Vegetables/Fruit Gardens on North Coast

ecarignan

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Jan 9, 2003
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Hi all,

I realized that different fruits grow in the DR compared to Canada but I am wondering if the regular veggies and fruits from Canada will grow in the DR.

I'm thinking carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, strawberries, apples, oranges and the likes. Would it grow if we would bring seeds and plant them?

Has any ex-pats from north america growing this stuff or sticking to bananas, pineapple and other tropical fruits/veggies?

By the way, it's my wife that's asking for that, not me. Not that much into gardening but I like the good veggies.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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strawberries,no,apples,no,All the other stuff yes!

I have planted seeds and grown lots of things! Check the seed package,it will tell you (usually a map of colors) if you can grow in "HOT" climates.If you can grow it in Florida,you can usually grow
it here.Dominican tomatoes are really poor quality.Lets see what you can do!"Bell Peppers"are very expensive here.If you like them,try and grow some.Melons,grow very well too!I plant the seeds from Mangos,avocados,and papayas.I also grow my own platanos,and bananas!They call "Limes",Lemons here.Dry some yellow lemon seeds and bring them to plant.You will have fun if you like to grow things here.You might want to study "Orchid Growing" ,they are very popular here!
Cris Colon
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Cucumber,carrots, lettuce. cabbage, garlic,beets, oranges,onions, and a number of melons,potatoes,..etc are all grown in the Dominican and are quite inexpensive. One thing to note is, you often see fruit and vegetables with blemishes. Try to buy from the markets. For example in Jarabacoa they have several excellent indoor fruit vegetable markets.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"Bob",is not bitten by the "Gardening Bug"!

Its all about growing your own!!!!! I have planted seeds from the US.Bring some sweetcorn seeds!!! They eat "Field Corn" here! You get a mouth full of starch!Will you have space for Gardening???Try for a cantalope,and a big juicy watermellon!!!The local cucumbers are very good.Onions are sometimes good,sometimes not,same for garlick,same for carrots!Dominican celery is worthless,always hallowed out by insects!If you can grow a "Beefsteak" tomato,I will go to your house with a salt shaker,and we can eat till the juice runs off our elbows!!!Cris
 

andy a

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Feb 23, 2002
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ecarignan,

You seem to think that there is a dearth of certain vital foods in the DR and you're right.

In other countries, one often sees huge stacks of garden vegetables at curbside markets, but not in the DR. If found at all, they're usually not very fresh, or only at the biggest supermarkets.

I think that it's more a matter of lack of demand than lack of seeds. Despite the fact that Dominicans are hypochondriacs, their health must surely suffer from their very poor diets. They seem to take more pleasure out of complaining about their health than in eating the kind of diet that would give them needed vitamins and minerals. They eat few garden veggies in general, but almost no legumes or green, leafy veggies at all.

One would think that in a country of such poverty "victory gardens" would be everywhere.

BTW, leave your Canadian grown oranges on the tundra - the DR has excellent ones as well as other tropical fruit.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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You don't know where to look

If you were to go to Los Hospedaje in Santiago, or El Mercado in Santo Domingo you would find pile and piles of Caulifower, Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Bell peppers, gree Peppers, Tayota, Cabbage, Lettuce (2 or 3 varieties), green beans, egg plant (2 or 4 varieties), sweet potatos, yucca, ?ame, yaut?a, beets and all the fruits in God's Green Earth.

A visit to Nacional Supermarket will produce the same.

There are strawberries, no apples, peaches or pears, nor apricots or cherries. But there are passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, mangos, , acerolas, avocados, oranges, limes, limoncillos, cocanuts, and ten or twenty more that I know but can't remember their names....all for sale alongside most roads to POP.

Corn IS a problem. I have tried sweet corn and the lack of sunshine seems to dwarf it. But if you know where to buy corn you can get the local stuff a the perfect age and it is delicious, with much more flavor than the blander sweet stuff....

Oh yes, you can get all the Oriental veggies you want, too.....

Some things I have not seen are Spinich, rhubarb, kolrabi, turnips, tomatillos, Brussels sprouts (Horray for that), and home grown lettuces like Endives and some of those.

Hrummph!!

HB
 

D & D

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Jul 17, 2003
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Veggies

I've got the silver and golden queen variety of corn seeds, but no place to plant them. Brought a whole sack full of different types of seeds and have turnip & mustard green seeds coming. Anyone close to Villa Gonzalez with a garden plot? I'd be happy to do a co-op.

By the way, my bush beans are coming along, but the pole type are not. Only got a few plants to come up.

Dianne
 

andy a

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Feb 23, 2002
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Just my point Hillbilly.

Most veggies are probably available (therefore the seeds, too), but are hard to find. Certainly the people living in poor barrios are not out scouring roadside stands to find healthy food.

Those veggies that you say you haven't seen are probably the most vital and nutritious of all - things like greens, which are all mineral, vitamin, and fibre.

Yes, I'm aware that this last group is cold natured, but even they could probably be grown in the "winter". I see many trucks coming down from Constanza loaded with cabbage, the least nutritious of the family. Why not the other greens?

I personally eat a lot of broccoli in the DR, although I have to look for it. It is probably grown near Constanza. Why don't more Dominicans eat it?

BTW D & D, turnip greens are my absolute favorite food of all - the more bitter the better. The winter variety is the more bitter, but would probably have trouble growing in the DR. The "summer" variety is your best bet, but even it doesn't like the really hot weather. Good luck.
 

Jane J.

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Jan 3, 2002
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Hi HB - I used to buy colas de bruselas but I don't remember where. And turnip seems always to be available at Playero, under the pseudonym nabo.

