Mulegena
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How to keep palm thatch green
We're making a little cabana on top of the house-- gosh, what a view from up there!
Its got a spaced wooden floor that's raised for circulation and will have petate siding which I'll varnish, no windows. We'll sleep up there.
In keeping with the traditional cabana-style we're putting on a palm-thatched roof.
Right now the leaves are beautiful, green and waiting to be cleaned up before they go up.
Any ideas how to keep that gorgeous fresh green color-- other than spraying on green paint?
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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Russ
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Take a photo and photoshop it green. Frame it and hang it in the palapa.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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Taco de Baja
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Paint is likely the only option. But it'll probably look really bad.
The chlorophyll eventually fades once the nutrient supply is cut off. Even people who press flowers and leaves have a hard time keeping them green,
and those are not in the sun all the time.
Or, cover it with a fine mesh net that is tainted green...or maybe one of those camo net canopy shades the military uses. But that's expensive when
the fronds are free.
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Mulegena
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I will certainly take a picture of it when its finished, you betcha', probably from the neighbors' roof where I'll still be looking up; our little
palapa is high-- perched above the second-floor rooftop.
Didn't think there was much could be done to keep the fronds green short of soak each of them in a solution of... something?
Paint would look crappy, but the idea of a coloured light mesh may be the best bet.
It might keep us from losing the roof during a hurricane... maybe... I can only hope.
If we do lose the roof in hurricanes-- and we probably will-- we'll just hafta replace it.
Its 800 fronds, "ojas de tacos" as they're called here, and they're not free-- they're 2.5 pesos each.
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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bajajudy
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The only way to keep them green is to leave them on the trees
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Taco de Baja
Or, cover it with a fine mesh net that is tainted green...or maybe one of those camo net canopy shades the military uses. But that's expensive when
the fronds are free. |
They sell that green mesh fabric at Home Depot here. That stuff is really durable.
Anyway....important stuff...How about a Firemen's Pole for quick trips down to the beer box? 
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ncampion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajudy
The only way to keep them green is to leave them on the trees
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Sometimes that's even hard to do!!!!!
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Mulegena
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Thanks, Everybody. Neat thread and fun.
Well, the 800 gorgeous fresh palm fronds have been laid out like a carpet, completely covering the earth and building materials in the front and back
yard. From the palapa above they look like bermuda grass.
Tomorrow, we'll turn them over, kinda like pancakes. They remain flat to air out and whatnot for at least 48 hours.
On Monday they get a dry cleaning and then get hauled up and stuck on the waiting wooden roofing framework. This is done from the inside floor of the
palapa, everybody's feet planted. When that's done, they're gonna draw straws to see who has to climb up onto the top and secure the apex-- mind you,
its 3 floors up with sweeping views of the peninsula. I'm dizzy thinking about it.
As to the beer belly fire escape, Dennis... already covered. We've got a little fridge just waiting to be plugged in.
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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Mulegena
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mulegena
... they're gonna draw straws to see who has to climb up onto the top and secure the apex-- ... its 3 floors up with sweeping views of the peninsula.
As to the beer belly fire escape, Dennis... already covered. We've got a little fridge just waiting to be plugged in. |
Whoever gets the short straw and has to go up on top will be tied on with rope just like Rambo when he made that mountain climbing movie... and the
more I think of it I really like the idea of a fireman's pole or a big waterslide. Como no?
No more ideas for keeping the palm fronds green?
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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Pompano
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Mulegena...this might work.
Show your palm fronds this photo of our first palapa and your fronds will be green with envy.
...then again, maybe not?
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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tiotomasbcs
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It will be cool and beautiful. Our palaperos here cut only the dried up/brown hojas and take them on the full moon. They claim it's best way to
prevent bugs-polilla??! My Palapa has 12yrs and running! Big Hola to you and Rica. Stay cool!. Tio
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Mulegena
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Cutting on the fullmoon
Yes, this is the way its done up in the mountains.
A couple weeks before this last fullmoon we went to La Purisima and placed an order for a whole bunch of petate. They said they would bring it down to
Mulege in about a month and a half; they'd cut the cane during the fullmoon because there would be less infestation.
Do the bugs fly off into the gossamer night sky?
Who knows, maybe this works, but a good craftsman insists on this timetable.
btw, Ricardo's whole family who live up in La Purisima are involved in the craft; have been for generations. They're local mountain folk who rarely
come down to the lowlands except to deliver their beautiful petate. They do custom orders.
Anyone interested in this gorgeous indigenous home decorating art is welcome to contact me here on the board for more info.
Thanks for the hellos, Tio Tomas. Rica says hey and stop by.
"Raise your words, not your voice. It's rain that grows flowers, not thunder." ~Rumi
"It's the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." ~ Aristotle
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BajaBlanca
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we love our palapa - but it did not stay green either .... I do wish we had put some netting over it, but hindsight is easy, right ?
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