The New Dawn Educational Center

  This food crop is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. It was a highly prized in Babylon and Assyria at least 4,000 years ago!  In Hindu legend the seeds are a symbol of immortality. The Egyptians and Persians ground the seeds into flour, while the Romans made a spread for bread.  Today, in China, Japan and India it is an important source of cooking oil.  Sesame (Sesamum indicum ) or Ajonjolí, as it’s known in Spanish, arrived in the New World Tropics with the early colonists, and many Latin American countries are still today traditional producers of sesame seeds.  Unfortunately, Costa Ricans aren’t big consumers of sesame, so it’s often hard to find fresh seeds for recipes that require sesame… or for planting.  Look in your  local health food stores for sesame seeds.  Only fresh, unhulled seeds are used for planting. Sesame is a strong, slender annual, growing up to 6 feet in height with slender, green leaves.  Its pastel white to pastel lavender flowers form panicles that  later produce capsules full of sesame seeds.  The best planting time is April and May, although a second planting can  be sown in September or October.  A 100 square meter plot can produce 5 gallons of sesame seeds.  Most gardeners tend to plant smaller 5 or 10 square meter plots during the year to harvest smaller quantities.  Enrich the soil with aged compost fertilizer and sow the seeds in rows 15cm apart with 30-40cm  between the rows.  Caring for sesame can be tedious at first, since they need to be thinned and maintained weed free during their first month of growth. Another easier method is to start the seeds in flats, and later transplant them to the garden when they reach 5-6cm in height.    Sesame matures in 90 to 120 days when the plants drop their leaves and the stems and seed capsules turn to a yellow-brown color.  This is the time to harvest the plants and dry them in the sun on a clean cloth.  As the sun bakes the capsules, they pop open and release their seeds.  Threshing the capsules with a stick  gets most of the seeds from the capsules.  Finally the chaff is winnowed from the seeds,  and they’re ready to be stored and used in the kitchen for delights, such as chocolate sesame balls, tahini butter or creamy, sesame salad dressing!  Sesame seeds are a good source of Vitamin C and E, calcium and unsaturated fatty acids.  To make sesame butter, simply toast the seeds and run them through a hand grain mill or blender.  Add a little water or olive oil until the butter is creamy and smooth.  It’s great for salad dressing, vegetable sauces, or natural desserts  with bananas, coconut and honey.  The list just goes on and on.  Children love to work with sesame too.  They get to see one little seed turn into a beautiful flowering bush.   Later when the seed pods dry – open sesame!  Thousands of new seeds appear!  We’ve just harvested a good crop of sesame seeds and we’ll be offering them to interested gardeners in Costa Rica.

SEEDS FROM NEW  DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.

Sesame - grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash - Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill - the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias - colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

----------------------------------------------------------------
ALL PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
• 11/2 Tbs. of baking soda
• 11/2 Tbs. of Bio-land glycerin soap or other natural soap
• 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. of vinegar
• 1 gal. of warm water
Mix all ingredients together by shaking vigorously, then use a hand-held spray bottle to mist plants until they are  wet.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM NEW DAWN
Pau d'Arco Botanical Formula -
An ideal tonic tea for the immune system made from the bark of the famous Pau d'Arco tree, the famous medicine tree of the Incas and Maya. Boosts your natural defenses of the immune system to heal many chronic illnesses, fights infections,     eliminates parasites and purifies the blood. 

Ground Ginger - Excellent for Chinese cooking and herbal tea.  
Jamaican Curry - A hot and spicy seasoning for many dishes.

1300 colones/30 gm packet, postage paid. 

New Dawn Also Offers These Services: 
Overnight Accommodations... $10
Healthy Meals from the Garden... $5
Garden Tours... $5/person
Permaculture Designs for  homes and farms... $100
Weekend Workshops (tropical medicinal plants, gardening and permaculture)... $100/person

         THE NEW DAWN CENTER PRESENTS

                A WEEKEND WORKSHOP ON
                TROPICAl HOME GARDENING

                      SEPTEMBER 1-2  2012

             Welcome to the wonderful world of
                    Ecological Health Gardens

Learn how to:
Plan a natural tropical home garden
Grow fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs
Make natural fertilizers for your plants and trees
Prepare productive bio-dynamic garden beds
Control insects and plant diseases with
safe and natural methods

Our ability to create ecological gardens will be
one of the most important issues of our century.

