When I began the project here we cleared brush, leaving healthy existing coconut palms and sea grapes - and then planted hundreds of additional coconut palms.
And, of course, the empty spaces in between the palms and sea grapes filled up with a brush/weed combination that had to be cut - like any yard. But here in Nicaragua it gets chopped with a machete; and like any yard the stuff comes right back again after it's chopped, perpetuating a labor intensive cycle.
To break that cycle, one of the first outside plants I introduced was a local zoysia grass. Although not found specifically at False Bluff, it is native to the area growing all over Big Corn Island and in isolated patches in Bluefields which is where my starter plants came from. I rescued approximately two basketball-sized clumps from sidewalk cracks in Bluefields and carefully divided and planted it here at False Bluff.
Once established enough to divide, we began taking small clumps from our own stock and expanding its hold. The grass forms a thick almost impenetrable mat that makes it a hell of an erosion control device, it never needs to be chopped, it is seemingly impervious to drought, and snakes and ants hate it.
Faintly outlined in red are shown several clumps getting a start.
In a surprisingly quick time the clumps will join together to form a thick emerald green mat. Shown here are a few pictures of it both establishing itself -and established. This hasn't happened overnight but it's been worth the wait...
