New Gardener Moved to South America.. Need Advice!!

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one4truth Recife, Brazil(Zone 15) Feb 13, 2015

Hello, so happy to have found this site!! My family and I recently moved to Recife Brazil, in the north eastern corner of South America. We live 4 blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. It is typically between 90-110 F everyday 9 months out of the year and sunny. The other 3 months its 80-90 and rainy everyday. We managed to bring seeds of some of our favorite veggies from the US when we moved. We have a ton of herbs ie. dill, basil, oregano, cilantro, chives... and a number of fruits and veggies, watermelon, canteloupe, green beans, pickling cucumbers, different squash', and a number of hot peppers, habenero, jalepano, chili... the only thing i have really had lasting success with is the basil. this is honestly my first attempt at a garden so I am completely lost. because there is a language barrier I am not able to find a place to test the soil or anything like that. I bought around 300lbs of compost and have some organic plant food we brought from the US. Aside from that I am like a toddler with gardening! I like to play in the dirt but thats the extent of my knowledge. Any pointers that could help us succeed in actually having a garden year round would be greatly appreciated. I am mostly concerned with the peppers and cucumbers.....

This message was edited Feb 13, 2015 11:00 AM

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RevWhitebeard Riverhead, NY Feb 15, 2015

Hi One,
First off, welcome to Dave's Garden spot. There's some great stuff here so start digging!

Things you need to consider and use to help you here: Zone -- you've got to look at zone 9 and 10 plants...and tips. Sun/Shade: If you want to grow northern veggies there, I hope you have some shade! As you'll learn, there are some cultivars of familiar herbs and veggies that do well there. In Cuba, for example, where I'm most acquainted with the hot sun, oregano grows well but it's not the same cultivar I grow here in NY. There are a ton of peppers that will do fabulously for you, but some relief from the direct sun and plenty of water are needed. Consider well what is grown locally. Build or buy structures that will give you some shade...at least relief from the mid-afternoon sun...such as lean-to or simple overhead slatted cover.

With a bit more research and some experimentation, you'll get a nice garden going.

Wishing you well.

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kittriana Magnolia, TX(Zone 9a) Feb 18, 2015

There are many more peppers in S Am than you realize, chuckl. They can become trees down there... order a few catalogs like some of these

http://www.seedsofchange.com/catalog_request.aspx

www.rareseeds.com


http://www.cayennediane.com/BigListofPeppers/Big-List-of-peppers.html


And you will find even more plants to love, many of our seeds have come from many different lands, look around you and visibly see what you find growing as plants can tell you the type of soil they are growing in and like. Gardners may not understand the words, but they understand the love of growing and sharing.

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