Cost of weekend course $100
Room and board for overnight guests $50

For more information contact 2770-4229

There are a group of native crops we grow in our tropical garden all the time, which are easy to grow, productive, delicious and very nutritious.  One of these “super stars” of garden is the sweet potato or camote as it’s known in Spanish.  Long before Columbus discovered the Americas, indigenous tribes of Central and South America were growing sweet potatoes in a variety of colors and shapes.    Home gardeners in the tropics can take good advantage of this wonder plant to provide a bountiful supply of nutritious food for the family.  These tubers are a good source of carbohydrates, vitamin A, B1, B2, C, calcium, phosphorus and iron.  And few people know that the leafy tops of the plants can also be prepared as a spinach dish, which is delicious and highly nutritious. 
Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, with long trailing vines and pale lavender, morning-glory type flowers, which seldom make seeds.  Instead, the plant has evolved to reproduce by vegetative offshoots.    So, to grow camotes in your home garden, you need stem cuttings from mature plants to get them started.  If you can’t find stem cuttings from any of your neighbors, don’t worry.  Here’s how it’s done.  The next time you are shopping in the supermarket or local market, select some good-looking sweet potatoes.  You can often find a purple-skinned variety with a yellow interior that is very sweet.  And a reddish- skinned variety, which is orange on the inside that’s not so sweet.  The later is my favorite choice.

At home you can take a medium size tuber and plant it in an 8-inch pot with regular soil.  Plant it so half the tuber with the end of the stem is sticking straight up out of the soil.  Or you can place 3 toothpicks around the middle of the tuber and suspend it in a glass jar filled with water.  Place it in a sunny window and watch it sprout and grow new shoots.  I remember my grandmother doing this with sweet potatoes to create decorative foliage plants.  After a month or so, you will be able to trim the leafy stems for planting.  These stem cuttings should be at least 12 inches long and can be planted directly in a well dug, compost enriched garden bed about 2 inches deep and 2 feet apart.  In about a week, the cuttings will recover and begin to grow new leaves.

As the plants prosper, it’s important to cultivate the soil up around the base of each plant, just like gardeners do for corn, taro and peanuts.  This stimulates the plants to produce more tubers. In 3 to 4 months the new vines will cover the entire garden bed, and new sweet potatoes will be ready to harvest.  You can either dig up a few at a time, or harvest them all at once, and replant the stems again to keep a continual supply of camotes going in the garden.  Remember, too, that the leaves from the stem cuttings are an excellent spinach substitute.  This is particularly good news for gardeners who live in the warmer regions of the country where spinach doesn’t grow well.  Harvested roots can be sun dried for a day and stored in a dry, shady area.  Camotes are wonderful baked and lend themselves to many creative dishes. Here’s two recipes we often enjoy. 

Mashed Sweet Potato and Coconut 
Mash about 3 cooked sweet potatoes with 1 cup of fresh, finely grated coconut, add some cinnamon, allspice, cumin, a pinch of sea salt. 

Sweet Potato Leaves in Coconut Milk.  
Blend one half of a grated coconut with 1 cup of water until you have coconut milk, then strain off the liquid and cook it with a large bunch of chopped sweet potato leaves on low heat.  Add curry, sea salt and pepper.

SEEDS FROM NEW  DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.

Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)
Sesame - grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash - Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill - the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias - colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

----------------------------------------------------------------
ALL PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
• 11/2 Tbs. of baking soda
• 11/2 Tbs. of Bio-land glycerin soap or other natural soap
• 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. of vinegar
• 1 gal. of warm water
Mix all ingredients together by shaking vigorously, then use a hand-held spray bottle to mist plants until they are  wet.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM NEW DAWN
Pau d'Arco Botanical Formula -
An ideal tonic tea for the immune system made from the bark of the famous Pau d'Arco tree, the famous medicine tree of the Incas and Maya. Boosts your natural defenses of the immune system to heal many chronic illnesses, fights infections,     eliminates parasites and purifies the blood. 

Ground Ginger - Excellent for Chinese cooking and herbal tea.  
Jamaican Curry - A hot and spicy seasoning for many dishes.

1300 colones/30 gm packet, postage paid. 

