Avocado Production in Ecuador

 

This is the Quechua indigenous village where I (Jake) stayed outside of Quito, Ecuador. They still farm like they did hundreds of years ago by saving the seeds season after season. They explained cultural practices such as using the moon's phases to guide when to plant and when to harvest. They grow lupines over there like we grow butterbeans over here. We probably saw a half dozen or more volcanoes because it's in the Andes mountains. We also visited an avocado farm and saw how they had sheep grazing in between the trees to control the grass and weeds as well as fertilize the trees. They experimented with plant density to optimize yield. In some areas, the distance in row and the distance between rows was varied to see the effect on plant production and health. Here at Browder's Fresh Pickins, we also experiment with plant density. We grow three different varieties of strawberries, each planted at a different spacing, ranging from 12 to 18 inches.