Among monsters and yellow walls

As predicted, our dear squash has been growing like it's getting ready to take over the world. With about one new leaf appearing every 2-3 days, it has been hard for me to want to upload pictures, because they all become outdated in a day. Our peppers plants far from being monsters, are slowly growing; and the basil seems to do better out of my hydroponic system on a soil-filled pot.

Back home, we have the nursery going: 4 new types of tomatoes, 1 lettuce, and more squash on the way. Also, crossing the Atlantic are 11 new types of seeds; from red cucumbers, yard long beans, to chocolate jamaican habaneros.

So where's the pasta??? We are still under-construction, but have made major advances. Since I don't want to bore you to death, just let me say we have done a lot... pressure washing, wall demolition, roof sealing, cement new walls, electric reconstruction, window and door installation, primer, paint. I seriously do not understand how can a 10x14 room can take so much work, but so it did.

Outer wall- 1st stage (Top)

Outer wall, after moving door, and cement work. (Top)

Soon, among all transformations and without any need to go to court for a name change, the dull laundry room will have the joy to be renamed as... Karla's Pastificio.

"Take Women and Children Out First!"

Those were the words of our friend Russ from Arizona, as he explained how our new baby squash plant would imminently become this giant monster, that will take over our backyard. Even though this sounds like a bad idea, I can't help thinking about how good the butternut squash will do as a filling inside my home made raviolis.




Unfortunately, my camera wasn't charged during the first two to three days of the seedling's growth. So, much of the documentation of the aberrational growth of the little alien has been missed. Yesterday we transplanted the squash from its growing cube to the hydroponic system. Now we are just sitting in a dark underground panic room, waiting for the arrival of the giant squash. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating, really we are just in the beach having some beers, hanging out with some friends.

Our Hydroponic Garden is here!

We just got our hydroponic setup; and we will be growing, among several experiments, tomatoes of different kinds, bell peppers, butternut squash, basil, canteloupe, and whatever else we can!  

For those of you who haven't heard of it, in Hydroponic gardening, you grow your plants without soil. Food for the plants is dissolved in water and directly fed to the plant. Many people are surprised that plants don't require soil to live, but soil can sometimes be a very inefficient growing medium. Plants expend a great deal of energy growing root systems so they can search the soil for the water and nutrients they need to survive. By providing constant and readily available nutrition, hydroponics allows plants to grow up to 50% faster than they do in soil.

Gardening without soil offers many benefits: First, complete control over nutrient balance (Meaning Healthier Plants!... meaning a significant reduction of soil pests and diseases...meaning, no need for pesticides). Second, greater spacing efficiency due to smaller roots. Third, more efficient use of resourses.But my favorite benefits are related to the environment. It is obvious that growing our food locally has less carbon foot-print, but also there are other benefits specific to hydroponic systems.

Here is some info I found on that matter from plantcare.com: 

One of the heralded benefits of hydroponic gardening is how it can alleviate poverty while simultaneously easing strains on the environment. Hydroponic gardening systems can be set up to recycle water and nutrients, greatly reducing the resources necessary to grow food.Recycling hydroponic systems use as little as 10% of the water that traditional agriculture requires, a tremendous benefit in areas entirely dependent on irrigation. Hydroponic gardening virtually eliminates the need for herbicides and pesticides, and hydroponic gardeners need only use about 1/4 the fertilizer that traditional gardeners require.

 

As the amount of arable land continues to decrease (over 10 million hectares per year are lost), another environmental benefit of hydroponic gardening will gain attention: Hydroponic gardens can produce the same yield as soil gardens in about 1/5 the space. And because artificially lit hydroponic gardens are not dependent on growing seasons, they can produce yields several times a year rather than just once. It has even been speculated that in decades to come, hydroponics will become a significant food source for over-populated urban regions, with people growing food on rooftops or in basements. 

We are both really excited on starting this, and we thank Phil's friend, Russ, from Arizona, for sending us the garden system and helping us all the  way!

Home-Based-Business... Puerto Rican version of Mission Impossible

I haven't been exploding stuff or rappelling in black suits into security protected rooms, but definitely starting a fully legal business in Puerto Rico is like a Mission Impossible movie.

The easy part of all the process has been what you would expect to be hard work: demolishing old sinks, relocating a laundry room, pressure washing walls, cleaning walls and floors to be so clean that you could lick them... ok maybe not; But! it is just insane how hard the Puerto Rican government makes things for you.

Phil demolishing sink

So, just for a little background: Abuela, Mom and Dad permitted me to use what used to be the laundry room and covert it into a commercial kitchen for Nudi Pasta. It's a really spacious room, that needs all sorts of work like the one mentioned above, which we've been doing for around a week.

Besides the handy-man work, which BTW I heavily thank Phil and my parents for, I've been doing a lot of research on how to make my space compliant to all regulations, so when I'm ready to incorporate, I can. Walking to Nudi Pasta room

Did you know that 52% of all firms in the US are home-based? This number is not surprising when I find tons of helpful information provided by the state-governments on how to get started. Also, is not surprising when I find documents made by federal agencies that recognize the value of home-businesses as the incubators of the business world. Unfortunately, that is not the case with Puerto Rico.

Also, in the internet is extremely easy to find state-by-state info of what you need to do... 3 compartment sink, hand washing sink, 1 fire extinguisher... blah blah blah. Rules are so explicit, that just by reading some documents, you know if your space will qualify for the permits.

To this date I'm still not sure if the space I have will work for when I decide to incorporate. So, next week I'll be pin-balling between government offices until I have my answer. Thus, no heavy investment will be done in the room until I know.

Mission impossible... maybe. But I think, if Tom Cruise seems to always get the mission done, why can't I?