Papaya Leaf Cure for Dengue Fever
With the number of people catching dengue fever seemingly on the rise every year in Costa Rica, especially during this rainy season, the demand for a simple and inexpensive remedy has never been higher, and as with so many common ailments, the modern medical system is not very helpful. The good news is that researchers […]
Giant Mushrooms
We found some mushrooms growing in the corner of the shade structure, seemingly connected somehow to the roots of a large Melina tree. We thought they were gigantic to begin with, but they just keep growing larger and large and now are much larger than the original huge size. They’re by far the largest […]
Artificial Wasp Nest for Caterpillar Control
There are hundreds of species of wasps in the jungles of Costa Rica. Many or most are predators of other insects, and we’ve learned that they’re already being used in other parts of Costa Rica to control flies. A Plague of Caterpillars that Eat Spinach and Arugula We have several types of small caterpillars that […]
Natural Predators as Allies on the Farm
Here I’m creating an ongoing article exploring the symbiotic relationship between our farm, and the natural creatures that live in the jungle around us. How can we help each other? What can we do to encourage the right type of critters to come to dine on the bugs and beasts that bother us? The following […]
Rhinoceros Beetle Larvae
Friendly Transparent Underground Monsters We discovered these large, transparent grubs living in the earth near the roots of our bananas. They look thoroughly vile, and with their large sharp mandibles, they seem to be able to deliver a painful bite. They are about the length and thickness of a man’s thumb. No one knew what […]
Using Tarantulas for Pest Control
We are Using Tarantulas to Help Us Control Unwanted Insects The downside of having an enclosed space for growing plants is that not many birds can get inside to help us control the bugs that inevitably do get in there. We need nature’s helpful predators on our side, and since we’ve created a protective bubble, […]
Frog Versus Cat
Every night now, these cute green tree frogs gather at the swimming pool and make an incredible amount of noise. We’ve had a lot of rain, and the salinity of the pool has dropped considerably. So much so that the frogs are now swimming around in it freely, laying their eggs, and we even see […]
Farm to Table Dinners
The volunteers at the farm created our first “Farm to Table” vegetarian dinner here at Rancho Delicioso. We were fortunate to have so many talented chefs here at the same time, so everyone was able to add something. It was difficult to pick the perfect spot for the dinner. The geodesic dome was the most […]
Geodesic Dome
Now called the “Passion Dome” because it’s covered with passion fruit vines, originally we assembled my geodesic dome that I brought from the United States. It needed a lot of repair, and have improved it by adding one meter in height, making it taller give is more space at the bottom, since before, it didn’t […]
Passion Fruit
Permaculturists like to talk about “stacking functions” which means that we try to find multiple uses for an given thing. From that standpoint, Passion Fruit Vine is a dream plant. This incredibly hardy vine will grow on just about anything, so it has many great uses: Fruit: The tasty “maracuya” passion fruit has a […]
