This page has some very useful information for volunteers and help improve their agricultural knowledge and experience on the farm. It was originally compiled by Joyce Lee, one of our volunteers in 2020/2021. The farm is constantly evolving and so we will do our best to keep the information up to date.

Key
☼ Sun  土 Soil   水 Water   收 Harvest   — Spacing
0 Year round, 1 Jan, 2 Feb, 3 Mar, 4 Apr, 5 May, 6 June, 7 July, 8 Aug, 9 Sept, 10 Oct, 11 Nov, 12 Dec, 13 As needed

English	Chinese	Family	Optimal Conditions	forest function	Care
Aloe	蘆薈屬 Lúhuì shǔ	moringaceae	better to choose larger edible variety for easier food processing. ☼ bright, indirect 土 grows best in soil with excellent drainage 水 make sure soil is completely dry before completely soaking 收 Remove 3-4 leaves at a time, choosing thick leaves from the outer sections of the plant.		13: small suckers need to be removed
Ambarella Spondias dulcis	太平洋桲/ 沙梨 Shālí	lythraceae (loosestrifes)	☼ full sun 土 The ambarella grows on all types of soil, as long as they are well-drained. 水 moderate watering 收 harvest when seeds start yellowing and wilting	overstory	8: harvest
Avocado	酪梨 Lào lí	lauraceae (laurels)	☼ full, 6+ hours direct , 土 well drained ph 5.5, 水 deeply at least once a week. 收 The fruit should soften within a week or two. If so, this is an indicator that the rest of the avocados are ready to harvest.		6: avocados need to be bagged when young, maybe around June
Arrowroot	粉薯 Fěn shǔ	araceae (arum)	☼ 土 水 收	herb/medium-high
Bamboo shoots	竹子 Zhúzi	poaceae (grass)	☼ 土 well drained ph 6, 水 收 June July August possibly earlier		13: pruning to prevent overcrowding
Banana	香蕉Xiāngjiāo	lauraceae (laurel)	choose varieties which don't grow too large as prone to falling during rainy season. ☼ full best but highly exposed bananas suffer during drought times at least 3+ direct, or 6+ dappled 土 moist to wet 水 Only water when the top 1/2 inch of soil is dry. Test the soil with your fingers before watering, susceptible to root rot 收 year round	overstory	0: prune suckers, cut leaves, cut banana flowers once finished fruiting leave one young shoot per mature plant. two if mature plant is flowering Since banana plants grow so fast, they benefit from regular fertilization during the growing season. Choose a fertilizer designed for vegetative growth; a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5-3-3 is a good choice. During the summer, fertilize your plant every two weeks. When plants are dormant in the fall through spring, fertilize once a month.
Barbados CherryAcerola, W. Indian Cherry	梅麗，西印度櫻桃，南美假櫻桃	bromeliaceae
Black Sapote Chocolate pudding fruit	巧克力布丁果 Qiǎokèlì bùdīng guǒ
Cassava Tapioca, manoic, yuca	木薯 Mùshǔ	lauraceae (laurel)	syntropic secondary/short ☼ full 土 moist well drained best 5.5-6.5 水 收 12-18 months from planting	shrub	13: propagation: cuttings of woody mature plants, approximately one meter, planted 2-3 meters apart weeding: remove climbing vines particularly wild morning glory
Chinaberry taiwan neem, Melia azedarach	台灣苦練 Táiwān kǔ liàn	cupressaceae
Phoenix eye fruit Sterculia monosperma	蘋婆 Píngguǒ pó	malvaceae (mallows)	☼ 土 水 收		8: harvest
Chinese mahogany Toona sinensis	香椿 Xiāngchūn	meliaceae (mahogany)	☼ 土 moist but well drained 水 drought tolerant 收 young leaves		0: fruit, leaves, shoots edible, harvest tender leaves for processing
Coconut	椰子 Yēzi	moraceae (mulberry)	☼ full 土 wet 水 收 beware of falling coconuts	overstory	13
Curry tree	咖哩樹 Gālí shù	lamiaceae (mint/deadnettle/sage)	☼ 土 水 收	medium high, secondary short	0
Eggfruit Pouteria campechiana, abiu, canistel	蛋果 Dàn guǒ	sapotaceae (zapote)	☼ full sun sufficient space to fruit properly 土 moist well drained (mulching recommended) Trees growing in fertile soils tend to produce larger but fewer fruit, whereas trees growing in infertile soils produce many but smaller fruit. 水 收		6: bag young fruit, may need fertilization
Fragrant Manjack Cordia dichotoma, snotty gobbles, glue berry, anonang, pink pearl, bird lime tree, and Indian cherry	樹子仔 Shùzi zǐ	boraginaceae (borage)	☼ 土 水 收		7: harvest
Ginger	薑 Jiāng	myrtaceae (myrtle)	*make sure it's edible ginger variety ☼ protection from full sun 土 moist well drained 水 收 ginger planted with small shoots ready harvest in approximately 6 mos, reduce water as plant dies back to encourage rhizome growth. dies in autumn, remove dead leaves. in spring separate root clumps and replant
Guava	芭樂 Bālè	myrtaceae (myrtle)	☼ full 土 neutral best 水 收 june to august	medium/ secondary-long	prune suckers and water sprouts regularly, Trees will blossom 10 to 12 weeks after pruning; if not pruned guava will blossom in autumn. Thin fruit so that no more than 4 fruits mature on each branch Bag fruit when approximately 50nt size. remove all white webbing, ants, insects. put styrofoam side on, wrap both ends of plastic bag 360 degrees around branch, tightly so that insects do not enter
Hibiscus	芙蓉 Fúróng	malvaceae (mallows)	☼ 土 水 收
Indian Gooseberry Amla	印度醋栗 Yìndù cù lì		☼ 土 light as well as heavy soils except purely sandy soil. 水 收
Jabuticaba Brazilian grapetree	树葡萄 Shù pútáo				A slow growing tree, jaboticaba requires medium to high sun exposure and will thrive in a wide range of soil mediums. In high pH soils, however, additional fertilization should be applied. In general, feed the tree three times a year with a complete fertilizer. Additional jaboticaba tree care may be needed for iron deficiencies.
Jackfruit	波羅蜜 Bōluómì	moraceae (mulberry)	☼ full sun, or at least 3+ hours of direct sun, 6+ hours of dappled sun. 土 drought tolerant or moist soil 水 收	overstory
Lemon	檸檬 Níngméng	meliaceae (mahogany)	☼ 土 水 收	overstory
Lemongrass Cymbopogon	香茅 Xiāng máo	burseraceae (torchwood)
Longan Dragon eye	龍眼 Lóngyǎn	sapindaceae (soapberry)	☼ 土 水 收
Lychee	荔枝 Lìzhī	sapindaceae (soapberry)	☼ 土 水 收
Mango Mangifera indica	芒果 Mángguǒ	Mangifera	☼ full sun 土 best in deep, well drained soil that is slightly acidic. They tolerate dry conditions, waterlogging and moderate salinity.
Mint Mentha	薄荷 Bòhé	areceae	☼ part shade 土 moist but not soggy soil 水 keepkept moist but not overly wet. 收Frequent harvesting is the key to keeping mint plants at their best.
Moringa Drumstick tree	辣木 Là mù	oxalidaceae (wood sorrel)	☼ 土 水 收 full sun, drought tolerant to moist soil	high/emergent, secondary-long
Mulberry Morus plant	桑葚樹 Sāngrèn shù	fabeaceae (bean)	☼ 土 水 收	overstory
Myrobalan Terminalia chebula, Haritaki	米羅巴蘭 Mǐ luó bā lán	Medicinal seed when dried	☼ 土 水 收	overstory
Noni Morinda citrifolia	諾麗 Nuò lì	rubiaceae (coffee)	☼ 土 水 收
Papaya	木瓜 Mùguā	oleaceae (olive)	☼ lots 土 fertile 水 susceptible to root rot 收	emergent/secondary-short
Pea flower	豌豆花 Wāndòu huā	fabaceae (legume)	☼ 土 水 收
Pineapple	鳳梨 Fènglí	poaceae (grass)	☼ 6+ 土 水 1x/week, too wet prone to root rot 收	herb -low/short
Starfruit Carambola	楊桃 Yángtáo	oxalidaceae (oxalis)		medium / secondary long
Sweet potato & leaves	地瓜 Dìguā	pandanaceae (pandan)	full sun, or at least 3+ hours of direct sun, 6+ hours of dappled sun. moist to wet soil	emergent/secondary-long
Tamarind	酸豆 Suān dòu	myrtaceae (myrtle)	full sun, drought tolerant to moist soils	high or emergent/climax
Taro	芋頭 Yùtou	pandanaceae (pandan)
Tea tree Melaleuca	茶樹 Cháshù	convolvulaceae (morning glory)
Turmeric	薑黃 Jiānghuáng	musaceae (banana)	full sun, or at least 3+ hours of direct sun, 6+ hours of dappled sun. moist soil	shrub
Wax apple, wax jambu, Syzygium samarangense	蓮霧 Lián wù	malpighiaceae

