My wife is a keen gardener, & when we move to Bonaire early next year she will definitely be doing some gardening.
Id there anyone reading this that is also a gardener that we can discuss a few things with?

Actully, Capt. Don knows a lot about the subject. He now owns Island Growers and has a wealth of knowledge. The only thing I know is you are in constant competition with the iquanas. My partners father feeds them orchids on a regular basis!!

We had guessed the Iguanas could be stiff competition. Maybe by making the "Hanging Vegetable Gardens of Bonaire" we could beat them & also create a new tourist industry!!
If anyone grows their own fruit or vegetables we would love to hear more advice & experience. If Capt Don has time to chat, maybe we would be best doing it away from BT to avoid too many plugs per posting for Island growers!

Maybe the Iguanas can also help - there must be great nutritional value for plants in Iguana Guano - new export market??

Fruit:
1. Parrots
2. Iguanas are EXCELLENT climbers
Vegetables:
1. Lizards are much smaller than igs and climb thru fences
2. See 2 above
Water:
..... do you really have any idea of the cost of water for irrigation on Bonaire???

Xerophytic.... thats the key word. If you know of any fruit or veg that are in this category please let me know ;)))))

Hard spikey inedible things typically do much better.

david

Hydroponics have been tried sucessfully here in the past, however, it was too expensive for the local market to make any profit on the crops.

How about a small greenhouse that uses recycled grey water for irrigating vegetables?

The folks i stay with on the island have a pretty nice garden. Many years ago i helped with the gathering of part of the soil....donkey dung.
She now waters almost everyday with somewhat free water.........
1. from the roof drain pipes into storage tanks...then pump to the garden
2. the drainage hoses (extra long) from the washer and dishwasher are used for watering. She moves them around during the different cycles.
3. another friend has a outside shower and has a hose connected to the drain and moves it around for each shower

she also has a lime tree that produces fruit - took a long time to get into the fruit bearing stage.

Take a look around habitat,,,,,don does native plants and everything looks really great.

Get a dog and you will have no iguanas..they do not stand a chance with my two hunters..I rent them out by they day cheap...

We're waiting to see what our 3 cats make of Iguanas & vice-versa. Probably be a stand-off, but who knows!

IS it possible to buy potting compost ready made, or will we have to make our own?

Is it easy to grow palm trees? which ones do best here? are they easy to buy in Bonaire?

Try to buy local trees that will thrive here. We have a few species that were imported, such the niem tree, that have overtaken large areas and grow quite fast. The are not native nor is the palm..

Are there no Garden centres in bonaire? i thought there were many coconut palms? and i am sure there are palms that can survive without alot of water. When looking at houses for sale, either in Bonaire or Aruba, all palm trees in garden. In fact i have seen black and white photos with palm trees there. Must be some place in Bonaire where you can buy palms?
Palms add to that tropical look. How can you have crystal blue sea, white sand, and no palms..I know Bonaire is the same as Aruba, a island made of rock. But people still seem to find a way of having palms in there garden. I just want to know which garden centre of place can i buy them? and are they expensive?
Gary

Gary,
Bonaire is an arid rock, not a rainforest. I think Michael's point was that non-native species often become problems - have you ever heard of kudzu? Just because you want coconut palms, it doesn't mean you have the right to cause native species to be overrun and lost to extinction. Granted, those palms may NOT do that - but why chance it?

Get a subscription to the Bonaire Reporter (www.bonairereporter.com), read about what is currently important to the people of Bonaire, and as a bonus, they have a classified section.

As for garden centers - Captain Don owns Captain Don's Island Growers. His contact info would be in those classifieds.

You can buy coconut palms from the fruit boats that make weekly trips and they are pretty cheap (the trees, not the boats!). I sort of sense that you think Bonaire is a tropical paradise with white sandy beaches. You are in for a big let down especially if you think Bonaire and Aruba are alike. Not even remotely so...rocky islands perhaps, but the similarities begin and end there. How many times have you been here? We try to dispel the image of the palm tree lined coast and white sandy beaches...that is not even remotely what we are about.