Cozumel Gets it’s Gardening On: Works Towards Sustainability by Laura Wilkinson

Spring is here, and Cozumel Island is now full of avid gardeners.  Due in part to last year’s Rotary Club courses on composting and gardening, many island residents are now completely taken with the idea of growing their own food, composting or just creating pretty outdoor living spaces.  In fact, recently, I’ve had the opportunity to hear about and visit some of the really interesting “plant” things happening in the island.

One of the first places I visited was Moringalinda.  Long time island resident Linda Legault has been growing moringa plants, considered to be one of the best super foods in the world, and a great source of protein, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and other minerals.  Linda harvests moringa’s  raw potential into natural pestos, breakfast spreads and “moringa balls.”  Moringalinda’s products are available through her facebook page.

My next stop was at Laura Salazar’s “Huerto Organico,” located in the jungle just off the transversal road.  Many of you are familiar with Laura’s organic basil or arugula, which she delivers in town at harvest time.  Laura has cultivated a wide variety of lettuces, kales, arugula, bok choy, and tomatoes.  Her products are organic and she uses home compost, as well as humus created here in Cozumel.  The “Huerto Organico” is only open by previous appointment, so if you’d like to visit, or hear about what fresh produce she has for sale that moment, contact Laura via facebook.

Speaking of humus, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Adrian Medina and Coz-Humus.  Adrian, who has taught classes on composting, uses 100% natural compost with ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, seaweed, trimming or pruning debris, manure , coffee and sawdust.  After 6 – 8 weeks he then adds red earthworms, who over the course of the next three months, create a super fertile and healthy soil ready for plants.  The entire process, from garbage to soil, takes about 9 months.

Lastly, there’s the Lucy family, who’s been working together with residents of Las Fincas, one of the island’s poorest colonias, and the Ciudad de los Angeles Orphanage to create a healthy sustainable garden out of the jungle.  Currently they have about 30 species of plants, and the project continues to grow.  To learn more about their garden, how they came to the island, and what they do, check out their blog. It’s well worth the read.

Also of note,  both Laura Salazar and Adrian Medina have mentioned that if there is enough interest, on island, they would be willing to teach a home composting/gardening course here on island.  Please contact either of them for more details.

This story originally appeared in the weekly Cozumel 4 You NEWS – the island’s number one source of positive information about our island!  Be sure and subscribe to the weekly NEWS to find out all the island events!…

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Laura Wilkinson

Author at Cozumel 4 You

An ex-Connecticut Yankee who has called Cozumel home for over 18 years, Laura ran away to the Caribbean years ago, bumped around the islands teaching SCUBA diving, lost some time in Jamaica, and finally stopped in Cozumel for a 2 week vacation that hasn’t ended yet. With a degree in Journalism from a fancy private college she convinced her parents to pay for, Laura writes, edits, and creates the weeklyCozumel 4 You news,social media, and promotional articles about the island, as well as moderates the Cozumel 4 You Facebook group, which currently has over 25,000 members. Her long suffering husband, Fabian, has long since resigned himself to having zero private life, as he’s been involved in her various schemes and plots since his arrival. Proud parents to a variety of rescue dogs and cats, Laura continues to be the bane of her traditional Mexican mother-in-law’s existence, as she muses her way through life in the Mexican Caribbean.
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Una ex yanqui de Connecticut quien llama hogar a Cozumel desde hace más de 15 años. Laura escapó al Caribe hace años, desplazándose de una isla a otra dando clases de BUCEO. Se dedicó a perder el tiempo en Jamaica y finalmente se detuvo en Cozumel para pasar unas vacaciones de 2 semanas que aún no terminan. Convenciendo a sus padres que pagaran una elegante universidad privada, obtuvo su título en Periodismo y Laura crea semanalmente Cozumel 4You, medios sociales y artículos promocionales sobre la Isla y también es moderadora en el grupo Cozumel 4 You en Facebook que actualmente cuenta con 25,000 miembros. Fabián, s umuy tolerante marido, desde hace mucho tiempo se resignó a no tener vida privada, pues se ha visto implicado en los diversos proyectos y planes que urde Laura. Son orgullosos padres de diversos perros y gatos rescatados. Mientras contempla su paso a través de la vida en el Caribe mexicano,Laura continúa siendo la pesadilla en la existencia de su muy tradicional suegra mexicana.

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