What started as a small home plant nursery and dream to create a natural sustainable farm has developed into our 4 hectare farm and nursery. The original mother farm is Espiritu Choretega, which means Spirit of the Choretega Indians who settled in this area many years ago. Previously the land was used for cattle grazing, growing beans and corn. La Hoja Nueva was created when we designed, built and developed the plant nursery and the home & garden center. At la Hoja Nueva we have used permaculture concepts and practices to assist in reforestation, planting native trees, planting nitrogen fixing trees, companion planting using banana circles, timber trees for construction, composting, grey water usage for irrigation, solar water and drip irrigation.
It was our believe that with time, planning and hard work we could build a system that would function on its own. Following the paths of the indigenous people before us, we hoped to allow the property to thrive naturally while creating a live able habitat within for our family.
During the previous 16 years we have planted over 4000 trees and plants on our property. One of strongest desires was to see more wildlife and birds return to the area. By planting we have reforested areas which were barren, as a result recreating new biological corridors. By doing so we have seen the return of many more bird species and regular visits to our house from Howler and White Face Monkeys.
Our farms has over 100 fruit trees planted, 30 different fruit tree varieties, including 7 mango varieties, 4 avocado varieties, 15 citrus varieties and several banana varieties. Some native trees we planted are Caoba, Cocobolo, Ron Ron, Cristobal to name a few.
Our 16 years here in Southern Nicoya provides us a background of experience and knowledge that we can provide for our clients. Whether its a simple selection of a couple trees or a complete design of large property we are can help you. We look at the large amounts of pasture land here in the area as an opportunity to create large areas of permaculture. If we can start allowing nature back into areas by assisting with the permaculture ideas, techniques and practices we will see shortened dry season, regular rains, cooler weather and healthier ecosystems for flora and fauna at the same time providing a more livable habitat for ourselves and future generations.