New Dawn Also Offers These Services: 
Overnight Accommodations... $10
Healthy Meals from the Garden... $5
Garden Tours... $5/person
Permaculture Designs for  homes and farms... $100
Weekend Workshops (tropical medicinal plants, gardening and permaculture)... $100/person

       WELCOME TO OUR MEDICINAL PLANTS VIDEO
                FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2012

Kale (Brassica oleracea acephala), which is called col silvestrein Spanish, belongs to the cabbage family, and is most likely the earliest form of cabbage the Greeks and Romans cultivated.   Curly or Scotch kale has grayish-green leaves and very curly foliage.  Siberian or Red Russian kale with less curly, blue-green leaves and reddish or purple tinted stems.  Surprisingly enough, kale grows well in most regions of the country.    kale is one of our most important leafy green vegetables in our diet.  And for good reason too.  Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale also contains sulforaphane, a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.   Gram per gram, kale is one of the best nutritional foods for your diet.  Kale seeds are best planted in flats with prepared potting soil for greater protection in the early stages of growth.  When the little seedling plants reach 5 to 6 cm in height, they can be transplanted to recycled plastic cups with 3 holes in the bottom and filled with a mix of good soil and aged compost.  Keep them in the shade for a day or two, until they regain their strength, and then move them into the sunshine.  After 2 or 3 weeks in the cups, the seedlings will produce new root growth, and can then be easily transplanted into the garden beds without shock.  Kale plants like well - drained, fertile soil and full sun for best growth.  Red clay soils should be treated with small applications of limestone (carbonato de calico) at the rate of 1 kilo for every 10 square meters of garden space to help raise the alkalinity of the soil and increase fertility.   Usually kale leaves can be harvested when the plants are about 2 months old.  You can cut the mature bottom leaves, instead of harvesting the entire plant.  In this manner, kale plants can last an entire year in the garden, providing a continual supply of leaves for the family.    Experiment and see how versatile kale leaves can be in the kitchen.

Kale plants have only two pests.  Cabbage moths love to lay their eggs on the underside of their leaves, which hatch into cabbage caterpillars and are capable of devouring your kale leaves.  Luckily, this can be controlled by spraying the underside of the leaves with a biological pesticide called Javelin (B. Thuringensensis), which is available in all the agricultural supply stores in the country.  The second is the June bug grub, known as “el joboto”, which chews on the roots of many garden plants, including kale.  If you see any of your plants suddenly wilt, chances are there’s a grub beneath the soil eating the roots.  Carefully dig up the plant and eliminate the grub.  Fortunately, kale is very hardy, and can often be replanted in a pot in the shade until it recovers.   If there were one garden vegetable I’d recommend to every gardener in Costa Rica, it would have to be kale.   That’s because kale will grow in most of Costa Rica’s bio-regions and happens to be one of the most nutritious plants on the Planet. 

     WELCOME TO OUR MEDICINAL PLANT VIDEO
            THE BENEFITS OF THE NONI FRUIT

SEEDS FROM NEW  DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.


Sesame- grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash- Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill- the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Lettuce- hot weather leaf lettuce for tropical climates.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias- colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

----------------------------------------------------------------
ALL PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
• 11/2 Tbs. of baking soda
• 11/2 Tbs. of Bio-land glycerin soap or other natural soap
• 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. of vinegar
• 1 gal. of warm water
Mix all ingredients together by shaking vigorously, then use a hand-held spray bottle to mist plants until they are  wet.
---------------------------------------------------------------

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM NEW DAWN
Pau d'Arco Botanical Formula -
An ideal tonic tea for the immune system made from the bark of the famous Pau d'Arco tree, the famous medicine tree of the Incas and Maya. Boosts your natural defenses of the immune system to heal many chronic illnesses, fights infections,     eliminates parasites and purifies the blood. 

Ground Ginger - Excellent for Chinese cooking and herbal tea.  
Jamaican Curry - A hot and spicy seasoning for many dishes.

1300 colones/30 gm packet, postage paid. 

