Gardens
Soil Improvement
After the purchase of our land, our gardens were the first actionable step when we started working on our land. We began with the help of Cristina’s younger sibling, L who inspired our never-ending journey learning about Permaculture. Amongst many other lessons, L educated us on the importance of soil improvement as the soil in our zone is clayish and red - not the most hospitable for many plants.
Our first steps in soil improvement included the exhausting task of making Hugelkultur and Lasagna beds. While we are still learning, we aim to apply Permaculture principles in to our gardens. Though it's not always easy, we do not use any chemical pesticides giving our pollinator friends an abundant and safe space to flutter about. We allow the dried leaves to naturally mulch our areas which eventually decompose leading to healthier soil, water retention, and natural sun protection for our plants & fruit trees.
Lasagna Beds
Our most recent gardening project is implementing a similar technique, called lasagna beds, which consist of layers of greens (decomposing food, compost, coffee grounds, grass clippings, cow manure) with browns (straw, hay, dried chopped leaves) in a 1:4 ratio and finishing with top soil to plant seedlings. As one can imagine, lasagna beds break down faster than Hugelkultur beds as there are no giant logs and sticks to wait for to decompose. We will continue to feed our microbial friends via a compost system that feeds directly into our beds.
Hugelkultur Beds
Hugelkultur beds are beds that employ a layering process to amend the soil from clay to nutrient-rich soil that our plants will love and thrive in. Together, we dug and leveled the beds, added rotting logs, sticks, browns like hay and straw, decomposing food (yum), rice husks, biochar, more rotting food, more browns, and finally a layer of soil. The idea with this type of layering technique is that once the bottom layers break down, we are left with a nutrient dense soil full of beneficial microbes and ready to plant delicious food!
Soil Improvement
After the purchase of our land, our gardens were the first actionable step when we started working on our land. We began with the help of Cristina’s younger sibling, L who inspired our never-ending journey learning about Permaculture. Amongst many other lessons, L educated us on the importance of soil improvement as the soil in our zone is clayish and red - not the most hospitable for many plants.
Our first steps in soil improvement included the exhausting task of making Hugelkultur and Lasagna beds. While we are still learning, we aim to apply Permaculture principles in to our gardens. Though it's not always easy, we do not use any chemical pesticides giving our pollinator friends an abundant and safe space to flutter about. We allow the dried leaves to naturally mulch our areas which eventually decompose leading to healthier soil, water retention, and natural sun protection for our plants & fruit trees.
Lasagna Beds
Our most recent gardening project is implementing a similar technique, called lasagna beds, which consist of layers of greens (decomposing food, compost, coffee grounds, grass clippings, cow manure) with browns (straw, hay, dried chopped leaves) in a 1:4 ratio and finishing with top soil to plant seedlings. As one can imagine, lasagna beds break down faster than Hugelkultur beds as there are no giant logs and sticks to wait for to decompose. We will continue to feed our microbial friends via a compost system that feeds directly into our beds.
Hugelkultur Beds
Hugelkultur beds are beds that employ a layering process to amend the soil from clay to nutrient-rich soil that our plants will love and thrive in. Together, we dug and leveled the beds, added rotting logs, sticks, browns like hay and straw, decomposing food (yum), rice husks, biochar, more rotting food, more browns, and finally a layer of soil. The idea with this type of layering technique is that once the bottom layers break down, we are left with a nutrient dense soil full of beneficial microbes and ready to plant delicious food!
Fruit Forest
Our fruit forest boasts over 50 tropical fruit trees, many of which are now producing fruit! We dug swales for each fruit tree which is a ditch ~50cm deep that captures rain water and stores it below the earth for the tree to access in periods of drought. We add rice hulls around the base of the fruit trees to increase the water and nutrient holding capacity and aid in the amendment and filtration of the soil.
Some of our fruit trees include guanabana (soursop), anona (sweet sop), noni, guava (ice cream bean), bananos and platanos (bananas and plantains), acai palm, carambola (starfruit), mora (mulberry), jackfruit, dwarf coconuts, and citrus trees like limon (lime), naranja (sweet orange), and mandarino (mandarin).
Pollinators
Pollinators are an integral part of our ecosystem. A whopping 75-95% of all flowering plants (food crops) need the help of pollinators. A pollinators role in the reproduction of flowering plants means they also help to clean the air, purify water, and prevent erosion. Unfortunately, when humans spray weed-killing pesticides (Round up) on plants, the pollinators are also killed off.
At Selvática, we strive to provide an environment where pollinators can thrive. In addition to banning pesticides on our property, we have planted hundred of plants that pollinators adore. Our gardens and 200+ flowers in our planter box "walls" attract butterflies, bees, bats, birds, and pollinators of all types to our space and they flutter around freely. Talk about a butterfly experience!