Crop Calendar

Tools

Lawn Mower, Weed Whacker, Ladders, Wheelbarrow, Spade, Hoe, Rake, Basket, Rope

Banana care

CHECK for ripe yellow bananas every 2 or 3 days best

REMOVE banana suckers, leave one sucker or young plant per mature or maturing plant, two young with a fruiting plant

SUPPORT Bananas, especially before rainy season

CUT banana flowers when only male portions remain. Use banana cutting pole tool.

BAG bananas

Harvest when first yellow bananas appear, mature plant will die after fruiting. Choose a place on the trunk of the tree to cut, so that when the top part starts bending over from the weight, bananas do not hit the ground. Then harvest and cut up tree and place as mulch

Pruning

Weeds

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As our farm is 100% organic, it attracts a variety of wildlife, including Dragonflies, Snails, Frogs, Turtles, Cicadas, Crickets, Birds, Snakes and occasionally Monkeys

Cleaning

Fasting

For those who are interested, regular fasting serves as a natural way to maintain good health, cure disease and improve your state of mind.  Fasting cleans out toxins and poisonous wastes from the body and helps to maintain a balanced, stable mental state.

The best days to do fasting are eleven days after full moon or new moon (ekádashii) and also on full moon (púrn’imá) and new moon (amávasyá). During those days the effect of the moon is strongly felt by everyone, as the gravitation pulls up liquids towards the brain. By doing dry fasting the stomach is light and liquids are less in the body normalizing the natural tendency of liquids causing pressure on the brain.

The fasting is done from sunrise to sunrise so whole day is spent without eating or drinking anything until next morning when fasting is broken withlemon water and salt. Properly breaking the fast is often more difficult than fasting. It is important to break the fast by drinking at least one liter water (two pints) with freshly pressed juice of two lemons and two teaspoons of salt. The quantity of water, lemon and salt may vary according to individual needs but the effect should be that of a mild natural laxative. Once the bowels are clear it is good to take a light breakfast consisting mostly of fruits or boiled vegetables and a little natural yoghourt. On the first day after fasting, appetite may be big but digestive capacity is less so it is important to eat light meals until the body has fully recovered.