We also have a large garden. Of course the coconut trees will be the first you see. We try to make our garden look varied and a bit attractive, so we certainly do not have a coconut production plantation. In that case trees are much closer together, so the monkeys can also jump from tree to tree.
It is also clear to see the difference between two wellknown types of coconut trees. At the front of the garden are the tall coconut trees. These produce the large brown coconuts that are grown for the meat. This meat is widely used in Thai dishes. Coconut milk is made from this meat, which gives many Thai dishes the typical, creamy taste. This high species grows roughly between Chumphon and the border with Malaysia. They are the highest coconuts in the world, sometimes with a height of 30 meters. The average height is 25 meters. It is in this area that more than 90% of the coconuts are picked by monkeys. There is another type of coconut tree in the back of the garden. This tree produces the green coconut that is often sold for drinking. Usually this species grows between Chumphon and Bangkok. This tree is not much higher than 8 meter and the green, drink coconut is always picked by people.
If available, we will always give our guests a sample of both types of coconuts, so you can tell the differences.
We also use the brown coconuts to make our own coconut oil. The special thing about our oil is that we make it from fresh coconut milk. Our process is much more complicated than the industrial process where the oil is extracted from rotting coconuts. We have to separate the oil from the water. If you let the coconuts rot for 6-12 weeks in the sun, all the water has already evaporated and you press oil in one go.
We do not use artificial fertilizer in the garden. As fertilizer we use compost which we make ourselves in our rotating compost tank.