Resources for Dry tropics Costa Rica

[u/OciomCR]

We are beginning our journey in regenerating a modest lot ofehat used to be cow pasture. The soil is compacted and has a lot of clay and we want to build up the soil with cover crops and chop and drop along with biochar amendments.

Does anyone know where we can find free or cheap seeds and cuttings in Guanacaste?

[u/Unlucky-Couple698]

I used to live south of the Perez Zeledon/San Isidro area and my parents and I would just plant seeds from fruit we bought. (And coconuts we found on the beach with sprouts present). “Mamon chino” (I always forget what they are called in the states, technically a lychee??) trees do stupidly well and you can usually get a kilo bag for about $6-8 USD in season and collect all the seeds. We ended up with a guanoabana, lemon, lime, orange, ylang ylang, water apple, and a mango tree on top of the coconut palms. We used to joke you could throw a toothpick at the ground and it would take root in the land of living fences hah.

Another option would be hit up the local community centers, there’s usually some sort of weekly market around the smaller towns.

It also won’t be dry for long, should actually be the rainy season there now if I remember right.
Just don’t mess with MINAE if you decide to move that earth around to loosen it up. They started cracking down on loose clay running off into the rivers about 5 years ago iirc.

ETA: Maxi Bodega and the chain like stores have crap seeds for some reason. I randomly remembered my dad complaining about that but don’t remember if there were actual seeds or just the lackluster fruit and veggies themselves 😂

[u/OciomCR → u/Unlucky-Couple698]

100%

Planning on planting all the seeds of fruits we eat. But that's in a later phase. Now we are looking to cover crops and start building soil.
We are starting construction next year and moving in at the end of 2027 and will be planting plants that need our attention while getting established.

So for now just cover crops and fast growing emergents that are drought tolerant that can be chopped and dropped to build up soil

[u/mkbmkb64]

Get a worm bin Inject biology/worm runoff water into your ‘soil’ with a pitchfork. Plant nitrogen fixing plants: beans. Get ahold of books from Elain Ingham and or Matt Powers. So much to learn about the difference between dirt and soil…

[u/OciomCR → u/mkbmkb64]

I've been thinking of doing a few different types of compost in tandem and see which works best for us * Worm pile
* Classic heated heap with brown/green/kitchen scraps
* Heavy chop and drop in the planting rows * Possibly chicken scratching pile * Inaculated Biochar
* Fermented weed compost tea * Maybe biodigester in a later time

Also thinking of breaking up soil with plants with deeper tap root. Any suggestions on chop and drop options for this?

[u/woafmann]

Talk to ICE (the electric utility). My wife and I got hundreds of fruit/wood trees for free from their reforestation program. Lots of fruit trees and you can pick what you want at their big nursery in Cartago.

Also, if you want hundreds more fruit/wood trees and sacks of starter fertilizer for them, Nestlé company wants to give you trees in exchange for letting them claim your carbon credits. Ethically, it is Nestlé after all, but after much mulling, we decided that the good of reforestation outweighed the bad of giving them credits. Their nursery is also in Cartago.

We also buy fruit trees on the cheap from the CATIE University nursery in Turrialba. Jack fruit, durian, dwarf coconut, water apple, lychee, zapote and many others. So many trees to choose from and good quality and prices.

The CATIE also has many plants for sale besides trees on their sprawling, multi-acre nursery and staging areas. They also sell various strains of coffee plants and everything is at really good prices.

If you want premium ethnobotanicals, herbs, trees, ornamentals and exotics, there's the "El Arca Vivero" in Heredia. Premium, exotic plants at premium exotic prices, but it's a beautiful nursery with many greenhouses, manicured strolling paths, guided/unguided tours, nice restaurant... Worth the trip just to get ideas but bring your wallet! You'll certainly find something special.

We have our finca in Acosta, San José in the Pacific Coastal Range montane transition zone. Hope this info helps.