It's undeniable that growing certain species of fruits and vegetables in the tropical and unpredictable climate of Bocas can be a challenge.

The good thing is, we love challenges! Especially when you hear, "that's impossible!" Well... now I have to try.

So over the past 8-10 years, we have been experimenting with making the "impossible" a reality. Here is a list of some "out of zone" goodies we managed to grow so far.

Lettuce is a cold-weather crop, and "supposedly" can only be grown in cooler climates, but we love lettuce too much not to try. Over the years we tried around 15-20 different varieties of lettuce... most did not do well, as expected. But some did grow well, although not outdoors. We can only grow lettuces inside the aquaponic greenhouse, shaded and protected from direct sunlight.

Arugula is another cool-weather crop. After trying out several different varieties we found two of them we can successfully grow. We can only grow arugula inside the aquaponic greenhouse. Arugula hates getting the leaves and stacks wet and will quickly get fungal diseases. Even under a roof, you want to avoid even spraying any water on the leaves and stems to avoid disease.

Strawberries like cooler conditions and are very susceptible to fungal disease around the base (crown). Over the years we have tried growing many varieties of strawberries with some success in the aquaponic greenhouse. We're currently growing a more adapted variety that seems to be doing quite well and producing some delicious strawberries, if we continue seeing success we will expand our strawberry grow to offer them to our clients.   

Asparagus is a cool weather crop. We have tried several varieties over the years and found one that grew well, although it grows slower than in cooler climates. Normally asparagus takes 2-3 years for the first harvest, our asparagus plants are about 4-5 years old and are just starting to become productive enough to start harvesting soon.  

Cherry tomatoes grow quite well in the tropical climate of Bocas, but regular good ol' tomatoes do not do so well. They like it hot, but not this hot, they do well into the 70s, even 80s but passing the 90s they start to wilt and die. They don't like constantly wet conditions either and are susceptible to fungal disease and are a magnet to a large number of pests. 

We manage to grow some broccoli over the years but only during dry periods and with some difficulty. The plant can tolerate some wet conditions if the soil is well draining but the broccoli flower head (the edible part) will quickly rot in wet conditions. Broccoli just like most brassicas is a pest magnet, so managing pests can also be tedious. We're currently trialing a floret type of broccoli from southern Italy that seems to be growing well, we should know for sure in the next few months whether or not it can handle the rainy conditions of Bocas.

Most leafy greens including kale, mustards, bok choy, chards, and collards prefer much cooler temperatures. We can only grow these delicate greens inside the aquaponic greenhouse. Most of these greens cannot tolerate the high heat, wet conditions, and pests pressure outside, so they must be grown under a roof and in partially shaded conditions to minimize the heat.

Although zucchini loves the heat, it does not like the rainy/wet conditions of Bocas. The good thing about zucchini is that it grows super fast and can produce fruit in just a few weeks from being transplanted, so we can squeeze some grows in the dry periods. Growing zucchini on raised beds or straw bales works better than in-ground and can extend your growing season into the "wetter" periods.