The first step in owning a lot is putting a fence around it so that you and everyone else know exactly which part of the land is yours. In Nicaragua, a living fence is the way to go. There are two different trees that work well for fences – jocote and tiguilote. When one of these posts is set into the ground, they will sprout roots to hold the fence in place and also sprout branches that will add shade.

Both trees produce fruit that is edible though not necessarily delicious. Jocote produces a slightly more tasty oblong shaped fruit that turns orange-red when ripe and is just larger than a cherry with a big pit in the center. Tiguilote produces clusters of almost transparent round white fruits, smaller than grapes with an almost grape-like flavor, with a small pit in the center. Despite the fact that the Jocote fruit is tastier, we prefer planting tiguilote fence posts because the wood is more solid and less appealing to termites. 

We spent about $300US in barb wire plus $150 in posts and labor to fence a 1/2 acre lot.

If you want your fence posts to live and sprout, it’s best to plant them in the rainy season (May – October).

The dogs and the extra barbed wire