Organic Gardening meets Indigenous Ways

These photos were taken by Jose during an I.N.A. course that he attended, together with his father, Armando, on composting and the principles of organic gardening.  The course is a required prerequisite for enrolling in all other I.N.A. agricultural courses; no matter what your interest - cultivating, grafting, fermenting fertilizers, etc. - you must first understand and practice good soil preparation.  That’s the first step.  The guys attended classes and then worked in the I.N.A. fields near Cartago, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. every Tuesday for several weeks.  They now know how to make cold compost, hot compost and organic fertilizers; how to cultivate plants using ‘organic’ philosophy; and a host of other valuable ideas to improve the growing environment at El Tigre.

Picture of Fabian Pacheco, teacher of organic gardening and a new way of thinking.  

Organic gardening is beginning to make headway here in Costa Rica but it’s been slow getting started, and there is still very much a culture of using petrochemical-based products for growing food commercially here.  I was shocked to learn that, in very recent past, Costa Rica was the champion of the world with respect to the quantity of active ingredients of chemical pesticides and herbicides imported for cultivating the food we eat here (World Resources Institute). 

Thankfully, however, dedicated teachers like Fabian Pacheco  have begun to train agricultural workers all over the country on how to produce food organically.  The secret to a healthy plant is deep, rich, composted soil.  And your yard produces all the key ingredients for making fine compost – it’s just a matter of how to use them.  You can read more about Fabian Pacheco at www.bloqueverde.com

If you also wish to learn organic gardening methods, you can take a course at the I.N.A. Centro Nacional Especializado en Agricultura Organica.  Armando and Jose both decided that they wanted to apply the knowledge that they had gained from the first course to their work at El Tigre before enrolling in other courses.  They are also keen to share what they have learned with friends and neighbors.  Their idea is to learn and then to teach – to spread the word.

I thought that I knew something about organic gardening when I first moved to Reserva El Tigre and started working with Armando.  I had learned a lot about the Rodale Press methods while living in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and thought that I could come to Costa Rica and instruct Armando on how to compost, how to operate integrated pest management, and the rest of it.  However, I began to get a clue of how clueless I was the day I bought palms and other ornamental plants from a vivero in Garita.  As I unloaded the car, Armando took one look, shook his head and muttered:  “We already have those palms growing right here in the forest!”

I then began to listen to Armando and started to learn from him.  I was especially fascinated by the importance of lunar cycles, used by the indigenous people in pruning and cultivating.  And, although he went to a whole new level by taking the composting/organic gardening course –he finally found someone who could explain the processes in a way that resonated with him; the importance of microorganisms in the soil and how to use them as a tool all started to make sense - the indigenous practices still remain integral to our farming practices.

It is not only the lunar cycle that is important, but also the custom of planting small groupings in clearings; mixing plants together (to confuse the pests); and generally taking things calmly, working with the seasons and not trying to cultivate something that belongs elsewhere.  We can’t grow potatoes or carrots here but we can grow green beans, Chicasquil and Yuca; we can’t grow large tomatoes (not enough sunlight) but we can grow the small, criollo tomatoes, which taste soooo good.  We can’t grow blueberries but the citrus fruits grow beautifully, as well as other fruiting trees – Caimito, Cacao, Guanabana, Pitanga - and it just goes on and on.  We keep experimenting and trying new species.  Of course, it takes many years for a tree to grow fully but you can clearly see whether or not it will take root and flourish within a few years.  Some plants that don’t belong at this altitude simply don’t make it.  I have stopped experimenting with high altitude plants and just accepted the reality that we live at 1000 meters – but there are plenty of plants which thrive at that altitude to keep us very busy and well-fed.

This bromeliad, Aechmea mariae-reginae, will survive the dry season just fine!

Too many people plant gardens and then have to water them during the dry season to keep the plants alive.  As the villagers have learned this season, water is far too scarce here in El Rodeo for gardeners to waste it on watering lawns and gardens.  It’s always best to cultivate native plants that can survive the dry period without water.  High altitude plants like hydrangeas and fuchsias do not belong here – without obsessive care, they will quickly wither and die. 