New Dawn Also Offers These Services: 
Overnight Accommodations... $10
Healthy Meals from the Garden... $5
Garden Tours... $5/person
Permaculture Designs for  homes and farms... $100
Weekend Workshops (tropical medicinal plants, gardening and permaculture)... $100/person

NEW DAWN NEWS
For the month of July we are pleased to host Noemie Grenon-Campbell from Quebec Canada and Paul Jensen from Oregon.
Both are studying our course on holistic health care with medicinal plants and have been a great help around the farm.  Our natural building projects are progressing on schedule and our corn field will soon yield corn-on-the-cob.  Our son Erick has also returned from the States to give us a hand on the farm.  Best wishes to all the gardeners out there for a bountiful harvest this year. 
Life's a garden!
Ed

         Since June 15th is celebrated around the planet as tree day, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight  a special tree you can plant in the tropical home garden.  Recently this particular tree has also been making headlines in the media concerning it’s remarkable properties discovered in scientific studies  .  I’m referring to the soursop tree (Annona muricata), which is known in Spanish as guanabana.  The guanabana fruit is one of the most delicious tropical treats you can find here in Costa Rica.    Guanabana fruits are easily recognized in local markets with their heart-shaped form, green, spiny skin and a white, creamy pulp with oval, black seeds.  The pulp straight from these rather large fruits is a bit sour to the taste…thus the name soursop, but with a little natural sweetener, it blends up into a creamy, fruit drink that rivals a milkshake.  It can also be used to make ice creams and other desserts too.
The soursop tree is a relatively small, growing up to 10 meters, which makes it ideal for a home garden orchard.  The young branches and trunk of the tree bear unusual pale yellow, conical flowers which later turn into the large fruits.  The ovate, glossy, evergreen leaves have a peculiar odor and have proven to be valuable as a natural medicine.  You can start your own guanabana trees simply by saving the seeds from a fruit you buy in the market.  Plant one seed per pot filled with fertile soil.  Germination often takes 2 weeks or more, so be patient and water the container several times a week to prevent it from drying out.  When the seedlings emerge, wait until they reach about 30cm tall, and then, transplant them to a permanent place.  These trees do well on a wide range of soils with good drainage. Additions of natural organic compost fertilizer will help to keep the trees growing well.  When a guanabana tree reaches 5 years it can begin to produce fruit.  It’s important to protect the trees and fruits from disease and insect attacks.  Citrus seed oil extracts are effective for preventing diseases and bagging the fruits with recycled plastic bags can protect the fruits from fruit flies without using harmful chemical insecticides.
The leaves, roots and bark of the soursop have also been studied extensively by the University of Purdue’s school of pharmacy.  They concluded that they contain special organic compounds called annonaceous acetogenins, which have the ability to target and kill six types of human cancerous cells. These acetogenins are inhibitors of enzyme processes that are only found in the membranes of cancerous tumor cells, and have no toxicity to healthy cells.  Many of the acetogenins have demonstrated selective toxicity to tumor cells at very low dosages, as little as 1 part per million. 
These studies have confirmed the anti-tumor, anti-parasitic, insecticidal, and anti-microbial activities of soursop, which indigenous people discovered centuries ago!

Details on this research can be found at:    http://www.blackherbals.com/graviola.htm

I hope you’ll join me in planting guanabana trees this year in celebration of the majestic and benevolent nature of the trees that share Life with us on the planet Earth.
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    WELCOME TO OUR MEDICINAL PLANTS VIDEO
                 THE BENEFITS OF GOTU KOLA

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SEEDS FROM NEW DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.
Sesame- grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash- Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill- the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Lettuce- hot weather leaf lettuce for tropical climates.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias- colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

----------------------------------------------------------------
ALL PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
• 11/2 Tbs. of baking soda
• 11/2 Tbs. of Bio-land glycerin soap or other natural soap
• 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. of vinegar
• 1 gal. of warm water
Mix all ingredients together by shaking vigorously, then use a hand-held spray bottle to mist plants until they are  wet.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM NEW DAWN

NEW DAWN NEWS
June has been a great month for us on the farm.  We are fortunate to have Pascal, Bryana and Laure from Quebec with us studying medicinal plants and holistic health care.  These young women are studying different careers in professional health care in their country and it's a pleasure to inspire them with a natural health care model for their future practices.  They have also been a very helpful on the farm tending the garden and helping us with our natural building project.  The weather so far this year has been mild and our gardens are growing well...it looks like we'll be harvesting fresh corn and beans in July!  So much to be thankful for these days. 
Life's a garden!

