Gardening in Puerto Rico

How Does Roberto’s Garden Grow..

It’s been a while since I was able to write about me gardening effort so I wanted to do some ‘catch-up’. I’ll be doing an update to the Bamboo Site, very soon as well.

I’ve been at this for about 3 years now and I’ve come to the conclusion that the seeds, trees and flowers I’ve started flourished in spite of my efforts, not because of them. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve had my fair share of failures. Mostly because I was not prepared for the different needs some seeds/plants have.

That, and the fact that I tend to over water. A hard habit to break.

Though Seedman was generous enough to provide me with a new batch of seed, none of those came up either. I now think the black trays in the direct sun may have toasted them. Those seeds called for direct sun so that’s what they got. Probably too much of a good thing. I do not attribute any of my problems with anything Seedman did or did not do.

The good news is, I do have several new prospects on the way.

I scored some very fresh seeds from my pal Sadhu at Govardhan Gardens here in PR. I now have 12 Malay Apple sprouts in their own pots, 8 Pulasan in their own pots and 8 Cherry Mangosteen in their own special pots. [Read more…] about How Does Roberto’s Garden Grow..

Garden Experiment 1D- African Horned Melon

Cucumis metuliferus

AKA- Kiwano, jelly melon, English tomato and cherie.

I had stumbled across the African Horned Melon while doing research about tropical fruits and veggies. My sample came from a grocery run to Walmart and cost over $6 bucks a pound. I bought one so I could retrieve the seeds.

It was bright orange and very firm.

I sliced it up it for photos and then sampled a bit. Though bizarre in appearance, it tasted like a tart, juicy cucumber and was very refreshing. It would be perfect, put through a juicer and added to some juice or smoothie. What’s more, the entire article is edible. On a mature Kiwano, the spines are relatively soft and the skin is very thin. The spines are sharp and hard on a green ones. The seeds are edible and the ‘melons’ can be eaten green. In fact, the green ones took several weeks to turn orange so they have good ‘kitchen keeping’ properties.

Restaurants use them as artistic garnish to add a touch of color.

Though they were originally from Africa, New Zealand has rebranded them as ‘Kiwanos’ and is now exporting them in quantity. My sample was actually grown in Puerto Rico. [Read more…] about Garden Experiment 1D- African Horned Melon

My Garden, Seeds in Process- Final Part 3

Because I did not have much luck with my first attempt at germinating Date and Acai palm seeds, I ordered more. This time I split the order between 2 different suppliers. A second order from RarePalmSeeds in Germany and one from Seedman in the US.

Seed Germination Stimulation

Seedman sells a product specifically designed to stimulate seed germination.

I’m always apprehensive of any product that declares itself- ‘New and Improved’. Makes me wonder if it really worked to begin with. Yea… I know that sounds a little ‘flaky’, but if I can improve the odds of exotic seed germination, I’m all for it.

Seedman sez they use ‘Cape Seed Primer- Super Smoke Plus’ in their own nurseries. It is a product from South Africa. The packaging was in English and claims it is a general-purpose germination stimulant. Each chemically treated paper disc is soaked in 50mls of water to recover the seed stimulant.

The 5 enclosed discs will produce 250mls of viable solution.

I ordered 2 sets of 5 at $15 per set since I knew I would need to treat 2 different sets of seeds.

Seemed pretty expensive to me… [Read more…] about My Garden, Seeds in Process- Final Part 3

Gardening Part 2 of 3- What’s in the Works

New Plants in the Ground

After the move to Puerto Rico, the first thing I planted was a Jobo tree (pronounced hobo). It came from a tree, not too far from here. It’s similar to a Mango, but the fruit are much smaller. I started it from a seed and it is now over 9 feet tall with a 3.5 inch thick trunk. They shed their leaves during the Dry Season.. the first time it did that, it spooked me. It looks good now.

Next up were 2 Mandarin trees purchased from a local nursery in early 2010… only one survived though they were identical.

The one that prospered stands about 5 feet tall and is quite healthy now.

I also planted an Icaco tree (Coco plum), 2 Quenepa trees, 2 Papaya plants, 1 Malay (Rose) apple tree. These were started from seeds in 2010 and planted in late Spring of 2011. The Papaya are very fast growers, as is the vining Parcha mentioned on the Gardening in PR page (in the Menu Bar above).

At the end of summer 2011, I planted 7 more Coconut and 4 Date Palms… all from sprouts and doing well.

Plus a little Sugarcane..

The 8 or so Sugarcane coming up, were all taken from cuttings of a single plant in Yabucoa, last year. Though Sugarcane used to cover Puerto Rico in abundance, it’s hard to find anymore. Easy stuff to propagate from cuttings.

I’m using it as a garden border and privacy screen. [Read more…] about Gardening Part 2 of 3- What’s in the Works

Gardening in Puerto Rico- Part 1

Gardening in PR- a New Page in the Menu Bar

I’ve had the idea for this new Page and a series of posts for quite a while, but I wanted to be well into my gardening effort before I started posting about it.

That day has come!

I have so much content on the subject of ‘Gardening in Puerto Rico’, I almost turned it into it’s own Website, but for now, I’ll present what I have on me scurvy Blog.. Arrg!

Motivation

Our tropical environment begs to be explored. Being able to mess around in the garden is a great escape from the day to day stuff. Puerto Rico is a wonderful place to pursue gardening. Many folks retire here from the mainland, for that very reason. A chance to work a little garden plot of their own or grow some exotic flowers. Or both!

I’m no exception.

It was part of the criteria for my ‘ideal retirement spot’. Some place I could have a garden. Because of the tropical climate, it’s possible to have a garden year round.

Part 1 of 3- Introduction & Background

I need to make clear, I had done next to no gardening before moving to Puerto Rico. I do not have a green thumb. Get’n dirty… well that’s another matter.

So I’m in the middle of a huge learning curve.

It will take a few more years before I come close to figuring this stuff out. Though some folks come here with the ambition to farm, mine is to simply have a ‘few’ trees producing fruits and nuts for our personal enjoyment… and maybe a veggie garden.

We have no farm critters other than our 3 dogs and 2 cats. A lot of locals raise chickens.. you can hear them night and day. If the cost of chicken climbs over $2.50 a pound, I might reconsider it. Goats are also popular, but require more upkeep than I’m interested in.

But wait, there’s more- [Read more…] about Gardening in Puerto Rico- Part 1