Day 24: UPRM EEA: Adjuntas - Coffee Tour

Today we took a trip to the UPR Experimental Station at Adjuntas. Adjuntas is a small mountainside town located central midwest of the island on the Central Mountain range of Puerto Rico. Like the other mountain towns we visited Adjuntas had a cool temperature. Hurray! Not one drop of sweat for today! :D



Our guide, Mr. Wicmar Gonzales, met our group to discuss the coffee research at the station. Coffee is an important commodity in Puerto Rico. However due to various reasons, such as weather, plant disease, and the global economy, coffee production has declined. For example, before Hurricane George, Puerto Rico produced 250 thousand hundred weights of coffee. Now Puerto Rico produces only 80 thousand hundredweights. However, despite the decline, the experimental station continues to do coffee related research and production. One area of research that is taking place at the station is coffee compost. Coffee compost is high in Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus. Furthermore, coffee compost must be aerated and wood chips are added to maintain proper moisture levels. Research is also being done on how different soils from different parts of Puerto Rico react to the coffee compost.













After touring the coffee compost and soil research, Mr. Gonsaez gave us a tour of the nursery. Some plants we saw are the Cleopatra Mandarin, which is preferred for root stocks because of uniform growth, lack of spines, and growth tends to be straight. As we learned earlier on this trip asexual reproduction and grafting is preferred for consistency and disease resistance.Next we saw how compost is actually made. With this we saw Licenia worms aka California Redworms in action.











Finally we observed how coffee is processed, dried, roasted, and brewed. The process they do at the experiment station was very similar to the one we saw in Maracao. The only diffence was that in Maracao that farmer seemed to be producing commercially while here at the experiment station it is done for research. Also here we were actually able to see the coffee being roasted. We learned of how its done and when it was finished we were able to see the final product. The roasted bean smelt amazing. Once the beans cooled down we put them in the coffee grinder and grinded them down. The smell became even more stronger and I really enjoyed it. Then came the best part: tasting the fresh coffee that had been roasted and grinded less than ten minutes.This was the first time I tried coffee from freshly roasted beans. Black coffee with no milk just sugar. I was amazed! Usually I hate black coffee but this was something different. Definitely the best cup of black coffee I ever had. To top it off I was able to take some home to make for the last few days we would be here :D ¡salud!

Day 23: UPRM EEA-Lajas Organic Farm, Dr. Bryan Brunner (Pt. II)

"Coqui frog on the farm" Feared in Guam loved in Puerto Rico!

So today we headed back to the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez EEA-Lajas Organic Farm to finish where we left on our last visit. The days activities consisted of harvesting fresh legumes by hand and then harvesting and collecting data for the sweet potatoes that were grown as part of the tire experiment.



When we arrived at the experimental station the first thing we did was have a look at our sweet potato towers made of tires that we constructed on the first weeks visit. Overall they seemed to be doing okay even though they were watered sparsely. We also were able to see how the sweet potatoes cuttings we planted directly into the hay stacks were doing. These didn't survive because of the lack of watering but if they were watered properly most likely they would still be okay. The hay stacks dont retain the water as well as the soil in the tires. Though the hay stacks didnt make and the tires werent thriving it was still good to see the results.





After checking that out we headed to the rows of nitrogen fixing legumes which were ready for harvest. After a quick demonstration on how to harvest by Dr. Brunner we began cutting and harvesting. Overall in wasnt that tough but that was because we were all working hard at the job. In the end we harvested two rows of the legumes and filled up one trailer. Job done!





















The last thing we did for the day was harvest sweet potatoes and collect information and the experiment results. The experiment was to see if the sweet potatoes produce higher yields in tire towers instead of in the ground. Basically the idea was that the tire towers would produce more since they created more area in a given area than in the ground. So we dug up the sweet potatoes and started counting. We categorized the sweet potatoes into commercial yield and non-commercial yield. A total of 3 repetitions were planted - each consisting of 3 different planting methods (3 tires, 5 tires and conventional). Data collection revealed that there was no significant difference among the three different methods of planting that was used. It was also mentioned that because the beds werent watered as much as they were supposed to be it might of limited the size and amount of the yields. Dr. Brunner said next time he does this experiment he will set up a drip irrigation system so the plants will recieve proper watering. In the end the experiment was a success and we were able to conclude our work at the farm!



















Before we said our farewells to to the farm we stopped by the local frappe (smoothie shack) and had some smoothies! The Frappe shacks here in Puerto Rico are awesome and you could tell because they were always busy. Lastly we said our farewells to Dr. Brunner and headed back home! :D

Day 21 & 22: Weekend Activities - Rest Day and Beach Day

This weekend was basically a time for rest. Well sort of. On Saturday we did laundry and went grocery shopping. That night we also went to see a movie at the nearby cinema. That was pretty much all we did for Saturday.

Sunday was Fathers Day here so all of our guides were basically busy with their families. Luckily Abner had Fathers Day activities during lunch so he was free by 3pm. And even luckier he wanted to try out bodyboarding again so it was off to Rincon one more time. Today only the boys went out since the girls were all tired and wanted to stay home- they missed out but it was probably better for us cause we mightve left earlier than we did if the girls were there. Once again we went to our favorite little beach break and today was really fun cause everyone got to give it a try. The waves were only 1-2ft but still ride able. Jonathan, Abner, and Hertin all caught at least one wave and all of them enjoyed it. It was really a great day at the beach!











To top things off we stayed until the sunset. This was my second sunset viewing here in Puerto Rico and once again it was amazing sight. Even better than the last time because of the atmosphere of the day! I got some shots that came out great(well from what I saw on the camera)! After the sun went down we all packed up. Before we left I looked out and noticed the waves were getting better and I told Abner to check it out. He looked at it and said you can go out if you want. I thought he was joking cause usually hes in a hurry. But he said he was serious so I quickly grabbed my board and fins and went for a second after sundown session. While it was kind of dark the wave size during this time was an extra foot bigger and I was able to get two or three good rides before it got too dark. I went in and we called it a day. Once again I was super stoked especially since everyone had a got to surf this time around! Definitely another memorable day in Puerto Rico!!