Monteverde : Ecology and Conservation of a Tropical Cloud Forest

Deliberate fires are regulated by the Ley Forestal (For-
estry Law), which prohibits burning forests or
areas adjacent to forests without a permit. Permits
are granted after a site inspection, and upon evidence
of containment measures (Law 7575, Article 35, pub-
lished in the Costa Rica Gazeta Vol. 21, No. 72, 16
April 1996).

In the Monteverde milkshed, burning is probably

environmentally unsustainable in the long term. In the

short term, it may be the most profitable system in the

lowland areas and on the more economically and ag-

ronomically marginal farms. The profitability of this

pasture management system will probably decline

over time.

MONTEVERDE'S KITCHEN GARDENS

Katy VanDusen

f you ask Costa Ricans in the Monteverde area if
they have a "huerta" or vegetable garden, usually
the answer will be no. If you ask what they pro-
duce in their yard near their house, they might list fif-
teen or twenty products. Traditional home gardens in
the Monteverde region, as in most of the tropics, are a
seemingly disorganized array of trees, shrubs, herbs,
root crops, and animals. They are agroforestry systems;
about half the crops may be tree crops. Kitchen gardens
supplement the family diet and provide medicinal
plants, firewood, live fenceposts, and other materials
and a pleasant environment around the house, protect-
ing it from sun and wind (Table 11.8).
Traditional gardens require less labor and other
inputs than temperate-zone row gardens. Work in the
garden is often shared among all family members and
maybe done sporadically. Because many of the crops
are perennial, they do not need replanting or frequent
weeding. Seeds are purchased for only a few crops
(e.g., cabbage, carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions). Seeds
are exchanged or saved; vegetative material is used for

propagation. These home gardens do not require

fences to protect them from animals. Rather, animals

are an integral part of the system, roaming freely in

the garden. Chickens are the most common animals

and help to control insects, recycle kitchen scraps

without the need for a compost pile, and fertilize

plants directly. Commercial fertilizers are used selec-

tively in traditional home gardens; manures and ashes

are more frequently applied.

Although these gardens can have considerable out-

puts for the minimal inputs they require, they are of-

ten considered marginal or insignificant by those who

promote temperate-style row vegetable gardens. Tra-

ditional gardens may not maximize production of

widely recognized fruit and vegetable crops, but they

efficiently fill an important niche in the household

economy. One study concluded that this under-

studied form of agriculture was one of the few agro-

forestry systems that could simultaneously meet

household, economic, and conservation goals in the

humid tropics.

Table 11.8. Common plants and animals in traditional kitchen gardens (for scientific

names, see Table 11.6, Appendix 1).

English Name

Trees

Avocado

Guava

Grapefruit

Jocote

Lemon

Orange

Sour orange

Sweet lemon

Spanish Name

Aguacate

Guaba

Guayaba

Toronja

Guitite

Itavo

Jocote

Limon

Naranja

Naranja agria, naranja acida

Limon dulce

Use

Fruit

Fruit

Fruit, firewood, tree climbing, shade

Fruit

Live fenceposts, host to orchids, edible berries

Live fenceposts, edible flowers

Fruit

Fruit

Fruit

Fruit (for juice)

Fruit

(continued)

412 Agriculture in Monteverde: Moving Toward Sustainability

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