Here in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, we have a hectare all our own. That’s 10,000 square meters of land.
There’s a treed area around the creek. There are rocky areas, a small banana area, lots of fruit trees, several open plains covered in grass, and everything is on a slope.
Now I’ve been a pokey gardener for these many years. Any yard I’ve ever been in charge of I’ve gardened. Flowers and vegetables. So imagine my excitement at 10,000 sq meters! Mega Garden. That would take something like, the rest of my life to garden!
But here’s the thing. The earth is really really hard. Erosion from the rains I guess.
Like pavement. You need a pickaxe to make a hole to plant in.
So we are starting small, and working small sections that over time will become larger and larger.
To make dirt for planting we: grab the leaves from all the fruit trees. Plus the fallen fruit itself. Add sawdust from decayed trees. Add some ash, and mix it all on top of the area where the chickens used to be in hopes that there’s still some chicken shit in it. And this we use in the holes around our plants to give those roots a fighting chance to grow.
I wonder about monkey shit, will it work as fertilizer or no? Does anybody know? Please comment if you do. ‘Cuz monkey shit we have in spades!
Originally published January 26, 2012
Comments