Mustard Greens
Also known as Brassica Juncea or Green Mustard Cabbage, this zingy green is about the sharpest green of the bunch, it never ceases to surprise me in a salad… especially when you don’t expect it! This can happen as it bears a close resemblance the kale we grow here on the farm, which both bare […]
Vetiver Grass in Costa Rica – Zacate Violeta
Vetiver Grass, known here as Zacate Violeta “Purple Grass” is one of the world’s most useful and essential plants, and an essential component of sustainable living. Originally from India, it many hundreds of years ago, it spread to other parts of Asia, where it was discovered to be very useful for erosion control. It’s now […]
Turmeric
Turmeric is one of the easiest plants to grow that we have in the farm. These orange roots, which look like ginger, can just be stuck into the ground just about anywhere and they’ll grow. It’s so easy in fact that one of the world’s largest herb companies, Gaia Herbs, has 2 hectares of organic […]
How to Make Soil for Growing Plants – Part 2
Part 2: Making the Dirt Continued from Part 1 – Ingredients The difficult part is finding and getting all the ingredients into one place. Once you have them, you can just mix them all together into a huge pile. The pile should not be more than 1.5 meters deep, so if you’re making a lot […]
How to Make Soil for Growing Plants – Part 1
Part 1: Soil Making Ingredients Many of the “farms” in our part of Costa Rica have had cattle on them for decades, and as a result, the soil is highly degraded. Years of heavy trampling and loosening of the topsoil during rainy season has made most of it wash down into the rivers and out […]
How to prepare a natural insecticide and fungicide
In Rancho Delicioso we are experimenting with several recipes in order to create organic products to treat plagues from various insect pests, or to prevent them. We believe that there are harmless ways to treat these frequent problems of the gardens, rather than using chemicals. We came across to this recipe to create a powerful […]
What’s Growing at Rancho Delicioso
Gallery of Edible Plants That Will Grow in Costa Rica Finally I’ve been able to find the right way to display most of what we’re growing here at Rancho Delicioso. I was guessing that it must be up to 100 different edible plants, but it’s far more than that. As of this writing, many of […]
Lacewing Insect – A Friend to the Tropical Gardener
An Insect Predator of Aphids and Caterpillars If you’ve lived in Costa Rica for a while, and you’re paying attention to the little things around you, then you may have noticed some tiny eggs on little hairs around your house or garden. I had seen them a few times and wondered what they were, but […]
Beets – How to Grow Them
How to Grow Beets in Hot Tropical Areas of Costa Rica Spanish Name: Remolacha Seeds: Each seed is a cluster. Soak in water 12-24 hrs before planting Soil Type: Sandy, high phosphorous, raised beds Ph: 6-7 (Neutral) Germination Time: 5-10 days Spacing: 1/2″ deep, Very Close: 2-4″ between plants and 12-18″ between rows Water: Daily, keep soil moist […]
Cultivar Zanahorias Orgánicas en los Trópicos
Geoff vive y dirige la comunidad ecológica Rancho Delicioso. Él tenía la visión de creer esta comunidad fuerte y sostenible en la península sur de Nicoya en Costa Rica. Geoff es el CEO de Anamaya Resort de Yoga. A parte de agricultura, le encanta escribir para sus varios sitios de Internet, surfear y creer estructuras […]
