You can teach old dogs new tricks

One of the things I love about being here in the pueblo and on the ranch with these Mayans, is that almost every day they teach me something I didn't know.  Many things I'd just never thought about.

Today I learned from Salvador, my foreman, how we are going to grow our own coconut palm trees.  I have 20 trees that we planted that are about 5 feet tall now and should have nuts on them (a few) in a year.  But those trees cost almost 400 pesos each (20 bucks).

To grow new trees, you just take some coconuts from the variety of tree you want (short or tall, yellow or green) and put them on the ground on really wet muddy soil.  Just lay them there and they will bust open and sprout.   Wallah!  A new baby coconut tree in the making.

Coconuts costs about 5 pesos each (25 cents).  To get started I have 100 of them coming in a few days and I'll post a photo of them in a few weeks when they've sprouted.  After they sprout, you just pick them up and put them in some soil about 2/3 covered and wait.  In 3 years, they will be about my height.  I hope to eat fruit from them someday, but if not, then someone else will after me.

I've never minded the idea of planting trees that I might not get to sit under the shade of.