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Costa Ricans celebrate May 15th each year as “Dia del Agricultor” or Farmer’s Day.  It’s a day of tribute to those men and women who work with the land to provide food for the people of this country.  Costa Rica owes its stable history  and independence to the agrarian society from which it was born.  Since the colonial days, small sustainable family farms predominated all  the landscape of Costa Rica where generation after generation of healthy children were raised on natural foods from these homesteads.  Today that legacy is being eroded by an unsustainable agricultural model that depends on toxic, petro-chemicals.   Each of us can contribute to a stable future by supporting farmers dedicated to sustainable practices or growing our own healthy, natural foods at home.  May is an excellent month to start a home garden.  The weather is favorable for growing an abundance of produce and fruit in every bio-region of the country.  For salad greens, try planting a collection of lettuce, cabbage, mustard, onions, peppers and tomatoes in flats with prepared potting soil.  The flats can be located on the sunny side of the house under the overhang of the roof, preferably on a table to give them protection from the heavy rains.  When the seedlings are about 5 cm tall, transplant them to small pots or recycled plastic cups filled with aged compost.  Let them grow in the cups for about 2 weeks, so their roots recover from the shock of transplanting, and the foliage continues to flourish.  Now the young plants can be easily transplanted to the garden beds without losses from the shock of transplanting or bug predation.
May is also a perfect time to plant green beans, as well as the traditional black and red beans the Ticos love so much.   Green bean seeds are available at most agricultural supply stores, and I’ve found Provider (Provenador) to be a hardy and productive variety.  The seeds are planted about 20 cm apart with a distance of 50 cm between the rows.  Highland gardeners can plant carrots and beets this time of the year.  These crops can be planted directly in prepared beds 2-3 cm apart with 30 cm spacing between rows.  Radishes and turnips are an easy crop to grow for gardeners who live in the warmer regions of the country.  The seeds can be planted directly in prepared beds with the same spacing mentioned above for carrots and beets.  Liquid compost tea applied to the soil around helps to boost their growth and production.
It’s also an ideal time for plant root crops now.    Yuca is a favorite crop of the Ticos that is so easy to plant. All you need are 30 cm sections of the stems.  These stem cuttings are inserted halfway into the ground about 50 cm apart.  By the time the dry season rolls around again you’ll find large yuca tubers under each plant.
Tiquisqui and Ñampi or taros are two more famous root crops I like to call tropical potatoes.  You can buy these tubers in the market and plant them in the garden about .5 meter apart.  Once again, an application of rich compost will boost their growth and production.  Apart from an occasional cultivating of the soil around the plants, you can harvest a gold mine of taro roots around October.  
Here’s an invitation to the wonderful world of home gardening in Costa Rica.

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WELCOME TO OUR VIDEO PRESENTATION ON MEDICINAL PLANTS - THE BENEFITS OF GINGER

SEEDS FROM NEW DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.
Sesame- grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash- Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill- the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Kentucky Wonder pole bean- sweetest green beans.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Lettuce- hot weather leaf lettuce for tropical climates.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias- colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

----------------------------------------------------------------
ALL PURPOSE INSECT SPRAY
• 11/2 Tbs. of baking soda
• 11/2 Tbs. of Bio-land glycerin soap or other natural soap
• 1 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. of vinegar
• 1 gal. of warm water
Mix all ingredients together by shaking vigorously, then use a hand-held spray bottle to mist plants until they are  wet.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM NEW DAWN

As the hot, arid, wind blown days of the dry season come to an end, farmers and gardeners  around the country are preparing for Spring planting.  This is the time of transition to the rainy season, and with the greening of the landscape and budding foliage it’s easy to feel Spring in the air.  Now’s the ideal time to try planting a milpa with the “three sisters”. 

