I was lucky enough to be in Costa Rica with some free days to do some botanizing and at least three of the locations would be of some interest to the tropical fruit growers and so here goes:
Forum member Peter of Finca la Isla has a phenomenal grove of tropical fruits and is a proponent of permaculture which also interests me. I took a tour with his son, Kiawe, who looks to be assuming the mantle of the next generation of tropical fruit growers. Hurray! If I remember correctly, Peter bought this property, which was an old cacao plantation, about 25 years ago. The land has a large ridge, a steep slope of secondary forest and a flatter area near the bottom. By leaving the slope with its native vegetation, all the rain that passes through it drips down onto the bottom, bringing with it all the nutrients of the slope. As a result, no fertilizer is needed for the trees at the base of the slope. In comparison, a neighbor spends $8000/year on fertilizer and gets about the same results in terms of production. Although there are cacao trees at the bottom, they are subject to molds. The main cacao orchard is at the top of the ridge, where the breezes keep the fungal infections down, so they do not have to be sprayed. The ground level of the bottom area is left wild and tree falls are left to rot in place. It does not look like an orchard. They have lots of mangosteens which are sold locally. Jakfruit, breadfruit, maracuya…take a look at the website for a complete list. After the tour, I sampled some of the fruit and visited with Peter who was busy making chocolate.
Tasting Table at Finca la Isla
Peter Kling
I went to CATIE which is a tropical fruit research station in Turrialba. Due to a mixup, I ended up at the wrong end of the gardens and walked in from the back. I missed a formal tour, but I walked for hours in the misty rain through acres and acres of cacao trees. They have hundreds of different varieties/species of cacao. Some of them have spectacular flowers.
Cacao flowers
Also cacao flowers of a different species
Pueblo Yorkin is a settlement of indigenous BriBri that is reached by dugout canoe or a two hour walk through the forest. A generation ago, realizing that their men were dying young, poisoned by the pesticides in the banana groves, one woman put her mind to developing another way for her people to work and survive. They now give chocolate tours of their village, culture and chocolate making. I will post information on the chocolate making in the off-topic section, if I can find it.
Grinding dried cacao beans in Yorkin
The overarching theme here is sustainability. Peter has put more than 25 years into developing a sustainable commercial orchards and products. CATIE maintains a living data bank of genetic material. Yorkin BriBri are carving out a sustainable lifestyle for their people, with their three goals: Protect the forest, Protect the people, Protect our culture.
Erica
Venus
9b
Topic: Costa Rica February 22 through March 8, 2016 (Read 2141 times)