Starting seeds with the moon

Last month I wanted to start some vegetable seeds. I missed the right moon phase and didn't want to wait for the next time so I went ahead anyway. I used my usual method of pre-sprouting in paper towels (sometimes called the baggy method). I put the plastic bag on top of some newspapers on a heating mat instead of my usual place, on top of the water pump. 100% failure. Not one single seed sprouted!

The problem could have been the heat mat but I really don't think it was too hot. It was only set at 85°F (29°C) and the seeds were protected by the newspapers and paper towels. Don't even think that it was too cool − this is Honduras! It could have been the moon phase, but since I'm not completely convinced of that yet (but getting there), I thought maybe my seeds supply had succumbed to the tropical heat and humidity and were no longer viable. I've never had 100% failure of 40 seeds before!

According to my moon calendar, last Wednesday was a good day to start annuals, so I tried again. This time I used coffee filters; the idea came from Rob's Plants (lots of good information in both of these links). Ooh! I really like this better than paper towels. Much neater and I imagine the paper will hold up longer than paper towels for seeds that need more time to germinate. The paper towels always start falling apart after 6-7 days of unfolding and refolding the wet towel.


I slit open one side of the filter, wrote the names of the seeds with a permanent marker and then moistened the filter before placing the seeds on it. The flat basket type of coffee filter might be better, but since I had these cone filters and no longer have that type of coffee maker, I thought it would be a good use for them.

After placing the seeds, I folded the cut sides back to the center, firmly pressing them against the seeds. I then folded this up a couple of times more and placed the filters in a plastic zip lock bag. I placed the plastic bag on the water pump.




First I'm going to tell you what should be done: Check the seeds daily by opening up each filter. This also lets a little air into the bag. As each seed germinates and sends out its tiny little root, the seeds should be planted or potted up immediately to prevent the roots growing tangled together or growing through the paper. For seeds that take more than a week to germinate, you may need to remoisten the paper.

Now I'll tell you what I did: I checked the seeds the next day; nothing had germinated. The second day, I forgot to check. The third day I checked, but not until late at night so I didn't get these babies planted until the fourth day. As you can see, the squash and cukes were way past time for planting.


If a root grows through the paper, it is best to tear off that part of the paper and just plant it with the seed. It will disintegrate and won't harm the roots at all. It's better to do that than to risk damaging the roots by separating them from the paper. The Homestead tomato seeds in the top photo are at the perfect stage for planting.



I potted up the smaller seeds in cellpacks, labeled each cell, and then covered the cellpacks with a clear plastic cover. I love that little stainless steel tool for picking up seeds and pricking out seedlings. It's much better for me than using my fingers. I always end up dropping the seeds or damaging the seedlings.

I potted up the squash and cucumbers in 4" (10 cm.) pots. I usually plant the pre-germinated squash and cuke seeds directly into the ground, but we have had very hot weather alternating with heavy rain storms lately. Since the roots were already so long, but still so delicate, I thought they will have a better chance in pots.

The remaining ungerminated seeds were folded back up in the filters, put back in the plastic bag, and placed on the water pump, to be checked tomorrow.


Another time I think I'll do an experiment, planting some seeds with the moon and some in the wrong moon phase to see what happens. It will have to be with my jalapeño seeds, of which I have thousands, because the rest are too precious to waste! I've done some experimenting. Even though it hasn't been very scientific, I have to tell you that I'm really starting to think there is something to this moon phase business!

Can I mini-size that for you?

Before I left the U.S., the warehouse stores had become really popular. Even the normal grocery stores were getting into bulk sales and restaurant-sized packaging, and many shoppers, including me, seemed to enjoy the value and convenience of large-scale shopping sprees. When you buy army-sized boxes of cereal, 12-packs of canned vegetables, cases of soft-drinks, or 10-pound packages of chicken breasts you don't have to go shopping so often.

That fad hasn't hit La Ceiba, Honduras, yet. A 2-lb box of something generally will cost exactly twice what a 1-lb. box costs and a 4-lb box will cost four times as much, sometimes even more, oddly enough. I often notice that, for example, one bar of soap will cost 7 lempiras and a 3-pack will cost L.24. Doesn't make sense to me.

Because food spoils so much more quickly in this tropical climate, it often isn't even wise to stock up on anything, although I have to admit that I still do. I take my chances because I really don't like to go grocery shopping.

Almost every colonia (neighborhood) in La Ceiba has one or two or several pulperías (neighborhood convenience stores). These are usually a small room in someone's home with a heavily barred window where people can go ask for the groceries or paletas (ice cream bars) or aspirins that they want to buy. El Jefe tells me that they didn't use to have bars on the windows before crime became so rampant in Honduras.

These stores are the Latin American versions of the 7-11's or mini-marts in the U.S. but often without the proper refrigeration facilities. The pulpería owners will even provide medical advice about which pills should be purchased for a sick child. They often extend credit during the week, keeping detailed records of everything purchased. But heaven forbid that the bill isn't paid on Saturday or the whole neighborhood will hear about it.

Many things that are clearly marked "Not to be sold separately" are. The pulperías buy large bags of staples and sell sugar, flour, and beans by the pound or half pound. In these pulperías and even in some of the smaller grocery stores, it is possible to buy one egg, one aspirin, one bouillon cube, or even one cigarette.

