Mandala Keyhole Garden
The Mandala Keyhole Garden is made, but and we’re still in the process of putting in our herbs and other plants. So far we have aloe vera, sage, two types of oregano, tarragon, two types of parsley, basil, and cilantro. There’s also a section of Garbanzos that we’re experimenting with, and the outside is lined […]
Hydroponics Costa Rica
Originally we had wanted to use our Tilapia fish ponds to create an Aquaponics project here at the farm, which we saw as more “organic” in nature than hydroponics. However, the opportunity to learn hydroponics came up when an extensive two-week, hands-on course was offered in Cobano to people who lived in the area. Yasmin […]
Galangal – the Ginger of Thailand
Galangal is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family its roots stemming originally from Indonesia. Similar to it’s brother ginger, though lighter in colour and stronger in taste it is high in fiber, sodium, vitamin A and C. They are available as a whole rhizome, cut or powdered. The whole fresh rhizome is very […]
Making an Herb Garden – Herbaceous Goodness (Part IV)
And then there were herbs… With the rocks in place, the next step was to start building up the soil. I dug a hole and filled it up twice with water to check drainage and found that it wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be. Still, we dug about a foot down into […]
Gorilla Garbanzos: from Pea to Plant
One day I was innocently sprouting lentils and decided to add a few chickpeas. Chick, peas. Look what happened: Day 1: Bag of La Macarena brand garbanzo beans, from local “super maya” in Cobano. In a bowl, cover 1/4 cup beans with 2+ inches of water and soak in refrigerator for about two days. Cover […]
Papaya Seeds: DIY Black Pepper
Papaya: low in calories, high in dietary fiber. Packed with vitamins and anti-inflammatory enzymes. Growing on the farm. Extra tasty with a squeeze of lime. Also nice unripe, shredded, in curries. Que bueno. But wait! Don’t forget the seeds: high in (“good”) fat and protein and a good source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. (Source: […]
Making an Herb Garden – “Rockin’ It” – (Part III)
River rocks are very aesthetic– smooth and round and a beautiful gray-blue hue. Choosing rocks is like a puzzle; one challenge is lining up rocks such that their edges fit from the base to the top. We used larger rocks along the outer edges and slightly smaller ones lining the inner circle. When lifting heavy […]
Making an Herb Garden – The Design (Part II)
As one of the first volunteer projects on the farm we were given a rectangular plot of land and asked to create an herb garden. Geoff requested a formal layout for the garden, one that would be functional and hopefully productive as well as beautiful. I remembered from my Permaculture course a classic design called […]
Making an Herb Garden – Introduction – (Part I)
Making an Herb Garden: Introduction (Part 1) Check it out! We’re planting an herb garden. Our beautiful 8m x 15m space is a gentle slope adjacent to the volunteer house. When we lifted the black plastic protective sheet we found dried straw upon rice hulls upon a base layer of regular but hard-packed soil. Two […]
Shade Structure for Growing Vegetables
Updated March 6, 2015 This project we consider to be a big failure!!! It works great in dry season, but the problem was that in the rainy season, the mesh lets in all the rain, but not enough light or sun. This led to extremely humid conditions that most plants could not tolerate. Fungus […]
