Most tropical soils are deficient due to a lack of organic matter and nutrients such as calcium, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and magnesium. Everything in the Amazon Rainforest is alive, thus, unlike temperate and Boreal forests, there is no thick layer of organic matter. This makes farming in the tropics especially challenging.
Fortunately, there are some interesting exceptions to this rule, as well as a number of methods for building and enriching soil. We use lime, biochar, compost, and mulch to build and improve our soil.
Planting Soil, Sacha Inchi Seeds, and a Jungle Nursery
We make compost by mixing the cleared brush with cow manure.
Mr. Federico shows the workers how it’s done.
We mill our own posts for the Sacha Inchi vines on site.
Working in the Amazon isn’t for everyone. It takes exceptional strength to thrive in the high heat and humidity.
Agronomist, Louis, expertly trains the seedlings before planting.
A thick layer of mulch protects the roots of the plant and discourages insects from damaging the vulnerable stalks.
We wait for the vines to become established before we begin inter-cropping with legumes and beneficials.
Each of the four to seven lobes of the star-shaped Sacha Inchi seed pod contains an individual seed.
Frequent harvesting of the Sacha Inchi pods spurs the vines to produce more seeds.
Once harvested, the Sacha Inchi pods are sun-dried until they turn dark brown and split open.
This Sacha Inchi seed pod is ready to be husked. After we extract the seeds, we use the husks for mulch.