Fruit Forest
Our fruit forest boasts over 50 tropical fruit trees, many of which are now producing fruit! We dug swales for each fruit tree which is a ditch ~50cm deep that captures rain water and stores it below the earth for the tree to access in periods of drought. We add rice hulls around the base of the fruit trees to increase the water and nutrient holding capacity and aid in the amendment and filtration of the soil.
Some of our fruit trees include guanabana (soursop), anona (sweet sop), noni, guava (ice cream bean), bananos and platanos (bananas and plantains), acai palm, carambola (starfruit), mora (mulberry), jackfruit, dwarf coconuts, and citrus trees like limon (lime), naranja (sweet orange), and mandarino (mandarin).
Pollinators
Pollinators are an integral part of our ecosystem. A whopping 75-95% of all flowering plants (food crops) need the help of pollinators. A pollinators role in the reproduction of flowering plants means they also help to clean the air, purify water, and prevent erosion. Unfortunately, when humans spray weed-killing pesticides (Round up) on plants, the pollinators are also killed off.
At Selvática, we strive to provide an environment where pollinators can thrive. In addition to banning pesticides on our property, we have planted hundred of plants that pollinators adore. Our gardens and 200+ flowers in our planter box "walls" attract butterflies, bees, bats, birds, and pollinators of all types to our space and they flutter around freely. Talk about a butterfly experience!
Ground Cover
Ground cover plants have many benefits in the garden. Not only does it help suppress weed growth naturally, it also oftentimes has flowers that attract pollinators. The addition of ground cover to any garden helps control erosion, keep the soil alive and nutrient-dense, and grows well without human interaction. Plus, its beautiful and adds more diversity than plain, old grass.
One of our favorite ground covers at Selvática is Maní, or peanut grass. This special ground cover lightens up our garden with adorable little yellow flowers that pollinators love. It is also a nitrogen-fixing plant meaning it supplies our plants and trees with important nitrogen which is vital for plant growth and cannot be obtained from the air. It's a win-win in our book!
Composting
Living in Costa Rica’s tropical weather year round speeds up the composting process for us. At a higher temperature, food scraps are broken down much faster than in a cold climate.
After our first year managing a compost pile, we decided to take a different route. We have now adopted a very easy method of composting using sprinkler head covers in our raised beds to put our bio bags full of food scraps. We then cover them so animals cannot access the food scraps and allow the breakdown process to begin.
We have implemented eight sprinkler covers into our raised garden beds and move in a clockwise rotation in order to allow the compost to break down with the help of microorganisms and soil dwellers, as well as our warm climate. By the time we come back to the first sprinkler cover, the bag will be [almost] broken down with space for the next one. The soil dwellers can easily access the compost from beneath and help to spread it around the beds, feeding the soil all of the nutrients.
This method of composting reduces the need for human interaction such as temping and turning a hot compost pile and also reduces the nasty smells that can often emanate when a compost pile is not functioning correctly. It’s super easy, even if you don’t have garden beds, you can utilize this method around your yard - give it a try at home!
Ground Cover
Ground cover plants have many benefits in the garden. Not only does it help suppress weed growth naturally, it also oftentimes has flowers that attract pollinators. The addition of ground cover to any garden helps control erosion, keep the soil alive and nutrient-dense, and grows well without human interaction. Plus, its beautiful and adds more diversity than plain, old grass.
One of our favorite ground covers at Selvática is Maní, or peanut grass. This special ground cover lightens up our garden with adorable little yellow flowers that pollinators love. It is also a nitrogen-fixing plant meaning it supplies our plants and trees with important nitrogen which is vital for plant growth and cannot be obtained from the air. It's a win-win in our book!
Composting
Living in Costa Rica’s tropical weather year round speeds up the composting process for us. At a higher temperature, food scraps are broken down much faster than in a cold climate.
After our first year managing a compost pile, we decided to take a different route. We have now adopted a very easy method of composting using sprinkler head covers in our raised beds to put our bio bags full of food scraps. We then cover them so animals cannot access the food scraps and allow the breakdown process to begin.
We have implemented eight sprinkler covers into our raised garden beds and move in a clockwise rotation in order to allow the compost to break down with the help of microorganisms and soil dwellers, as well as our warm climate. By the time we come back to the first sprinkler cover, the bag will be [almost] broken down with space for the next one. The soil dwellers can easily access the compost from beneath and help to spread it around the beds, feeding the soil all of the nutrients.
This method of composting reduces the need for human interaction such as temping and turning a hot compost pile and also reduces the nasty smells that can often emanate when a compost pile is not functioning correctly. It’s super easy, even if you don’t have garden beds, you can utilize this method around your yard - give it a try at home!