It was only one year ago that the new L'Acul model garden was designed. Since that time, we have enjoyed a beautiful transformation of a track of ground that was once only land fill. After the walkways were put in (to keep people from compressing the soil by walking on the planting beds) we contoured the planting beds and reinforced the garden with terraces that would hold the soil during heavy rainy periods. We used fallen tree trunks, boulders, citronell grass, and picket fences made from coconut palm and other tree branches. We lined the stone pathways with a bamboo railing, which later took root and now we have our own bamboo source for poles and plant supports.

Composting was our first concern, since we needed to build up our planting beds and enrich the soil. We used sugar cane bagasse, chicken manure, donkey and horse manure, green and dried leaves, banana stalks, and peat moss. There was always a steady stream of table scraps since we eat almost fresh vegetables and fruits daily at the L'Acul guest house. In the tropical temperature, compost will finish rapidly and so we have been able to maintain our planting beds and enrich them every time they are replanted.

We are so fortunate to have four working fish ponds in our garden. They are full of big tilapia fish and are naturally fed by water composts (made the same way land composts are made). The fish are big and healthy, eating the algae and bugs that grow on substrate in the water. We use palm leaves and bamboo among other things to provide plenty of feeding stations for the fish to graze. The water is a beautiful green color and provides wonderful nutrients to our garden everyday when we water. We have always had the problem of how to fish out the ponds, since they are mud bottoms and fish can bury in. A net is rarely efficient and even draining a pond doesn't get all the fish. Our desire is to begin selling fish by the bucket to market ladies nearby to resell, but getting the fish was a problem. One day, just as a fluke, we had one of the young neighbor boys to give fishing a try. He came with a line and a hook and a few small shells with crabs. He baited his hook, tossed out the line, and immediately brought in a big fish! 5 minutes, 5 fish! A few days later, we had 2 boys try again. Same thing, throw out the line, pull in a fish! Now we know we can get a bucket of fish anytime we need it. The only problem is we have to keep this our secret!

Nearby the ponds we have planted a hedge of moringa. There is no need to allow the trees to get too tall to harvest the leaves, when keeping it trimmed at a convenient height not only makes harvesting easy, but will not shade the gardens or ponds. Several times each week we toss a few moringa limbs into the ponds for the fish to nibble. We have also found that they like carrot tops and papaya leaves. New varieties of moringa have very long seed pods. You can also just plant a limb from the tree and it will grow. We used a large tree trunk for our center support on the grape arbor and now it has a full canopy of leaves growing out the top! Moringa is called the "miracle tree" because it is so nutritious. Go to the web if you'd like to find out more about it.

We use a treadle pump to pump pond water up the incline to the holding tank. Water is then used to water the upper garden either by bucket or gravity fed with a hose. The treadle pump only takes minutes to fill the tank and seems to be a source of fun for the garden workers.

Our garden is a mix of fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Because it can be seen from the front gate, we like to keep it pretty so people walking past will be inspired. Inside the front gate and along the drive to the compound is a steel espalier containing several varieties of fruit trees: orange, grapefruit, key lime, and caranbola. There is also some renegade passion fruit. (It grows all along the block fence along the drive) The purpose of this design is to show how you can have fruit trees growing without blocking the sun in your garden. The trees are trimmed both front and back, allowing only branches to grow sideways. These are then fastened onto the steel rods. The top only grows to 4 feet tall and is then topped. The fruit will produce just as it would if not trimmed, or at least this is what we are expecting. We hope to see fruit in the next several months (or years ?). The garden also has many pineapples, bananas, papayas, avocados, coconuts, two grape arbors, and a large breadfruit tree. There is one mango tree (a hybrid) that produces huge fruit that tastes like a peach!

The vegetables that we grow include: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (both hot and sweet), beets, eggplant, okra, onions, lettuces, mustard, beans, and many herbs, like parsley, celeric, and dill. Two of our favorite vegetables are wing bean and Malabar spinach. Wing bean grows on a trellis and has a pretty blue flower. The bean is square and can be eaten raw in salad when it is small or cooked in soup when it is mature. Malabar spinach is a tropical spinach that tolerates heat, dryness, and even rain. It reseeds by itself and is very hardy. We eat it in salad with beet tops, fresh green onions, leaf lettuce, tomatoes and cukes, and top it with dressing made from garlic, key lime juice and dill. Yum!

We use as many different gardening techniques as we can but still try to utilize things that a poor family can find without cost. Old used tires make excellent potting containers, (and they are free). They are turned inside out and form a nice pot. Old cans or boxes, just about anything that is otherwise discarded can be put to use. We have a tire of tomatoes on the roof of our gardener's cooking shed to show that any space is up for grabs. This also keeps the family goat out! Old cans with holes punched in the bottom are great watering cans.

The variety of flowers we can grow is only limited by space. The original zinnias that we planted are still reseeding and holding quite true to form. We move them around a lot since they drop their seeds into planting beds or along walkways and tend to crop up in the strangest places. A big blue morning glory gave us months and months of beautiful color. Hibiscus, bougainvillea, sun flowers, gaillardia grow well to. We have finally got daisies and cone flower started, so we have new flowers to look forward too.

Inside the walls of the compound is where the fish hatchery and nursery are located. Recently we built ten baby fish stations where we start "sexing" week old fish by using hormone food to make them all male so they will not over populate our mountain fishponds. While we were at it, we built a pergola over the cement septic tank and planted three planter boxes with a kitchen garden and flowers. We used bamboo baskets to plant other ornamentals to soften up the graveled yard. The breeder tanks and fingerling tanks are nearby. One batch of fingerlings can easily total 1000 fish. It takes an average of 150 fingerlings for each mountain fishpond. In the last two weeks we have taken up 800 and there are many more waiting to go.

As you can see, gardens, fish, and trees all go together like "peas and carrots" (or in this case "rice and beans"). It is just the natural combination. All this is done so that we can gradually train people both around our home and up in the mountains on the importance of improved nutrition and how this can improve health, energy, and their lives.

We hope to encourage more people as they see what can be done with a small space and a little work. We have plenty of extra food to share with neighbors and mothers in the nutrition program. Every week they ask about getting a new vegetable to plant at their house! We took a big leftover salad out to the beach for the kids to taste. You should have seen them devour it! Now some of the kids are asking for lettuce to plant in their gardens. They have also become familiar with dark greens, like mustard and spinach, along with moringa leaves to put in their rice. Little by little we are making a difference and enjoying the fruits along the way!

Kathy Land
L'Acul horticulturist and "fish Mama"