Nicaragua Farmer's Almanac

Submitted by VidaVerde on 30 September, 2005 - 07:40.

Group,

There is a lack of information on planting and harvesting times in Nicaragua. I hear stories of two crops per year of various veggies. I hear that there are shortages of things like onions at certain times. And I just generally don't understand this, but I sure would like to. It seems to outsiders that you could just drop seeds in the ground and they will produce no matter what, because of Nica's great climate and generous water.

What is the truth about all this? I would like to explore planting, and compile a "book" for the farmers and gardeners among us to share with others that come along.

The ONLY piece of information I have today is that corn is harvested in late August (which, co-incidentally, is the same time it is harvested in the US). That means that it is planted in April, at least here in Oregon. But which planting/harvesting times are the same as what we are used to in the US, and which are different?

This is what I would like to see, initially: For those of you with actual planting and harvesting experience in Nicaragua, could you respond with the following information:

1 - name of crop or plant (ie: corn) 2 - planting date for your area (ie: April 10) 3 - typical harvest date for your area 4 - your location (ie: Corn Island) 5 - your approximate altitude (ie: 3 meters) 6 - whether a second crop can be done, and if so, when.

I would sure like to see info for such things as onions, peppers, melons, cukes, and even harvest times for fruits like oranges, apples, pineapples and the like. Is it most dependent on the angle of the sun, or the precipitation, amount of sun/clouds, altitude, or what?

I would like your opinion on whether hybrid crops are a viable possibility in Nica. The seeds cost maybe a dollar a bag in the US, and they are cheap to ship in, BUT, they do not self-propagate. So are they too expensive for Nicaragua, or is the enhanced taste or storage capability of a hybrid something that would be worth looking at.

Finally, I would like your opinion as to what commercial crops could be grown in Nicaragua, other than the staple of coffee and a few others. If ANYTHING will grow at one time or another, then why limit ourselves? Get in a high dollar crop that puts more on the table and is more price-stable than coffee, and help out the growers.

Please also feel free to add entries for specialty or otherwise little-known crops, as there was plenty of stuff in the market that I did not recognize in Esteli and Granada.

So here is the first limited entry:

1 - field corn, planting date unknown, harvest date August 30th, location Esteli, Altitude 1000meters, no second crop.

I will post some soil and precipitation map links that I have of Nica when I can dig them back up.

Thanks for your help and further suggestions!

-Carl Christy (Oregon) Jinotega or Bust!

‹ What are books?up

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Crop Comments

Submitted by Miskito Alan on 24 October, 2005 - 07:16.

"Farmer John" is successfully growing and harvesting okra, butterbeans, squash, bell-pepper, and some other things in Puerto Cabezas. For some reason the sweet potatoes and the turnip greens did not grow properly and of course; those are actually roots in the ground.

I will be able to add more "seasonal info" later.

Different fertilizers were used in experiments and the best fertilizer has not yet been determined.

Onions were mentioned in the "blog". I know that 8-10 years ago, a son of Samuel Armador of Matagalpa was onion-farming on a grand scale. The onions were shipped by containers weekly from Matagalpa to Rama to Miami.

I posted previously the link to the 200 employee "okra operation" on the Pacific Coast.

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Shipping in seeds to Nica

Submitted by VidaVerde on 23 October, 2005 - 22:45.

Group,

I have at least one source for you for shipping seeds into Nicaragua from the US. Can anyone tell me the legality of getting seeds through customs in Nica? I have shipped parts into Nica before and they made it, but never anything live.

Here is your link: http://www.dianeseeds.com/seeds/shipping.html

Gurney's won't ship outside the US, and they are my preferred seed house.

All the best,

-Carl

Customs

Submitted by cjtowerman on 23 October, 2005 - 23:13.

That link, if I understand it correctly, indicates they only do non-u.S. orders of under $50, which is not a huge order - depending, I guess, on what type of seeds they are. If they were small orders, why customs concerns, unless it was done outside the general post service (like DHL, or whatever)? We routinely ship seeds (usually opened from the maker's paper envelopes, and bagged/labeled in little mylar baggies), crammed into a mailing tube in a way that they make no noise when the package is shaken back and forth. We just ship like that to people with p.o. boxes in Honduras or Nicaragua. As long as the tube is less than 18" long, and weighs less than 2 lbs, it goes directly to the p.o. box, without any customs matters (assuming it left the U.S. with the small green postal customs form, not the large white one). Of course, this would mean double shipping, first from the seeder to a friend in the U.S., then to you or someone in Central America. Buying direct saves $, but can be a liability, depending on what you want to do. My guess is that seeds, labeled or not, factory package or not, have the potential for being a customs nightmare, but perhaps especially so if they come in a box from a U.S. company.

Importing seeds

Submitted by cjtowerman on 16 October, 2005 - 23:38.

I cannot comment directly on your question, but would refer the curious to a comment or two made in another post (which, like many, took on a life of its own!). It was originally about spices, but then the question of seeds arose, and whether or not sending them via the mail required permits or violated importing laws on plant matter, etc. Here is the link down below. I am not sure what the actual law is, and if it applies to basic seeds for flowers and food. My guess is that the answer will vary from answerer to answerer, and that the head of customs, agriculture, etc., might not even agree on what one may do, "legally". It would be nice to find some sort of official statement, somewhere. Nearly every person I know in Central America has seeds sent down to them (via the U.S./Canadian post).

http://www.nicaliving.com/node/1251

I'd love to have a read of this information

Submitted by arlington on 16 October, 2005 - 23:15.

I too don't quite understand the seemingly seasonal availablility of crops. With daylight variations of only 1/2 hour throughout the year I would think that with timed crop rotation and good organic soil management practises multiple crops all year long ought to be the norm. Unless, of course, irrigation isn't practical in the dry season and rain rots the seed in the wet season.

Okra

Submitted by Miskito Alan on 4 October, 2005 - 07:11.

Carl -- I don't know if you my blog on okra. Link below.

"Okra" in Chinadega Submitted by Miskito Alan on 17 September, 2005 - 12:21. Currently 120 manzanas are utilized in Chinadega and this operation employs 200 people and will eventually employ 500 people.

"Farmer John" and "Miskito Alan" have serious competition.

http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/cronologico/2005/septiembre/14/economia/ec...

Carl -- Which One?

Submitted by Miskito Alan on 2 October, 2005 - 09:14.

Miskito Alan asks if that is "edible" or "editable"? ____________________________________________________________________

Edible Almanac

Submitted by VidaVerde on 3 October, 2005 - 16:22.

Hi Miskito Alan,

If we print it on rice or corn paper... or maybe Fyl can supply us with some tasty colored pixels and fonts for this node?

I remember the packing (shipping) kernals of old (before they were all plastic extrusion crap) used to be made from a corn slurry, and were actually edible!

"Edible" is better than almost anything, in my book. Just add bebidas!

-Carl