(My 7-year-old pointed out to me the other day that turnips and brussel sprouts have the exact. same. taste. He's right - they do! Love them both.)
 

Peter & Alex

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May 3, 2003
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Growing for fun!

You can grow most items here providing your seed comes from a source where the climate is hotter. UK & European seeds just bolt!! I grow lots of different things but just for fun and the challenge as you can get most veg here. My best results are with cherry tomatoes - we must give away 25-30 pounds of the little devils every week, and that's just from 12 plants!! Pinch out at the early stages and then just let em grow! Mine are 8 feet high and wonderful!!
European flowers suffer even when you've struggled to get them to germinate - they just can't stand the heat!
Pole beans seem to flourish but only those with a white flower, the red flowering UK runner bean gets eaten by the birds!! Dwarf french beans can do well.
All root crops struggle unless you water constantly.
All types of lettuce tend to bolt very early, even the bolt hardy ones, we just pick them when they're very small.
Carrots do well but will split if you overwater and grow small nodules on the main root if you don't.
As I said earlier - it's a challenge!!
 

D & D

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Jul 17, 2003
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Veggies

I can understand that turnips and other cold weather types might have a hard time, but it seems that any veggie that would grow in the deep south would work here.

I have four roof top beds that are aprox 4' x 10'. Regular black dirt and lots of bat doo, but the soil is too heavy and feels a little gummy when wet. I plan to add a good bit of sand and sawdust in an attempt to "lighten" the soil before planting anything else. Do they sell vermiculite here?

Right now, the beans (that came up) are looking good with blooms starting to pop out. I also planted leaf lettuce under the banana trees and it is doing okay. Tastes nice and sweet, but the leaves are still small. Plan to try some yellow squash when the lettuce is finished.

Maybe if we talk to some farmer in the mountains, we could get some of the other cold weather varieties going. A DR1 truck farm.

JJ, the nabo I saw looked like chinese icicle turnips. Are those the ones? Guess I'll have to buy some and see how they cook up.

D&D
 
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sami

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Aug 7, 2003
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please describe to me what the turnip looked like. I have never seen a "neep" here and always have some one bring one, when they have been overseas.
Yummy!!!!;)
 

Jane J.

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Jan 3, 2002
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The "nabo" I used to see was round, pale purple in colour....quite big.....and turnip-like. Someone should check to see if they still sell it at Playero in Sosua.
 

D & D

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Jul 17, 2003
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Veggies

The ones that I saw at the National in Santiago looked very much like a big parsnip.

The type that I always got a t home (Georgia) where wihte on the bottom & purplish on the top (quarter to third) and either squatty round or slightly elongated.

If anyone see the "real deal" around here, please sing out.

By the way, I've got itty bitty beans! I suppose that says a lot about my lfe, or lack thereof, when baby beans are the high point of your day!

Dianne
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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itty bitty beans!

It is a good thing if your beans are growing. It is good for the soul. We find that with a small drive into the mountains, we get most all the veggies that we would need or want - and I don't have enough time to grow veggies anyway...

But .. Herbs! Can never find fresh enough herbs. So now I have a few packets of seeds, a little sweet basil, some lemon grass, some thyme, parsley, rosemary, cilantro and to round this off, a few packets of nasturtium seeds to provide color.

The pots are all ready in a cool place on the veranda and this weekend is planting time... I can't wait!
 

D & D

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Jul 17, 2003
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Veggies

Chris:

Where in the mountains do you go? We've heard people say that you can get almost anything "there", but we don't know where "there" is.

As to watching things grow, I'm no gardener (as I've said before), but I do get a kick out of my little garden. We've had enough leaf lettuce to make one salad so far. The rest is coming along nicely. Our beans should be ready in a few weeks. Looking forward to a good country veggie dinner. Green beans, fried okra, fresh creamed corn, cornbread with lots of butter and sliced tomatoes. Anyone care to join us?

I'm also experimenting with fresh (straight from the cow) milk in hopes of producing some good old fashioned buttermilk. I can't understand why I can't find it here since it is a by-product of making butter. Maybe they do, and I just haven't looked in the right place.

Dianne

ps: Good luck with you herbs. All I got were several pots of weeds, but they were healthy!
 

Chris

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Oct 21, 2002
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From Cabarete, we sometimes take the Tamboril road to Santiago. There are quite a few little towns with vegetable stands. I get most of what I want from these vegetable stands. Also, I buy good vegetables in Sosua. Sometimes, if I'm really motivated, I make it into Cabarete at around 7 in the morning and wait for the vegetable trucks to come by. There is always something interesting - and really fresh - on the small vegetable trucks. It is not a planned thing and we prepare meals around what we get. If the lettuce is not good, we make up with a fresh cabbage salad, or we get creative with all kinds of combinations of raw veg. I really like the little yellow dominican potatoes (cooked, not raw). Have tried most of the roots and if I only can remember the names - these roots are known around our house as "the big brown hairy ones", or the ones that are "quite white with a little purple inside". All of them are good oven baked. A favorite vegetable around our house is actually platana - when they've turned very yellow, just around the time when they start turning black. Wash, cut a slit in the skin and pop in a medium oven. It is a good day when we find fresh mushrooms in the Playero in Sosua - Last time this happened, I bought 24 packs - mushroom soup, mushroom sauce, mushrooms and steak, mushrooms with salad - and so on. I usually find broccoli and caulifower in the Playero in Sosua. Spinach is usually disappointing, so we buy frozen.

Oh man, I love good food!