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Alex
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Florida USA |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Mana: |  |
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 01:52 am |
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First off, let me introduce myself say hello to everyone. My name is Alex and I purchased a small finca in the southern Pacific region of Costa Rica last year. I had originally planned a vacation home, but have been bit by the reforestation bug, which lurks in the selvas of Central America. I do have several questions before I fly down next month and jump in head first. I need to be as prepared as possible as I can only stay a week. It will be hectic as I am also getting ready to build a cabina  .
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Fred Morgan
Sponsor
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 01:56 am |
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Welcome Alex,
Ask away with the questions. We will be glad to answer to the best of our abilities.
Where abouts are you in the Southern Zone?
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Alex
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Florida USA |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Mana: | |
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:05 am |
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I am wondering about if anyone has any information on the planting spacing of species other than teak. I will be staying away from teak for now due to the nature of my finca which is somewhat hilly. I would like to try Ron-Ron, Cocobolo, and maybe Caoba.
Fred, I spoke with you last year and you were very helpfull, answering all my questions. I really appreciate that. I saw in another post that you were not having great luck with pesticides on the Caoba. I was wondering if you had tried starting the trees off in shade, or a companion planting. I have read this makes a difference with the shoot-borer. I would love to grow Caoba, but am weary about the risks.
I was also wondering how long and how many workers it takes to plant an acre or hectare of trees. I realize there are many factors involved in this equation, but a very rough estimate would be great so I can hire the right amount of people to start the process.
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Alex
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Florida USA |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Mana: | |
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:06 am |
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| I didn't realize you had answered so quickly! I am near Dominical, quite close to another large tree farm. we get over 110 inches of rain a year in the area.
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Fred Morgan
Sponsor
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:15 am |
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In Dominical, I would get a hold of the good people at Hacienda Baru - Jack Ewing has been doing reforestation in the area for 30 years. He will know who you need to talk to and what you can grow there.
If you are growing natives, a lot of times you don't need to do anything - just let them grow up and pick the best.
Caoba is hard to grow - and it is doing much better in natural settings. The same is true for Spanish Cedar.
There are places that it doesn't do bad - try a few and see.
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Fred Morgan
Sponsor
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:17 am |
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With a crew of workers (9) we once planted 1200 trees in about 5 hours. This however is deceptive - there was a lot of preparation work ahead of time.
Make sure that you do it right, deep holes are very important - also a soil test.
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Alex
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Florida USA |
| Posts: | 7 |
| Mana: | |
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:26 am |
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| I have hired a tree engineer to evaluate the finca. I went with the Ing. Manuel Viquez Carazo. He runs several sites (http://www.elmundoforestal.com) and is quite knowledgable. You do need to speak spanish for these sites though. He will be doing a soil test. He is hard to get a hold of now as it is planting season, and he travels. Thank you for your help with the questions.
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Fred Morgan
Sponsor
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Posted: Tue Jul 26th, 2005 02:32 am |
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I have heard of him and seen his website - a lot of good information.
Your welcome, keep us informed on what you are doing!
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