DATE: May 17, 2021

TO: Profesor Pier LeCompte Zambrana

FROM: Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz, Tania E. Báez Pérez, Yarimar Aponte López , Jonathan
Fraticelli Rodríguez and Kristal M. Baerga Rentas
SUBJECT: Progress report of “Huerto Atabey” and at home garden.

Introduction of Agriculture

Agriculture plays a vital role in human life and in the economy. In literal terms, agriculture is
the science, art or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and
to some degree, the preparation and the marketing of the resulting products. One of the
indispensable reasons as to why agriculture plays such an essential role in human life is that it
accounts for one of our sources of livelihood. Although, in developed countries many people
are not engaged in agriculture, it provides the population food and raw materials. For most
developing countries however, it provides employment opportunities and is the main source
of income for many families. Furthermore, agriculture is one of the pillars of a healthy
economic system. Agriculture provides many non-agricultural jobs that help in the
transportation and distribution of food and raw materials all over a country and even
internationally. This increases a countries marketable surplus, the nation's export trade,
employment opportunities, economic development and food security of a nation. Not only
does agriculture provide a country with food, raw materials and economic growth, but
agriculture has a substantial role in medicine and the development of a variety of
medications.

Puerto Rico is no exception. Agriculture is the backbone of our island’s culture and history.
Agriculture was vital to our indigenous ancestors not only for food but also for the medicinal
properties some herbs possess. Although agriculture holds significant value in our culture
and history, the island has shifted from an agriculturally dependent economy to a
manufacturing dependent economy. Over 80% of the food consumed in Puerto Rico comes
from imports. Puerto Rico does not have food security, the island can not supply themselves.
This leads to many problems, such as high food prices and shortages. When Hurricane Maria
struck the island, the farms left on the island were devastated, raising the need for an
agricultural revolution. Many farmers in Puerto Rico are teaming up in hopes of educating
the population on how crucial agriculture is to our island's economy and well being. This
proposes lower food prices, more job opportunities and the chance for Puerto Rico to be less
dependent on imports. As mentioned before, agriculture is one of the main pillars to a healthy
economic system; poverty reduction, environmental stability, food security and a better
economic status is only a few of the many benefits agriculture can bring. It is of utmost
importance to educate the next generation and to provide the tools necessary to ensure Puerto
Rico’s agriculture is fruitful once more.
Background

Technical Writing is a class offered at the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce to

undergraduate students; it is mandatory for all students in the biology department to take this
course. The course teaches you the different professional technical documents that can be
written and provides you with the knowledge and techniques to construct your own technical
documents. In this course, students are taught how to write minutes, trip reports, progress
reports, resumes and infographics among other documents. Furthermore, students learn a
standard way of formatting and structuring any document, so that they are concise,
informational and reach the audience it is intended for. With this knowledge in technical
writing, students can expect growth in their professional and personal capabilities. This
progress report is meant to further that growth. Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz, Yarimar Aponte López,
Tania E. Báez Pérez, Jonathan Fraticelli Rodríguez and Kristal M. Baerga Rentas were
assigned to construct a progress report based on the experiences and findings after visiting
Huerto Atabey and/or creating a home garden.

I. Tasks
A. Home garden
1. Buying the seeds and materials
The materials that were bought were exclusively for the creation of the home
garden and these are:
a. Seedbeds
b. Dirt
c. Fertilizer
d. Shade cloth
e. Small shovel
f. Pots
g. A variety of seeds
2. Construction of the home garden
Jonathan used an old metal dog kennel with a length of 11 feet and a width of
feet. He covered the kennel with the shade cloth to protect the crops from the
sun. After this he made holes on the ground and prepared the land for the next
step.
3. Planting the seeds
The seeds that were planted are:
a. Lettuce
b. Cherry Tomatos
c. Peppers
d. Color peppers
e. Sweet peppers
f. Pumpkin
g. Green beans
h. Coriander
i. Basil
 j. Passion Fruit
4. Watering the plants
The garden was watered daily using a sprinkle and they fertilized once every
two weeks using dilutable 20.20.20.
5. Removing weeds
It's important to remove the weed from the crop because this affects the
growth rate of the plants.

6. Materials
To achieve a productive harvest it is necessary to use garden tools, this helps
us carry out all of these tasks more quickly and effectively. These tools are:
a. Gloves
b. Shovels
c. Pickaxe
d. Hose
e. Wheelbarrow
f. Scissors
g. Rake

B. Huerto Atabey

1. Cleaning garden
a. We clean the pots with the hose.
b. With the help of rakes, we cleaned all the leaves that had fallen from
the trees and the bad weeds were uprooted.
c. Nets were placed under the trees to prevent the growth of unwanted
plants.

