Visiting nearby property, garden update

Costa Rica ducks in pondMario made arrangements for us to visit a nearby friend of his who wants to develop his land for rural tourism and camping. The gate to Johnny’s property was just up the street from Mario, however access to the land isn’t fit for a car so we had to walk for about 15 minutes through right of ways passing through other people’s farms. The main attractions on the property are several man made ponds. Johnny built a complex system that diverts water from a nearby spring to feed the ponds and provide water for the family that lives there. The ponds were full of fish and attract many types of birds and other wild life. We walked around the farm for several hours and collected large quantities of water apple fruit, unripe mango and coconut seeds for our property.

water applesThat was the first time I tried a water apple. They are sweet, watery and refreshing. We were given a large sack to take home. John and I could never eat all the water apples before they spoiled so I decided to make jelly. This was my first attempt at making jelly and it turned out wonderful. I’m thinking of pairing it up with a good chocolate truffle recipe that I have.

The rainy season has begun and with that sowing of vegetable seeds. Mario created some more raised beds for me and we planted beans, green beans, radishes, mustard greens, lettuce, squash, carrots, onions, cilantro, cucumber and watermelon. It’s been only one week since we planted the seeds and just about all have already germinated. It’s incredible how quickly things grow here. Most of the trees that dropped their leaves and then flowered in the dry season now have lush new green leaves. A tree sapling that was just a few inches tall when we moved in seven months ago is now taller than me. This area is definitely a gardener’s paradise!

The first picture was taken at Johnny’s pond. The second photo is of water apples still on the tree and the last is of a large mushroom we spotted during a walk on our property.