A big move-resources for gardening?

[AllyRodrigues]

My husband and I have decided to move to his hometown in Para, Brazil. (Specifically the town of Rio Maria).We should be there by the end of the year. For the first time since the age of 15, I will not work. Thus, I thoroughly plan to take advantage of my new loves of gardening and photography there!

As far as I can tell, this area would be considered the equivalent of Zone 14. It's tropical all year with a wet/dry season. It's a very rural area, so I'm hoping for any gardening resources before I go-I'm not likely to find anything like that there.

Does anyone have any good ideas? books to recommend? I'd like to stockpile information and take it with me. Has anyone ever gardened in an area like that?

Popular fruit I've seen there includes, banana, passion fruit, cashew, papaya, guava, jabuticaba, and acai. What I (strangely) don't see there are many home gardens. I'm interested in what vegetables I might plant in my own garden that I will have, though.

Thanks for any insight anyone has!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I got 7 degrees 3 minutes latitude off the equator for Rio Maria. I've worked at 4 degrees north in Nigeria and 4 degrees south in Angola. I'm not sure how much difference there would be to 7 degrees. Unfortunately I was not in any position to see what people were gardening in either case. In both cases I was stuck in a very isolated construction camp, one of them offshore.

Mangoes and pineapple were pretty prevalent and really nice both places. Nigerian pineapple was the best I've ever had.

Other than that I can't base anything off what I saw there.

I'll throw out some thoughts and see what others come up with. You might look at true yams. Not the sweet pototoes we mistakenly call yams but the true tropical yams. There is a big difference.

Tomatoes and peppers are perrenials in warmer climates. It might be worth taking a few seeds just to experiment. Maybe eggplant too.

In the New Orleans area merlitons were pretty popular. You can google those if you are interested. Those might work. I enjoyed them stuffed.

A couple of things I'd probably do. Contact his family and ask what they grow in their gardens or what they see in the local market. You never know what that kind of ideas might come up in a conversation. I don't know how well you know his mother but asking her for information and help might be a decent move.

You might contact the Brazilian consulate and see what they say about growing crops there. The Brazilian consulate just might be your best resource for accurate information.

 

[AllyRodrigues]

Thanks!

I am familiar with merlitons-I've heard them called chayote! I've never actually eaten one, though!

You're right-pineapple, mango, and avocado are also big there.

When I've been there, vegetables are not terribly popular at all. It's a rice/bean/meat diet.

I have only ever seen one variety of tomato. I've never seen beans other than soy and pinto(a big export).

I guess I'll take what I'm inclined to think will grow and just try them!

 

[curly_kate]

I don't have any advice, but I wanted to say good luck! What an exciting change! Keep us posted on your adventures there.

 

[ninnymary]

Ally, I'm so happy for you and wish you the best! Take as many seeds as you can and try to grow everything. I hope you can take seeds from here.

I just love papayas. The small ones from Hawaii and not the big ones from Mexico. I pay $2.98 ea and have to buy several just for me.

Mary

 

[digitS']

Wow Ally, all the way to the tropics.

Let's see, we had a gardener who was in Puerto Rico when TEG was first starting.

Maybe if you want some additional advice you would find it by looking up "Warthog" in the TEG user list. She is Janet Gregory in Belize. That might be somewhat similar. Janet's adult son passed away a little over a year ago and I'm not sure if she was gardening this season. Her last post was back in mid-winter but you could send her an email. She seems to be a very nice lady.

Maybe we can get you to shoot off down into Argentina since you will be in that neck of the woods . I have a feeling that there's somewhere down there near the Andes and just before you hit Patagonia that is an environment a lot like what I'm facing here in my corner of the world.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

Wow you are very brave. I cannot imagine going out side to pick a mango ripe from the tree! Orchids growing in the flower garden????I would think you will have fresh fruits and vegetables every day. I didn't even know there was a zone 14. I hope you will be able to keep in touch and tell us about your exciting gardening life!

 

[897tgigvib]

Oh my goodness! That'll be a real adventure. Make sure you go to farmer's markets to see what they are growing. I understand corn should do real well, and I bet cantaloupes and watermelons will grow great.

 

[nachoqtpie]

Oh you should definitely take a Nacho seed and plant it next to a beach, water generously with cool drinks with little umbrellas in them, and shade with tall hunky Brazilians with 6 pack abs!! I bet it would thrive really well!!


Good lucky Ally!! Are you still going to be posting on here and FB??

 

[AllyRodrigues]

Thanks so much, guys. It is a big scary move. Particularly because of the region. People's eyes light up when I say Brazil-then I have to clarify that it is not the beaches of Rio. Where I'm going is a notoriously poor region at the edge (or actually cut out) of the Amazon. Living in this zone is like stepping back in time 50 years, but that's partly why I'm hoping to find it appealing. On the other hand, the justice system that I find comforting here in the U.S. is non-existent there. People often handle disputes in their own way and of course, no one ever sees anything. The upside is that you don't really hear about random crimes there.

I absolutely will still post on here as long as my internet connection allows for it! The advice here is invaluable and the people charming!

I know seed restrictions for importing have loosened up lately, but I'm nervous of attempting to bring any in. I considered mailing them prior and just seeing if they arrive. I also thought of trying to bring them in on the flight and claiming them..At least I'm being honest and the worse they can do is not allow them, I guess.

I think that many things we grow in hot zones here would grow there-it's just that people haven't ever heard of them!

Thanks to everyone for their advice and references!