2. Watering the plants

a. With the hose and the watering cans, the plants were given water.
b. The irrigation system that some plants had was filled with water

2. Materials
a. hose
b. rakes
c. watering can
II. Goals

A. Goals accomplished

The goal for the home garden that began on February 15, 2021 accomplished was watering
the plants, creation of the home garden, planting a variety of seeds, removal of weeds and
fertilizing the plants. The goals accomplished for the team members that went to Huerto
Atabey was to water all the plants and ensure their watering system was working, clean all
pots, pick up weeds and place mesh around trees.

B. Goals in progress

The goals that were meant to learn and obtain more knowledge from those activities was
maintaining the garden, learning more about agriculture and the process of creating a home
garden with all the resources. Goals in progress are learning more about agriculture in Puerto
Rico and how to properly take care of every plant according to its specific needs.

III. Limitations

One of the limitations present throughout this progress report was the inability to all meet at
one place due to COVID-19 and the safety precautions that had to be taken to ensure an
educational and safe experience for this report. This limitation also extended to our meetings
seeing as they had to be virtual.

VI. Future Projections

For future projects of the home garden Jonathan hopes to expand the garden a few feet and
have a variety of vegetables and edible plants. Limiting the vegetables bought in the
supermarkets helps by saving money and eating organic. As for the team members that
attended Huerto Atabey, they hope to further their knowledge in agriculture, and perhaps
begin growing their own garden. Furthermore, they are willing to provide Huerto Atabey
more volunteer hours or materials to ensure the university's garden expands. The group plans
to pass this knowledge on to friends and family, so that they too can grow awareness about
the importance of agriculture.
Conclusion

This experience has brought to our attention the importance of agriculture. It has also taught
us the work, money and passion it takes to build a garden; hard work that in turn replenishes
us with food, materials and environmental stability. We had an on-hand educational
experience on how to grow different plants, which plants need lots of sun and which ones
need shade, different watering methods and the time and care it takes to build a successful
garden. This experience has broadened our minds and allowed us to see agriculture in a
different light; as an important part of a functioning economy and a major part of Puerto
Rico’s history and culture, we must preserve and develop this line of work to ensure our
island's food security.
 Appendix A
Service Logs of the group members: Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz, Yarimar Aponte
Lopez, Tania E. Baez Perez and Kristal M. Baerga Rentas
 Appendix B
Minutes of the meetings held
 Appendix C
Activity pictures of the group members: Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz, Yarimar Aponte
Lopez, Tania E. Baez Perez and Kristal M. Baerga Rentas in Huerto Atabey and
pictures of Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez in his home garden

Figure 1: Yarimar Aponte López cleaning planters, preparing them for next
use (Huerto Atabey). Photo taken by Tania E. Baez Perez

Figure 2: Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz and Kristal M. Baerga Rentas removed pebbles
and other objects to prepare the ground for the mesh (Huerto Atabey). Photo
taken by Tania E. Baez Perez
Figure 3: Tania E Báez Pérez helping with clean up of weeds around the garden
(Huerto Atabey). Photo taken by Yarimar Aponte Lopez

Figure 4: Ana J. Bonilla Ortiz helping with cleaning up weeds around the
garden (Huerto Atabey). Photo taken by Yarimar Aponte Lopez
 Figure 5:Some Materials and seeds Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez bought
(home garden). Photo taken by Jonathan Fraticelli

Figure 6: Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez planting on seedbeds (home garden).

Photo taken by Jonathan Fraticelli
 Figure7: Creation of Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez’s home garden. Photo
taken by Jonathan Fraticelli

Figure8: Structure of Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez’s home garden. Photo

taken by Jonathan Fraticelli
Figure9: Jonathan Fraticelli Rodriguez planting basil. Photo taken by Jonathan
Fraticelli

Figure 10: Progress of the plant growth. Photo taken by Jonathan Fraticelli
Figure 11: Jonathan's first harvest. Photo taken by Jonathan Fraticelli

Figure 12: Jonathan Fraticelli’s home garden. Photo taken by Jonathan

Fraticelli
 References

Dane, K. (2019, July 24). Why is Agriculture Important ? - Agriculture Goods.

Agriculture Goods. https://agriculturegoods.com/why-is-agriculture-important/

eeg2@illinois.edu. (2017, January 16). Agriculture in Puerto Rico – A Brief Analysis |

BioMASS Lab - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Illinois.edu.

https://publish.illinois.edu/lfr/2017/01/15/agriculture-in-puerto-rico-a-brief-analy

sis/

Graf, C. (2019, July 5). Meet the Farmers Reclaiming Puerto Rico’s Agricultural History.

Civil Eats.

https://civileats.com/2019/07/05/meet-the-farmers-reclaiming-puerto-ricos-agricu

ltural-history/

Merriam-Webster. (2019). Definition of AGRICULTURE. Merriam-Webster.com.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agriculture