While in the States we were trying to plan out everything we needed for the boys for at least the next year so that we could bring it with us. In that planning we were talking about baby food. Our plan is to make our own, but it is really hard to find good quality vegetables on a regular basis. Sometimes you have to walk away and come back the next week while you live on potatoes, canned corn and tomato sauce. Of course, avocados are readily available as well as bananas, but the inconsistency finally got me thinking about starting a garden.
Living in Petén is basically like a greenhouse, but with more bugs and harsher sunlight. Our dirt is REALLY bad where we are renting right now, but plastic pots are plentiful, so I researched container gardening. To buy good black dirt costs me around Q10 ($1.25) per 50lb. bag.
I ordered a bunch of seeds on Amazon and started them the first week we were back. Besides just for personal consumption, this is also research for our future Kekchi Bible Institute. We would like to introduce to the Kekchi pastors other crops that grow well in Petén besides corn so that they can have a better variety of food and better nutrition. I am keeping very detailed notes, and those plants and varieties that grow well and have a good yield will be potential for future projects.
I have 33 containers.
(Rabbit Trail: We had to put up a make-shift fence to keep the boxer out. She could very easily jump any size fence under 10', but she only destroys when the opportunity happens upon her. She doesn't go looking for trouble and is really good about staying out of things like this. I know that if left in the open however, she would readily eat every pot, spread my dirt all over the yard and chew up every flower. That is because plastic, dirt and flowers are the natural enemies of boxers and must be destroyed...)
In those 33 containers I currently have 2 varieties of okra, large tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, jalapeño, 3 varieties of Zucchini, Watermelon, sugar pie pumpkins, lima beans, little finger carrots, cayenne peppers, sugar snap peas, stringless green beans, and 3 types of onions. Some of these are better suited for colder climates, but the seeds were cheap and I figured it was worth a try. The colder climate things are growing in the shade of my banana trees.
We do not have potting soil, or seed starter containers and my compost isn't ready yet, so I just used some miracle grow in the black dirt I bought. We have NO danger of frost EVER, so that makes some things easier and everything has come up so far. I have had to kill a plague of grasshoppers, and of course some things are growing better than others. I am not a very patient person, so waiting on things like a garden is hard for me.
I am using some portable soccer goals we had made to trellis my tomatoes, lima beans, peas, pumpkins and watermelons. I used scrap pieces of mahogany to make my support for my green beans.
I found this great website with information on picking, canning and freezing everything you can imagine. We will attempt it all to see what works best. I'll update you soon- signed Farmer Jim.
Love the update. thanks for the pictures. I know our grandsons will
ReplyDeletebe well fed and have the right kind of diet to keep them healthy!
Looking good! I can see plants!!
ReplyDeleteJim
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Guat. the farmers were planting three things in the same hole. Squash because it branches out and keeps weeds down, corn, and green beans. The green beans are held up by the corn stalks. Thought that was very clever.Mickey
I would not discount the native soil out of hand because it looks bad. I grow some pretty good crops on soil that is little more than sand. I use the chemical method for the most part because the organic additives tend to wash right out. The main concern is PH, too high or too low and the plants have a hard time taking up the chemical additives needed to make the plants grow in poor soil. My advice is to try a few seeds in the regular soil, water and feed them the same as your pots. Looking at the background plants in your photos, that soil looks like it has the ability to produce.
ReplyDeleteHey Norm,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the blog. Our soil is basically just sand, but with very large rocks in it. Some things can grow in it that have shallow root systems, such as grass and weeds, but trying to work it is very difficult. Our banana trees are one example. They grow fine, but there is no place for their roots to go and they fall over at the first strong wind.
The land we just bought however has excellent dirt. Right now it is just a large cultivated field with tomatoes, jalapenos and corn. The plan will be to have an in-ground garden there.
Mickey,
ReplyDeleteClaire told us about that concept, but we've never actually seen it done here. Most people we know prefer to plant their corn and then forget about it until close to harvest time. Then they harvest, burn and plant the next batch of corn. They do this about 3 times a year.
I have read a lot about companion planting and my next round of planting will be sweet corn with peas and green beans. We hope to have good results so that we can pass on the information.
While most people here like green beans, we haven't found anybody in the villages that knows what a zucchini or squash is. Odd, because we've bought it in the market and it grows so fast and performs so well you would think everybody would have some. Shelley is going to start cooking classes for the ladies to introduce these foods and we can pass out seeds.
I'm doing a little container gardening, too. Unfortunately, I asked Irving to bring me some dirt and he brought me "brosa", a huge bag of leaves and sticks. I guess I need to go to the nursery myself. :)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing how the garden grows! Here we have a much cooler climate, of course, but I think similar stuff will grow.
Expat Mom, Since your climate is perfect there, I'm sure everything grows well! Where do you get your seeds? I would like to find a place here in Guatemala instead of having to bring everything in from the States.
ReplyDeleteCan't really help you with local seeds, I buy mine from a guy on Ebay. The seeds I've found here are usually expired and don't sprout. Maybe someone from the Peace Corps would know of a local source?
ReplyDeleteJust make sure you WATER, WATER, WATER those little containers every morning. I live in an apartment tried container gardening and was shocked at how much water was lost during the day. Also, I didn't have much luck with planting in containers that were small, such as the flat-and-narrow containers you show. The only things that did OK in those small narrow containers were some small herbs. Even the basil didn't seem happy. Is there a Peace corps volunteer in your area? Maybe they have some tips. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Sonia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! I water very regularly. I too am worried about the shallow containers, but I planted things that don't too much, such as little finger baby carrots, cayenne peppers, and dwarf cherry tomatoes in them. We had those lying around and I decided to try them instead of buying more of the bigger ones.
I don't know of any Peace corps dealings in Petén. There may be some, but we know most of the Gringos living here. Once we have our own land with better dirt, container gardening will be a thing of the past.