Selected seeds from the previous year's crop are the starting point for this year's renewed plot of land. The farmer places the seeds in a three-foot-square box filled with a special mixture of soil and compost to germinate. After thirty days, the farmer culls the "little soldiers" (small sprouts) for the healthiest specimens to transplant to bags filed with rich rain forest humus and soil. There the seedlings grow under the watchful eye of the farmer and the shade of the banana plants. The grower must inspect the crops daily to ensure that no insect, viral or fungal pests take hold. Growers use homemade organic sprays made from garlic, chiles and other ingredients, to kill unwanted pests.
When the plants are about six months old, growers transplant them into a carefully prepared field. They use field hoes to hand-dig each one-foot cube-shaped hole. They carefully tuck the transplants into the soil with a generous helping of the surrounding rich humus to provide organic fertilizer.
Once planted, the coffee bushes thrive in dappled shade provided by banana trees. Unfortunately, weeds thrive as well, so the fields must be weeded frequently. These coffee plants and banana trees have been in the ground about one year. It will be another two years before the farmer gets the first crop from these plants.
It will be three years before the farmer sees any coffee beans from these plants. During that entire time, he must labor daily on his land, clearing by hand the rapidly returning undergrowth that saps precious nutrients from the small coffee plants.
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Once planted, the coffee bushes thrive in dappled shade provided by banana trees. Unfortunately, weeds thrive as well, so the fields must be weeded frequently. These coffee plants and banana trees have been in the ground about one year. It will be another two years before the farmer gets the first crop from these plants.