Harvest season on a coffee farm is typically the busiest time of year. At La Minita, we employ up to 500 temporary pickers to help us harvest our coffee, and the 80+ permanent full-time employees work long hours to insure that the collecting and milling of our coffees is completed.
But the off-season is when the activities that insure the long term health and productivity of the coffee farm are done. Renovation and replanting, pruning, weeding, shade management, fertilization, fungus control, nursery operations, and road maintenance are many of the critical activities that must be done each year to prepare for the next harvest.
We want to show some images and videos of these activities that have been occurring at our farms this off-season 2021.
Our nursery operations are one of our most critical undertakings at our farms. Healthy nurseries are where healthy coffee trees begin their lives. We run a closed system at our farms; We don’t rely on third parties for seed stock or seedlings. Our preference is to germinate and develop seedlings from our own farm’s seed stock. We choose seeds from only the healthiest and most productive groups of trees from each farm. This way we guarantee that the adult trees will be well-adapted to the specific microclimate and soil conditions where they are grown.
Everything is looking great in the nursery this week. . The rotation we have planted is Caturra and Hibrido Tico. To keep the nursery in this condition Miguel and his team pay attention to every detail to keep the seedlings healthy. The seedlings are most vulnerable at this point to pests, fungus and nutrition deficiencies. It takes years of experience and great eyes to ensure the nursery stock stays healthy and ready to be planted next year.