Indigenous tribes from all over this continent developed an essential garden design called “la milpa” in Spanish for growing three major staple crops – corn, beans and squash, which they referred to as the three sisters.  They discovered these crops grew well together and complimented each other.  Today gardeners refer to them as companion plants or a guild as they say in permaculture.   The corn plant provides a support for the beans to climb,  while the beans provide nitrogen to the soil for the plants to utilize. The squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight to retain moisture in the soil and control weeds. Nutritionally these foods complement each other too.  Corn lacks the amino acids lysine and tryptophan, which the human body needs to make proteins and niacin, but beans contain both, and therefore, together they provide a more balanced diet.  Squash provides high levels of Vitamin A to prevent infections and the seeds are also rich in minerals and oils.  To start your own milpa you’ll need at least 10  square meters of garden area to insure the corn plants can pollinate well.  We dig shovel-size holes about one meter apart and then add a shovel full of rich compost in each one, next we plant 3 corn seeds in each spot.  This method seems to produce healthy, vigorous corn plants.  As the plants grow we cultivate the soil around the base of each trio of corn plants to later give them support during the heavy rains.  When the corn is knee-high it’s time to plant 1 or 2 pole bean seeds around each corn hill, so they will climb up the growing corn.  Squash seeds can also be planted at the same time around the perimeter of the milpa.  In this way, as the three sisters grow and mature, you’ll be able to harvest fresh corn on the cob, green beans and young squash at the same time.
  Root crops are also ideal for planting now.  Yuca is a favorite crop of the Ticos that is so easy to plant. All you need are 30 cm sections of the stems.  These stem cuttings are inserted halfway into the ground about 50 cm apart.  By the time the dry season rolls around again you’ll find large yuca tubers under each plant.
  For the kitchen garden, try planting a collection of lettuce, cabbage, mustard, onions, peppers and tomatoes in flats with prepared potting soil.  The flats can be located on the sunny side of the house under the overhang of the roof, preferably on a table to give them protection from the heavy rains.  When the seedlings are about 5 cm tall, transplant them to small pots or cups filled with aged compost.  Let them grow in the cups for about 2 weeks, so their roots recover from the shock of transplanting, and the foliage continues to flourish.  When the plants are hardy they can be easily transplanted to the garden beds without losses due to shock of transplanting or bug predation.
  All in all you will find working in Nature here in the tropics a very rewarding experience.
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WELCOME TO OUR VIDEO PRESENTATION ON MEDICINAL PLANTS.  APRIL 2012 - TURMERIC

SEEDS FROM NEW DAWN   
 Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops. 
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture.
Sesame- grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying
Native Pumpkin Squash- Can be eaten young like zucchini 
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals.
Dill- the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics.
Kentucky Wonder pole bean- sweetest green beans.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Lettuce- hot weather leaf lettuce for tropical climates.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias- colorful flowers for the garden.
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers.
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread
  (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid
Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica.

Call us at 2770-4229
for quick service with electronic banking

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Boric acid (100%) powder is odorless and non-staining. Kills roaches, termites, fire ants, palmetto bugs, ticks, bedbugs, fleas, box elder bugs, carpet beetles, centipedes, crickets, earwigs, grasshoppers, millipedes, scorpions, slugs, water bugs, and many more insects.
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Pau d'Arco Botanical Formula - An ideal tonic tea for the immune system made from the bark of the famous Pau d'Arco tree, the famous medicine tree of the Incas and Maya. Boosts your natural defenses of the immune system to heal many chronic illnesses, fights infections, eliminates parasites and purifies the blood. 

Ground Ginger - Excellent for Chinese cooking and herbal tea.  
Jamaican Curry - A hot and spicy seasoning for many dishes.

1300 colones/30 gm packet, postage paid. 

New Dawn Also Offers These Services: 
Overnight Accommodations... $10
Healthy Meals from the Garden... $5
Garden Tours... $5/person
Permaculture Designs for  homes and farms... $100
Weekend Workshops (tropical medicinal plants, gardening and permaculture)... $100/person

New Dawn News
During the month of April  6 students are attending our one month course on Ecological Health Gardens and Permaculture Design.  Mary Beth Flemming, Drew Holbrook, Pia Lopez and John Ferrell are from Colorado and Clemence de Laigue is from France.  Karen Hall comes from Austrailia.  We are glad to have such a cooperative group with us this Spring to share with them the principles of permaculture. 