Sometimes when a pulpería has been very successful, the owner will open a "mini-super." Mini-supers are in a separate building and are larger than pulperías but smaller than supermercados (supermarkets). Mini-supers will usually have meat and a few more household supplies than the pulperías. The customers are allowed to enter to shop and pick out their own meat and vegetables. Prices at both types of establishments are much higher than the large grocery stores, but people shop there because it is more convenient or because they don't have transportation.

The custom for many Hondurans, especially the poor, is to go out each day to buy what they need for the day's meals. There are several reasons for this:

• Money: Many people don't have steady jobs and get paid for a day's work at a time.
• Credit: A neighborhood pulpería will often allow credit to someone who couldn't get it at a grocery store.
• Refrigerators: Many households don't have one so perishables have to be bought each day.
• Electricity: The uncertainty of electrical power can result in the food being spoiled even if you do have a refrigerator.
• Companionship: The pulperías are the neighborhood hang-outs. It is where people can visit with their neighbors and hear the latest gossip while their children play and the teens flirt with each other.

Pulperías are not allowed in our colonia so we have to go to the mini-mart at the Copena gas station on the highway where they aren't nearly so neighborly. I'll be adding one or two pictures of pulperías later − Sorry, I couldn't get them today.

Mangosteen Revisited

Some questions have arisen since my last article on the Queen of the Fruit so I thought I would try to tie up some loose ends about mangosteen.

Mangosteens are not illegal in the U.S.!
Neither the tree nor the fruit are illegal to grow or to eat. The problem is that mangosteens do not grow very well in the mainland. They need the constant warmth and high humidity of a tropical area and cannot survive at temperatures below 40°F. Is it possible to grow them in southern Florida and parts of California that have climates like southern Florida. They just have not been successfully grown on a commercial level.

Importation of mangosteens to the U.S.
It is currently illegal to import the raw fruit to the U.S. from southeast Asia, where most of the commercial crops are grown, and Hawaii because of the threat of fruit fly infestation. Mangosteens don't typically have a problem with insects but they have stiff sepals on the top of the fruit which provide a perfect hiding place for fruit flies or other insects which could be devastating to other U.S. crops so that is the reasoning behind the ban.

Fruit can be imported from Puerto Rico and 18 Caribbean and Central American countries. This is a Catch-22, as, in general, those countries do not currently have the quantities to make it worthwhile to export to the U.S. A new friend of mine who does grow mangosteens has told me that his crops are sold out for the foreseeable future!

Importation to other countries
The fruit is sometimes available in Canada and Europe, although I have read that it isn't always as fresh as it should be. And for those of you who just perked up because you live near the Canadian border, it is illegal to bring the fruit into the U.S. from Canada, as well. Aussies are a little luckier; mangosteen is grown in the north Queensland area of Australia and also imported from Thailand. India is one of the major producers.

The U.S.D.A. is currently considering a revision to the law which would allow irradiated mangosteens to be imported from Thailand. It will probably take 6 months to a year before the law is changed, but I imagine that very soon after that, mangosteens will become more available in the U.S. Just don't think that they will be priced at 10 cents like I paid!

Serving Mangosteen
If you are able to find mangosteen, don't worry about recipes! Enjoy the pure, unadulterated flavor of it fresh. Mangosteen is most often served chilled, with the rind cut away to expose the fruit inside, as in the photo above. The contrast between the dark, rich purple-red of the rind and the creamy white fruit is really lovely.

From my experience, I would say that cutting the rind is preferable to tearing the fruit open. Make a careful cut around the circumference of the fruit to insure that you don't damage the fruit inside, remove half of the rind and serve it in the other half with a fork. My "Gardening in the Tropics" book suggests that in Malaysia the fruit is often accompanied with another tropical fruit called durian. I have not had durian so I can't say about that. The descriptions of the foul odor of durian have put me off trying it.

Mangosteen recipes
If you don't want to eat them fresh, they can be made into a very good juice (using only the white part), or used in mixed fruit salads or for making sorbets, jams or jellies. It is a very delicate fruit and I haven't run across any other recipes that I think would do them justice. If you are so lucky as to have an excess of mangosteen (not bloody likely!), I suggest juicing the white pulp and freezing the juice for another day.

Mangosteen juice
The prepared "miracle" juices that are on the market at exorbitant prices advertise that their juice includes the "whole fruit," including the rind. The rind is so bitter (yes, I tasted it. Yuck!) that I cannot imagine that this juice could be palatable unless it includes a sweetener or something else to mask the bitterness. The rind is used in homeopathic remedies, but there is a big difference between "taking your medicine" and enjoying a refreshing drink!

Other names
Mangosteen is also known as mangostá­n or mangostí­n (Latin America), mang khut (Thailand), mangis (Philippines), and mangoustan (France).

Wikipedia
Since I am now a mangosteen expert (haha!) I took the liberty of adding a description of the flavor to the Wikipedia Mangosteen article, which didn't include a discussion of the flavor at all. I'm sure that someone out there can do a much better job, so if you have tasted it, feel free to edit me! ;-o

My mangosteen tree
My new friend, Mr. Mangosteen, has analyzed my tree from its picture in the previous mangosteen article and informed me that it looked like it had recently been exposed to excess sun (Yikes, like since I planted it!), a lack of sufficient water (ditto), and worst of all that, at 9 inches (23 cm.), it is probably no more than one year old. So that invitation to stop by for a juice will still have to stand for 2014. Here's a picture of my new, well-cared for mangosteen tree being properly protected from the tropical sun.