here. Shown in the photo are our starters, grown in our home-made soil.
Test of our Homemade Soil
We found that much of the farm has very little topsoil, and what’s there has its nutrition easily depleted. Drainage and easy root penetration are also probably problems. So, we have been making our own soil from scratch using readily available organic materials such as grass and manure. A potting soil salesman brought over his […]
Egyptian Spinach
This spinach is one of the easiest to grow, and we have so far found that no bugs seem to touch it. Apparently this plant is the primary green leaf food in Egypt, and is used in many recipes. It has very unique leaves, with each having long “antennae” at the base. Harvesting enough quantity […]
Malabar Spinach – A Vine You Can Eat
Malabar Spinach grows easily in the tropics of Costa Rica even though its native to Asia. The texture of the leaves is a but mushy, so it should be used in cooking with that in mind. We will be working on some recipes that consider this well. We are using Malabar spinach as a climbing […]
Volunteer House
The volunteer house has two wings, featuring: – Two sleeping lofts, and two single bed/sofas, so a total of 6 people can sleep here. – Two toilets – Two showers – Each wing has its own kitchen, so meals can be prepared in one, while volunteers work in the other kitchen on projects such as […]
Amazing Fast-Growing Costa Rica Spinach
All of these (bags in the foreground and background) were grown from a few leafless spinach stem scraps, about 3mm wide and 4cm long, leftover from a meal with my friends Jeremy and Andrea, the owners of La Escuela del Sol in Montezuma. I first started the four small stems in four bags, which grew […]
Living Structures Project
Ever since I moved to Costa Rica and learned that with many tree species, you can cut off a branch, stick it in the ground, and it will grow into a new tree, I had the idea to try this here with some of the popular local trees, such as Melina or Madera Negro, both […]
