Ashram Fruits
Feeding Humans and Wildlife since 2013
A Fruitarian’s Paradise
A colorful and delicious collection of exotic fruits
The orchard at Siva Ashram is proud to boast over 40 different tropical fruit trees from around the world. From Cacao to Durian, Rambutans to Mangoes, Cherries to Lychees, Star Apples and more, our orchard will provide a banquet of fruits fit for a queen. Peel it, slice it, squeeze it or take a bite out of it. There’s enough of a variety here to make some of the most exotic smoothies you’ve ever had.
In this collection, we have 18 different citrus trees, all of which are fruiting, at least 4 varieties of mangoes and two varieties of mangosteens. One of the first things we did after purchasing the land was to adhere to the old Hindu counsel of “when you buy land, plant trees first”. We are glad that we heeded that advice and acted accordingly. Now, years later, we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. No pun intended.
We are eagerly awaiting for our Lychee, JackFruit and Brazilian grapetree to fruit. But we are good at being patient, learning yearly this noble quality as we wait for our mangoes to ripen.
A Learning Journey
Caring and nurturing the trees that feed us
Over the years, we have scoured the country looking for fruit trees. We were quite clear on what we wanted but we were also open to learning about fruit trees we have not heard of, be they local or exotic ones. The journey with fruit trees has not been easy. Some of them required getting used to the climate here and us understanding what those needs are. Planting a tree in one location meant absolute failure, whereas moving it 100 meters away to another location assured its success.
Fruit trees are prone to pests which is something we are constantly learning about and figuring out how to solve. There is a great amount of fruit that we actually do not get to eat because it succumbs to nature first. It’s all part of the learning process.
We hope one day to have an abundance of fruits that we can share with kids in the community who need them to supplement their diet.
Tropical Fruits
A highlight of some of the fruits at Siva Ashram
Miracle Fruit
After you put one of these tiny red fruits in your mouth, suck and bite on it for a little while, every sour fruit you put in your mouth will taste sweet. Hallelujah! It’s a miracle!
Star Fruit
Star fruit gets its name from the shape you see when you cut it in a cross-section. It is used in traditional Asian medicine and its flavor can vary from sweet to very acidic!
Mango
Mango trees thrive in Costa Rica and they make delicious additions to breakfast, smoothies, salads and more. They are a treat for the local howler monkeys but there are plenty for all of us to enjoy.
Surinam Cherry
This small cherry is locally known as pitanga. Its taste ranges from super sweet to sour, depending on its level of ripeness, and is a great source of vitamins A and C!
Nance
These small, sweet, yellow, strongly scented fruits are eaten raw or cooked. They can be fermented into vinegar or a most refreshing vino de nance (nance wine) perfect for hot summer days!
Soursop
This extra-large green fruit has a unique aroma, similar to pineapple, and its flavor resembles a combination of apple and strawberries, but with a banana-like texture. Quite unique!
Our Orchard Inventory
Over 40 different fruit trees from around the world
Acerola Cherry | Malpighia emarginata
Avocado | Persea americana
Black Sapote | Diospyros nigra
Brazilian grape | Plinia cauliflora
Breadfruit | Artocarpus altilis
Cacao | Theobroma cacao
Cas | Psidium friedrichsthalianum
Cashew | Anacardium occidentale
Cinnamon | Cinnamomum verum
Cocoplum | Chrysobalanus icaco
Curry Leaf | Murraya koenigii
Diospyros blancoi | Mabolo
Durian | Durio zibethinus
Genip | Melicoccus bijugatus
Granadilla | Passiflora ligularis
Guava | Psidium guajava
Jackfruit | Artocarpus heterophyllus
Java Plum | Syzygium cumini
Jocote | Spondias purpurea
June Plum | Spondias dulcis
Kumquat | Citrus japonica
Langsat | Lansium domesticum
Loquat | Eriobotrya japonica
Lowland Cherimoya | Annona macroprophyllata
Lychee | Litchi chinensis
Mango | Mangifera indica
Mangosteen | Garcinia mangostana
Miracle Fruit | Synsepalum dulcificum
Nance | Byrsonima crassifolia
Noni | Morinda citrifolia
Passion fruit | Passiflora edulis
Peach | Prunus persica
Persian lime | Citrus x sinensis
Rambutan | Nephelium lappaceum
Rangpur | Citrus x limonia
Rose apple | Syzygium jambos
Soursop | Annona muricata
Star Apple | Chrysophyllum cainito
Star Fruit | Averrhoa carambola
Surinam Cherry | Eugenia uniflora
Tamarind | Tamarindus indica
Verdello Lemon | Citrus x limon L. Burm
Water apple | Syzygium malaccense
Yellow mangosteen | Garcinia xanthochymus
Zapote amarillo | Pouteria viridis
Zapote mamey | Pouteria sapota
“The earth is just not our environment. The earth is our mother.”
~ Dalai Lama