After the long, wet, rainy season, the dry season now provides the best conditions for growing tomatoes in Costa Rica.  During the past year, I researched and tested new techniques for home gardening, and one of the most surprising of these new tips is so simple it’s hard to believe.  It’s amazing that a product one uses to relieve sore feet can also produce remarkable results for growing good tomatoes.   I’m referring to Epsom salts, a natural mineral that was discovered in the well water of the town of Epsom England.  In Spanish it’s referred to as Sal Inglaterra, and is available in most pharmacies.  The salts’ chemical composition is hydrated magnesium sulfate (about 10% magnesium and 13% sulfur). Magnesium is important when it comes to seed germination and is also important in the production of chlorophyll. Magnesium strengthens cell walls and helps plants absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Sulfur helps plants produce required vitamins, amino acids, and enzymes.  Often tropical soils are deficient in trace minerals, such as magnesium, and Epsom salts can help to correct this condition.  When plants have an abundant supply of magnesium, they can also absorb calcium and potassium more efficiently.  Magnesium deficiencies in plants show up as yellowing of leaves between the veins and curling of the leaves, as well as stunted growth and lack of flavor.  The best way to apply Epsom salts to a plant is to dilute it with water and apply as a foliar spray that can be absorbed quickly by the plant’s leaves. To make this spray combine 1 tablespoon Epsom salts with 1 gallon of warm water.    This foliar spray can be applied once a month for good results.  Epsom salts can keep your tomato and pepper leaves greener and bushier, while enhancing the production of healthier fruit with better flavor and thicker pulp. It also helps to prevent blossom-end rot, a common disease in tomatoes, which strikes the fruits just before they mature. It’s quite a disappointment for the gardener, who has tended the tomato plants for weeks and greatly anticipated eating the fruits of his labor.  Epsom salts, in fact, will enhance all your garden vegetables and house plants.   It makes a world of difference with houseplants that have been in the same pot for a long time. A cup of the mentioned solution will clear out the accumulation of natural salts in the pot that can cause the root cells to clog, which makes it difficult for the plant to take up water and nutrients. Remember, however, that the secret to a productive garden lies in the soil.  A continued program of composting organic material for enriching your garden soil is the best way to feed your plants.  Epsom salts is a convenient way to fine tune the garden’s fertility for better production. 

Our aim is to promote the use of natural seeds which make up part of the rich bio-diversity of tropical food crops.  
Your seed purchase helps to fund our educational work in sustainable agriculture. 
Sesame- grow your own sesame for home use.
Native Sweet Chile Pepper - hardy bush, needs no spraying 
Native Pumpkin Squash- Can be eaten young like zucchini  
Sweet Basil - good flavor for salads and meals. 
Dill- the young leaves of dill are delicious in salads.
Sweet Cherry Tomato - The best tomato for the tropics. 
Kentucky Wonder pole bean- sweetest green beans. 
Luffa – Native squash that provides natural sponges.
Cohombro – Native squash with sweet, cantaloupe taste.
Lettuce- hot weather leaf lettuce for tropical climates.
Gandul or Pigeon pea- a hardy bush with pea-like legumes.
Zinnias- colorful flowers for the garden. 
Cosmos – colorful wildflowers. 
Native Yellow Corn- for elotes, tortillas and cornbread (each pack contains 300 seeds – price – 2500 colones)

Our seeds are organically grown, non-hybrid varieties that can be grown year after year in your garden from seeds you collect.  Germination guaranteed under normal germinating conditions.  

PRICE- 1200 colones/packet, postage paid 

Seeds and Books are offered only in Costa Rica. 
Call us at 2770-4229 
for quick service with electronic banking 
Or New Dawn books and seeds may be purchased by sending a check (Costa Rican banks only) payable to:  

Grace Benavides Solórzano 
Mail (certified) to:Edward Bernhardt, A.P. 372-8000  
San Isidro del General, CR  

------------Great Tips for Natural Insect Control-----------
Boric acid (100%) powder is odorless and non-staining. Kills roaches, termites, fire ants, palmetto bugs, ticks, bedbugs, fleas, box elder bugs, carpet beetles, centipedes, crickets, earwigs, grasshoppers, millipedes, scorpions, slugs, water bugs, and many more insects. 

NATURAL ALL PURPOSE INSECTICIDE
11/2 tsp. baking soda
11/2 tsp. Bioland glycerin soap
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. natural vinegar
5 cups warm water
Blend all ingredients in blender. Spray on garden vegetables and ornamentals.
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Pau d'Arco Botanical Formula - An ideal tonic tea for the immune system made from the bark of the famous Pau d'Arco tree, the famous medicine tree of the Incas and Maya. Boosts your natural defenses of the immune system to heal many chronic illnesses, fights infections, eliminates parasites and purifies the blood. 
Ground Ginger-Excellent for Chinese cooking and herbal tea. 
Jamaican Curry-A hot and spicy seasoning for many dishes.

1300 colones/30 gm packet, postage paid.

Overnight Accommodations... $10
Healthy Meals from the Garden... $5
Garden Tours... $5/person
Eco-garden Designs for Costa Rican homes and farms... $100
Weekend Workshops (tropical medicinal plants, gardening and permaculture)... $100/person