Tierra Mitica’s organic garden is one of the most evidently magical locations on our land. This is because it is a place where one has the ability to participate directly in the process of creation and the cycle of life in a hands-on creative way. There is no one more passionate about our garden than its foster mother, Sara.

Sara has been intimately involved with the garden since its creation, nurturing it with her vision, inspiration, and love, as well as learning from the many challenges that arise from the reality of rearing an organic garden in the wilds of the Peruvian jungle. The garden has been Sara’s favorite place since moving her life to Tierra Mitica and she has many fond memories of sitting in the Mandala garden (the lower field) at the end of a long day of work, admiring the progress made during the day as well as the beautiful views of the surrounding hillsides while enjoying a relaxing cup of Manzanilla tea brought to her from her (now) husband, Ferd. “The garden is our baby,” says Sara, who alongside with Abel, our expert Peruvian gardener, have already provided us with the ingredients for delicious salads, stews, and soups using the fresh organic veggies from our soil.

Recently, Sara and Abel have been doing battle with insects who have been eating our crops away. This challenge has been pushing Sara to get creative with her methods of dealing with the hungry pests in an effort to keep our garden organic while at the same time respecting the natural balance and harmony of the native ecosystem. Sara mentions that,”[she] would like to find a way to let the insects eat while allowing us to eat as well,” and she has tried multiple times to dissuade the insects from devouring our harvest by using natural pesticide/deterrent methods such as covering the soil with coffee grinds, coating the leaves of our plants with coffee and Mapacho (tobacco rustica) juice, and placing cups of aromatic onion garlic juice at the base of many affected plants, all to nil or ill effect. The problem, says Sara, is that by clearing the land using slash and burn methods, we destroyed most of the indigenous food supply for the insects in the area who now have no other choice but to eat our food that replaced theirs. Sara is now beginning to look into other possibilities of dealing with the insect problem, “If we really want to eat from our garden, we need to learn from the locals,” and thankfully with the help and knowledge of Abel, as well as Ruben our head curandero Maestro and his medicinal garden, we have many exciting avenues to explore!

Coming up in Part II… Plant Spirits, Curanderos, and Old Traditions