Farmiculture Techniques

 Geoff McCabe

Godzilla attacks the farm

Godzilla attacks the farm

This vegetarian monster, known as a green iguana tried to get into our lizard-proof garden, and found a weakness, which was that one of the posts wasn’t covered with tin. He climbed it and ate many peppers before being discovered and captured. These can grow up to 6 feet long, and is even bigger than […]

 Geoff McCabe

Yellow Heirloom Eggplants

Yellow Heirloom Eggplants

These beautiful eggplants are an heirloom species from seeds bought in the U.S. and are about the size of a baseball. They grew easily in bags and have been moved into well-composted soil in full sun during the hot dry season, and are producing well.

 Geoff McCabe

Small Caterpillar who eats our greens

Small Caterpillar who eats our greens

  What is this bug and what do we do about it? If you recognize it, and have an organic solution, please help us out. We’ve been spraying our plants with a powdered mix of chili peppers and garlic, but this bug seems to be pretty resistant to it. We don’t have a lot of […]

 Geoff McCabe

Watermelon (Sandia)

Watermelon (Sandia)

This huge watermelon was super sweet and tasty, and grew from a vine that we didn’t plant. The seed was leftover in the dirt from watermelons planted last season, and those were from a watermelon taken from a vine we found randomly growing on the farm. Whatever species it is, obviously it likes our soil, […]

 Geoff McCabe

Jalapeño

Jalapeño

Jalapeños grow easily here since peppers are native to Central America. If we can grow enough of them, and garlic too, then we can eventually produce our own bug repellent by combining them, rather than buying it in powder form as we do now.

 Geoff McCabe

Wild Cilantro (Culantro Silvestre)

Wild Cilantro (Culantro Silvestre)

  Culantro, as it’s called in Spanish grows wild here like a dandelion, but without the flower. Many people have it growing around their houses. The leaves are broad and serrated, a bit sharp even, and they’re much thicker than the cilantro we’re used to buying in the stores, but it tastes identical. Because it’s […]

 Geoff McCabe

Heirloom Eggplants

Heirloom Eggplants

These beautiful eggplants are our first ones besides the long yellow ones. They are small now, around 2 1/2 inches, but growing quickly, and we’re excited to see how big they get, and how many each bush will produce. We started them in the shade house in medium-sized bags but have moved them outside into […]

 Geoff McCabe

Yellow Eggplant (Berenjena)

Yellow Eggplant (Berenjena)

  The yellow banana-like eggplants shown here grow very easily on meter-high bushes the continue to produce for many months. They have grown well in medium-quality soil with almost no care, out in the open. We have replanted the seeds with some success. Most of them will sprout but many die off. This eggplant is […]

 Geoff McCabe

Tropical Sweet Potato (Camote)

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 […]

 Geoff McCabe

Giant Grenadilla

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 […]