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Published Friday, July 24, 2020
All the time in the world and no seeds
By Victoria Torley
This week, I got a great letter from my friend Berni at Pura Vida Hotel in Alajuela, who is a fellow orchid enthusiast. He finds himself with time on his hands due to the covid-19 virus and realized that maybe, just maybe, all that free time could be spent on growing vegetables. Except he ran into a little problem – he couldn’t find seeds.We’ve all had that problem here in Costa Rica. We want to grow little yellow squash or acorn squash or maybe find a zucchini that isn’t the size of a muscular forearm, and can’t. So Berni started experimenting and luckily he has a friend at the Ark Herb Farm ( the place is great if you live in the Central Valley, difficult if you live in a distant province).And Berni is an experimenter. “I figured out how to do the sweet potato thing,” he wrote. Then went on to question the depth for sweet potatoes. Good question too, I usually plant mine on the “shoots up, roots down” and barely cover them. That seemed to work pretty well.Berni tried that thing that went viral on Facebook – cutting off the bottom of celery and the tops of carrots and rooting them, but he found that the carrots don’t make new carrots. And the celery? “Some worked for a bit, but now just a waste of time.” On the bright side, he planted red beans from a bag and now has “a red bean forest” but no flowers. Don’t worry, Berni, you aren’t just making compost, they will flower in time. Just don’t let them get too water-logged. The same goes for tomatoes. Although you didn’t mention tomatoes, here’s a tip – they don’t care for soggy soil, so be careful out there.I’m so glad the garlic is doing well. Plant those bulbs about 1.5 inches deep and 3 -5 inches apart. Garlic takes good drainage and a hot dry season in which to mature, now may not be the best time to plant outdoors. A nice sunny window would be better and lots of compost in the soil and mulch on top. Of course, the maturing garlic will be fragrant, so better take it to a kitchen window.The wispy tops on the green onions may be a sign of too much rain. At this time of year crops can be a crapshoot. Come to think of it, go down to Colono and buy a piece of plastic roofing. Just put four posts in the ground, attach the roofing and put those rain hating veggies under that new plastic cover.That about wraps it up. If ever in San José, spend a night at the Pura Vida Hotel and check up on Berni’s vegetables. And don’t forget to send me a picture or two. Plant(s) for the Week
I just couldn’t help myself – Berni sent such great pictures – so here is a display of his hard work at growing veggies from cuttings and sprigs. Not bad at all!-----------------------Editor's note: More information on this article or about gardening, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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