Hello everyone. I'm happy to report that I've been doing relatively well in the aftermath of hurricane Maria (diesel generator, accessible water - working pipes now -, and good food), and that my current collection is relatively intact, with only one exotic being strongly damaged (an Achachairu tree). Even the Dioscorea bulbifera is still there, growing on the trellis, unaffected by the storm. My collection survived due to the small size and young age of the trees (and the strategic placement of the ones still remaining in pots). The exotics turned out alright, but I lost all three of my mature avocado trees, large and in the midst of a good crop, completely uprooted. And the partial-to-full destruction seen in most of the trees in the countryside is surprising in its scale. For all my good fortune, I never imagined the entire island could sustain so much damage from a storm. The event shocked me to my core, and made me question my future at length.

I started this project as a thought experiment many years ago while I was still studying for my bachelors degree. It quickly grew into a labor of love, and while it never left the flexible stage of the theoretical into the practical, I had high hopes that I would someday accomplish much with it. I wanted to put theories to the test, bring true permaculture into the mainstream (at least in PR), focus on tree crops (which are mostly neglected in modern agriculture), expand the local palate with new choices, innovate in any way I could, and ultimately contribute to the food security of the island, both directly with my own farm, and indirectly through example. Dread and a sense of barren futility set in after the storm, and I thought I would never get that chance.

I thought about my options long and hard. While it's true that storms of this magnitude are rare on the island, the fact remains that the hurricane season is a yearly occurrence, and only chance or divine providence has kept such storms rare. There's nothing that would guarantee they would remain rare in the face of a changing climate. Some consider it foolhardy to plan one's life around unpredictable natural disasters, but that's exactly the point: hurricanes are not unpredictable. Their season is yearly and cyclic, like clockwork, and their presence is guaranteed in this general part of the world; the only unpredictable thing about them is whether they'll pass you by or hit you head on. Strong weather and geological events abound throughout the world, but they tend to be scattered and isolated events, truly unpredictable; few places have such a consistent cyclic risk of disaster (even if it rarely delivers on the threat). The threat is always there, in a way that random isolated events never are. I can live with the idea of having my efforts destroyed by a truly random event (something I never could've planned for), but to try the exact same plan in a place with a perpetual clockwork risk of disaster feels like I'm setting myself up for failure, painstakingly building something up that I know will be destroyed in a matter of time by a ticking time bomb. Such a prospect is completely unacceptable to me. So it was back to the drawing board, trying to salvage what I could from my plans (which, thankfully, are still theoretical; I still hadn't received a call for the paperwork I sent in, trying to acquire land).

I thought about doing it anyway, and I concluded that I couldn't. Even if I could handle the emotional impact of my work undone, the economic impact of a destroyed tree farm would probably bankrupt me. That means that (NFT's not withstanding), tree crops are out of the question for me as a dominant aspect of the farm (thus hurting that particular founding principle for me, here on the island). I thought about continuing the farm without the tree crops, but it feels like too much is missing, like the intended project was ultimately defeated. I thought about moving stateside, but even if the coasts were free from hurricane risk (which they're not), the warmest part of the mainland is still too cold during winter for some of the tropical trees I was hoping to trial; as for Hawaii, it's a little too far for my comfort, I don't know their weather patterns, and I've heard the cost of living is high there. I thought about moving to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or even Brazil, where I could complete the project at a safe distance from such consistent yearly threats (provided those places don't have a hurricane season). But they share one trait in common with the US: they're not PR (so for all their completeness, any farms there would not contribute to the food security of my homeland). And besides, I've no family there, and I personally don't want to put much distance between me and them.

I was close to giving up entirely, but I've worked too hard for too long to give up on this. Some other job is necessary now, so at least that has changed: I wanted the project to stand by itself economically, as described earlier in the thread, but even before the storm I had come to accept the certainty that I need another job to acquire a firm economic foundation for myself. I was about to start the job search when the storm hit. In the aftermath, I noticed many staple crops were running low in the local markets, and I realized that with the yearly risk of storms, a strong food supply is necessary here, now more than ever. And that has kept me from giving up.

I still plan on getting a job as soon as I'm able (hopefully something in line with my Biology major), but I've also decided to combine some of the prior ideas and rebuild my fractured plans on them. I intend to start a farm here after I get a job. It will use some of the NFT alley crop methods as a basis, and I will focus on staples, vegetables and smaller fruiting plants. The Tree Crop section will be small compared to prior plans, and will consist mainly of Avocados (easily replaced if lost) and Breadfruit (quick to grow back from a broken trunk). That way I get to practice permaculture (even if the selection of tree crops is diminished) and contribute to the local food security, while being at minimal risk of strong economic loss (few and common trees to lose, and readily replaceable annual crops; hacked up NFT's should weather the storm nicely). Once I'm economically stable, I hope to acquire land in Central America later on, to grow the missing half of my farm: the exotic tree crops. I'd get to satisfy my desire for tropical fruit without living in yearly fear of hurricanes ripping them out of the ground. If I could ship the fruit into PR, I'd get the pleasure of expanding the local palate as well (even if they weren't grown there). Staple crops on the island, fruiting trees in Central America, and all my intended boxes checked. It's a little more complicated than I had hoped, but hopefully doable.

Any thoughts or advice in relation to this? And regarding acquiring land elsewhere?

So, to clarify, cut back before or after the leaves drop?

dang 185 MPH!!!

If I was forced to live in areas where we get hurricanes like this, I would build it out of structural CMU/Concrete only with 10 feet raised foundation as well. even then windows could blow up under such pressure.

Looks serious!

Did you paint vaseline or tangle-foot on it, to keep off the ants?

Nice updates Spaugh! Any pics of the seedlings we planted? Now is also a good time to give our trees micronutrients either through foliar feeding or through soil drenches. Iron is especially important but so is Magnesium and Manganese, especially here in SoCal.

Matt, I get spotting on many of my seedlings and they seem to grow through it. My seedlings are responding really well to the micronutrients.

Simon