I just got back from a 4th of July celebration/work in another volunteer's site. I left the 2nd for Playa Uvita - a beach park located close to Playa Dominical, on the Pacific side of the country. A group of about 12 volunteers and myself stayed there to celebrate independence day with sun, surf, and delicious food. The beach was amazing - warm blue water backed by palms and tropical forest. After spending a couple nights there I went back inland a couple hours away to a volunteer's site to give classes on biointensive gardening/making compost/ worm composting. We were both a little nervous that nobody would show, but in the end we had 12 in attendance. The classes went really well. They all seemed to be excited about the topic and had lots of questions. Sadly, I forgot my camera so I can't show you pictures from the beach nor the class.
However, I do have pictures from my garden. This time upon returning I found my garden in great shape. What a relief!
A little about my garden:
I'm practicing biointensive gardening. This is what we were taught in Paraguay, and the more I do it and see the outcomes the more I believe that it is the best for small farm/large garden production. The basic principle behind biointensive gardening is getting the most out of the space you have through intensive practices. There are 8 basic principles, but I usually teach the first four since they are most applicable to the people I work with. They are:
1. Deep soil preparation using the double dig technique. If done properly you are left with at least two feet of fertile, well cultivated soil. This is probably the most important technique though the most labor intensive
2. Constantly creating and applying abundant amounts of compost
3. Close-spaced planting hexagonally instead of in rows. This helps you maximize your spacing and creating a green mulch. This is when the plants are just close enough so that their leaves shade out any competitors.
4. Companion planting. You all have heard me talk about this. Growing certain plants together can boost the growth and/or flavor of both plants, as well as best utilize space.
Anyway, here are some garden pictures
Tomatoes grown with Asian greens.
Beans and squash.
Asian Greens.
Toucan in the backyard.
