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Growing berries in Costa Rica



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Published on Saturday, November 2, 2024

By Victoria Torley

 



Berries, oh my, such deliciousness!


When I was a kid, summer was berry season.  There, the best time to plant berries is in early spring or early autumn.


Strawberries, raspberries, redberries, blueberries, cranberries and blackberries. Berries on your cereal, berries over ice cream, berries made into jam. The world was full of wonderful berries.


We arrived in Costa Rica in 2010, to find only two little black raspberry bushes growing near the road.


Thanks to the birds, and a little transplanting of small bushes, we now have six large patches of raspberries on various parts of the property, and we have a lot of room for more.


More is better.


We have gone from picking a handful now and then to picking a gallon or so every two days. Since blueberries don’t grow where we live, black raspberry pie has come to dominate the “dessert” menu.


And what a dessert it is. There is only one problem. My oven has died an unnatural death. At least we think it’s unnatural. So. now I need a new oven. The berries? A simple solution, freeze them. Even we can’t pick and eat a gallon of berries every two days.







Come to think of it, we don’t want to pick a gallon every two days. Black raspberries have thorns. If you pick berries every two days, you really don’t give the old scratches time to heal before you get new ones. Oh, you could wear long-sleeved shirts but it’s too darn hot for that. Long pants, yes, shirts with long sleeves? I will take a pass.


What to do, what to do. My solution is to shower and then slather antibiotic ointment all over my arms. If that seems excessive to you, you haven’t done much berry pickin’. Berry thorns embedded in the flesh require a different tactic involving needles, enough said. Just try not to get them in your fingers.


Fortunately, our friends also like the berries and this solves the “problem” of the little bushes springing up everywhere (thank you, birdies). Anyone with a shovel and a will to dig can go home with a few and come back later for a few more. In a few years, they can bake their own pies.


But me, bake? Not until I get another oven. Plus I am running out of antibiotic ointment.






Plant of the week. The Plectranthus called Mona lavender is a wonderful short edging or accent plant that does well in the ground or in a pot or hanging basket. It will grow to about 2 feet tall and two wide. Keep it trimmed for neatness. In our bright sun, it could probably use a bit of afternoon shade.



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Find more amazing stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica Garden page. Questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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