There are plenty of native alternatives, however, that look just as gorgeous.  During drought, the grass will turn brown but, at first rainfall, it turns green once again.  There is no reason to water grass or properly selected ornamental plants.  Y punto!  Yes, we water the greenhouse edibles but, as Fabian instructed, we just water enough for what the plant needs and no more.  It makes me cringe when I see sprinkler systems watering lawns and gardens in the neighborhood – particularly when they are watering native plants that don’t even need the water!    

Here’s a shot of  riders coming to the Carrera de Cintas in El Rodeo, taken by Krysia Peterson.  The local village school of El Rodeo organized a fundraising event – a Carrera de Cintas.  This is a sport where horsemen ride at a full-out gallop and try to thread a kind of needle through a small hole as they ride by.  It is very difficult to do but the skilled riders really display their skill and dexterity, and the whole show is really exciting.

A village equestrian demonstrates Carrera de Cintas.

  Jose usually rides Solo in these Carreras, but we had him stabled for nearly the entire past month, to allow him to rest and recover from an acute laminitis - he likely got it from whacking into something out in pasture - and yes, he's fine now and back out in pasture.  So, as Volcan is too slow and Lucero is too ornery when out in crowds, we called the farrier, put shoes back on Matchi, and Jose rode him. 

You can’t just gallop and then suddenly skid a horse to a stop, wheeling him about, without something on his feet - let the sparks fly off the shoes, not the poor horse!  Apparently, Matchi was in fine form and did very well indeed.  We were so proud!  Also, I have nothing but accolades for the new school director who has done so much to improve the village school and her fundraising efforts have brought the entire village together.  Many thanks to you Dona Maureen.

Do you want to come out to El Rodeo and go horseback riding in the forest?  There are places where you can rent horses by the hour – Hacienda El Rodeo has horses on the weekends ready to go, and Alvaro has horses also just opposite.  But, especially for English speakers, if you want to go for a more personalized horseback riding experience, I recommend that you contact Krysia at www.fincaCaballoLoco.com.  She knows how to match each rider to the right horse, and you will have a great time.

Another Birthday Calf for Gerry!
A calf was born at El Tigre on Gerry’s birthday - the second time this has happened!  Remember Little Gerry?  Well, meet Coqueta’s baby calf, also born on March 11!  It was all rather exciting because Coquetta delivered him out in the pasture, and Jose didn’t even know about it until she returned to the stable for feeding.  He immediately saw that she had delivered and went out to find her calf, which he found curled up in the grass up near our upper rancho.  So he picked him up and carried him back to the stable.  This is where you now see Coqueta and her adorable calf.  Doesn’t he look just like a baby deer?

We are thrilled.  And, yes, we are once again making yoghurt!  I got a wonderful starting culture from Jan, who brought it back from Europe.  Thanks again, Jan.  The yoghurt is so delicious!

It had to happen sooner or later.  I got a torsalo larva in my scalp!  Oh, the joy of working out in the field.  We called in our torsalo extraction expert, Armando, who can maneuver and extract it directly, without resorting to suffocating it first with tape.  Yaneth was his assisting ‘nurse’...

Both of them have had much experience extracting torsalos from the dogs, but humans rarely get them because we usually prevent mosquito bites from happening in the first place.  And, if we do get bitten, we would have to be really unlucky to be bitten by one carrying torsalo eggs (which eventually morph to Bot Flies).  Still, the odd mosquito lands on even the most covered-up of hikers eventually.  But this is the first torsalo I’ve got since living and hiking in the Costa Rican forest for 15 years.

Now, if you get a torsalo while traveling in Costa Rica, and you don’t have a village expert nearby, go to the nearest veterinarian – they are the professionals with the most experience extracting them, because of the frequency that dogs get them.  Most tropical physicians also recognize torsalos but, even here, some physicians misdiagnose the problem – one of our construction workers got diagnosed with an infection and put on antibiotics.  We knew better, and Armando extracted it – thus giving the suffering worker instant relief.  However, do not try to extract a torsalo yourself, unless you know what you are doing.  You could easily kill the larva and then you will, indeed, get a horrible infection.

Travelers coming to Costa Rica:  Use your mosquito repellents when going out for a hike and/or cover-up head to toe – wear a hat and tuck your trousers underneath your socks.  And, if all else fails and a mosquito lands on you and bites you, kill it!  It won’t help you avoid whatever it injected into you, but you will feel much better about it…