Visit to a Papaya Farm in Santiago Dominican Republic -video-

I was invited to a small papaya farm in Santiago. It was a good time. They made chivo for us and treated us really nice.
[video=youtube_share;zHGWfk7UQvY]http://youtu.be/zHGWfk7UQvY[/video]

Hillbilly said:

HB (Sorry, did not mean to be harsh)

Click to expand...

I don't take your comments personally. Truth is I am still learning about all this so its always good to learn something. I have a youtubechannel, and I encourage you to take a look. I am very new to the hobby of growing things outdoors, and I have had a lot of hits and a lot of misses. Practically everything is new to me when it comes to farming and tropical fruits.

This guy does export his fruits. He says he rotates different crops. Previously he was selling hot peppers to New York for 500 pesos per pound. The lechosa have been in the ground for about 6 months and he bought them as little trees, maybe seedlings. I called the farm small because it is only about 26 tareas, which is smaller than 5 acres.

I thought that land had been imported. I commented on that to the people at the party and they told me that the land in Santiago and Moca is like that. So, learned something new. But, I didn't edit the video because it shows my authentic thoughts and feelings in the moment that I was looking at it all.

Xavier_Onassis said:

Someone told me that according to the shape (round vs elongated), lechozas are machos or hembras. I think the plants themselves have gender, but what about the fruit. I admit that I am not an expert, though I did manage to grow a few papayas in my yard in Miami.

Click to expand...

My understanding is that there is a male tree and a female tree. I don't think the male tree produces fruit, just flowers which pollinate the female trees. It would be nice to get some clarification about that though.

sayanora said:

Thanks for the video, I checked out your other videos and in all my life I have never seen an abiu here, maybe look around and find one now. It definitely looks like the zapote family like you mentioned. One question, from your videos I can't really tell what your intentions are, do you plan on starting a farm in the DR for export or just interested in agriculture as a hobby?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I got the Abiu from a guy named Alfonso who lives in the Cotui area. He is kinda popular for having about 100 kinds of fruiting plants on his land including many citrus, durian, jackfruit, miracle berry, abiu, mangosteen, nutmeg, and a bunch of others.He sells his lil treelings for 50 pesos apiece, except the mangosteen set me back 150 pesos apiece. When you arrive to his property you notice all kinds of fruit just waiting to be picked and eaten including oranges, carambola, jaboticaba and more. This is what was in season in mid October when we went. They absolutely had no problem with us taking as much fruit as we wanted for free. We only had to pay for seedlings or treelings.

I am currently looking for some land where I can plant all my lil babies and expand my collection. My intention is to start a farm not too far from the city and maybe do an eco-tourism attraction and bed and breakfast - something my Dominican relatives can operate for income and which will allow me to indulge the hobby. I am inspired by these guys:

In Puerto Rico:
Montoso Gardens Botanical Garden and Online Nursery
GOVARDHAN GARDENS ECO-ORGANIC FRUIT NURSERY

In Australia:
Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm - Bed and Breakfast Accommodation at Cape Tribulation - B&B - Daintree Rainforest

P.S. Do you know how easy it is for a man to get caught up in all kinds of "vices" here in the DR? I get up in the morning worrying about seedlings instead of other things which could cloud my mind. This hobby is something I enjoy, and helps me focus on something productive and fun. That is not meant to be a judgement on anyone. It's just that since I am a man with a family now (did you notice the baby at the end of the video?) I'd just like to focus on more wholesome activities.

pelaut said:

Our lechosas always got ruined by wasps drilling holes in them to lay there eggs there.
At least until we hung yellow plastic cups on the boles and filled them with water.
An old-wives DR tale, but it worked!

Click to expand...

Hillbilly said:

1) Those holes in the small fruit were done by birds, probably woodpeckers.

Click to expand...

Ok. So are those wasp holes or bird holes, or from some other kind of pest? Anyone know for sure?

Criss Colon said:

"Durians" here in the DR???
I can't even imagine a Dominicano ever trying some of those!!
Maybe the Chinese buy them.
I actually enjoy them.
To the uniniciated,they smell like rotten flesh, mixed with my dirty under ware!


CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Click to expand...

Criss,

I did not see or sample the durian fruit. I just bought a couple of the seedlings. Would be nice to go back when the tree if fruiting.

Criss Colon said:

Or,Maybe NOT!
Sayanora, "Durian" is not a member of the "Papaya" family that you and many are familiar with.
It has a very thick skin, inside you find "Baby Poop Yellowish" thick creamy flesh, surrounding some big smooth seeds.
If you find the smell of papayas offensive, the Durian smell actually makes some people "PUKE".
Imagine eating a picnic lunch in the middle of a "Garbage Dump", .......times 10!
"Yum Yum"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It even draws flies by the dozens when you cut one open.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Click to expand...

I think I am going to return to that farm soon and get some video as well.
Where did you try Durian Criss?