In today’s episode, we visit Ed Bernhardt at the New Dawn Center/Finca Alba Nueva, in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica.

Ed is a deep ecologist, and author for several newspaper & magazine articles in Costa Rica, including the Tico times.

Ed shares with us tips for soil building & supporting your plant’s immune system with a recipe that he calls “kombucha for the plants,”

He also shares stories about what it was like to homestead in the ’80s, in Costa Rica, while teaching organic gardening to the locals from young school children to University students.

Ed is developing an online course to continue reaching out to those who are willing to receive the wisdom that he has to share, earned over 40 years of gardening in the tropics.

Ed also grows a variety of medicinal plants that he processes with his wife for sale at the local farmer’s market.

If Ed’s description of his bio-ferments has you wanting more, be sure to check out the YouTube video that we created, where we take you right out into his back yard where he has it bubbling.

Of course, make sure to subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a rating and review.

It’s the best way for people to find us and trust that there’s something here worth paying attention to.

 This episode is brought to you by, well, YOU!   

I haven’t built up my audience enough to be attracting sponsors and all that, so even though it’s the holiday season, you get to support the show without me selling you stuff.

Isn’t that great! So instead of buying an organic cotton shirt or an online course, maybe you can just buy me a coffee.

Go to https://ko-fi.com/sharinginsights to drop a few dollars in the bucket and let me know you care.

To follow more of the New Dawn Center’s adventures in earth care education, check out:

• Website: www.thenewdawncenter.info
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fincaalbanueva
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/newdawncenter/videos

Other recommendations from Ed:

• Ed’s Bio-ferment Recipe: https://regenerationnationcr.com/bioferments
• Ed’s Compost Recipe, Kitchen-Made Insecticide Recipe & Bio-Sand Filter: https://regenerationnationcr.com/ed’sthreerecipes
• Check out our YouTube Tour of Ed’s Gardens and Bio-Ferment Stations! https://youtu.be/WIkdeT_AVyo
• Global College – https://gci.edu.np/
• Apprenticeship Program INA (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje) – www.ina.ac.cr
• Ed’s Mentor – Edmond Bordough – Ecological Health Gardens https://amzn.to/36nAdLv
• Ed’s Books: Medicinal Plants of Costa Rica https://amzn.to/37nKOpe
• Kiss the Ground Documentary – https://kissthegroundmovie.com/

Special thanks to Ariel Poltronieri for editing this episode!

• Music: Rite of Passage by Kevin MacLeod
• Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4291-rite-of-passage
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/