Category Archives: companion planting

companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, Pollination, pumpkins

A field of Yellow

August 29, 2020 squash and awe 2 Comments

Yellow flowered plants will help in your squash patch. It’s that simple. For my very first year of farming, I had no bees. I was there from dawn to dusk, and never saw any. I did have ground dwelling wasps. These wasps worked longer hours than I did, and pollinated the plants. So many instructed me to kill them, but I had a different strategy, I sought to balance the environment.

I did receive one wasp sting when I pinched one under my arm while working, but these are not a deadly or overly aggressive species. I realized that the wasps had begun using my composting planting beds as a home. After taking some time to observe, I looked up videos on how to encourage the wasps to move. It was as simple as placing a large glass mixing bowl over the hole in the ground and removing the bowl a day later. I won’t go into detail about that, but it worked perfectly. They continued to pollinate, but moved their nest elsewhere. I never got stung again, and a more balanced insect population was nurtured in the following years.

I was interested in rehabilitating this parcel, as well as making my squash prolific. I knew it was time to understand bees. I had heard that there were wild honeybee colonies in Hawaii, and I hoped that there might be some in the ranching lands nearby. I learned that bees can see the color yellow, like the squash flowers themselves, but how could I help them find this isolated squash utopia? I learned that yellow was my key planting color, and also to introduce small watering holes for the beneficial insects, toads, and lizards. This was as simple as leaving shallow trays of water near the edge of the squash patch, therefore providing food, water, and habitat as the means to attract them and keep them.

I decided that I could create a beacon of yellow by planting a variety of yellow flowering plants. The beautiful Hawaiian native plant ‘Ilima’ (Scientific name: Sida fallax. Family: Malvaceae (mallow family) were nearby, so I studied how to care for them in the book Native Planters of Old Hawaii. I planted my vines around them and left these historic beautiful native plants where they were. I was careful to consider bees and beneficial bugs of all shapes and sizes. I was going to need big flowers (squash,) small flowers (mustard both wild and domestic, tomatillo,) tall flowers (Lemon Queen sunflowers,) beneficial flowering plants (nitrogen producing pigeon pea,) and a tall heirloom variety of marigold) and of course native flowering plants (Ilima.) Together they became a glowing beacon of biodiversity, and a paradise for pollinators, especially the bees.

It wasn’t long until that bright yellow patch lured the wild honeybees. I would watch them pollinate, then fly way back to the ranching pastures over the stone fence. The wasps stayed and continued working, as did a wide variety of parasitic wasps that enjoyed the smaller blooms. Purple leaved Japanese mustard was a particularly fun addition. Not only did I love to eat the steamed leaves, I used these plants to mark the base of the squash plants. This was helpful, as my squash plants lived about two years, and the water and amendments needed to go at the base of the plant. with over a hundred vines crawling this way and that. a plant like purple mustard was easy to spot, and it would send out stalks of flowers too. I’d also plant some bean plants right there at the base of the squash too, especially my beloved lima beans, so that they would produce nitrogen, small bloomed flowers for the parasitic wasps, and of course food for people.

All of these heirloom varieties were given the opportunity to set seed after the flowers bloomed, creating an endless cycle that kept the pollinators satisfied with a year round food supply. I chose plants based on Hawaii’s growing conditions and soil needs, you may choose different flowers and plants based on your needs. Sunflowers can be tricky where I was growing, because of the high circular winds that would knock them down. Seed saving year after year produced plants that were more adapted to these winds. I chose a tall heirloom marigold from California. It was just a few inches taller than the tallest leaves on the squash, therefore being up and out of the vines so to be seen by the bees. I could go on endlessly about pigeon pea, and I often do. As a shrub, it becomes perennial in Hawaii, and it worked as a nematode fighter, windbreak, pollinator attractant, natural fertilizer, food producing plant for animal and humans, and a shelter for the birds during bad weather. With over 17 years of drought, Hawaiian Ilima plants were becoming scarce. There may also be some yellow flowered native plants in your area that you can help out, as they will also help you.

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, permaculture

Planting Time in Hawaii

October 20, 2016 squash and awe 1 Comment

The number one garden question that I receive is seemingly simple, “when do I plant in Hawaii?” In reality, it is a very complex question, especially with our changing weather patterns. What is my answer? Frequently. Get new plants started as frequently as you can, and try a range of edible plant types. This year was a tropical storm year which brought a wild range of growing conditions at 2700ft elevation. Colder, and wetter than normal, and we cannot forget the seemingly endless winds. Though the combination caused a diminished squash crop, other vegetables thrived. Let me explain.

When temperatures and humidity levels shift rapidly, some plants refuse to set fruit. Squash is well known for hitting the pause button when it isn’t getting what it needs. Some plants need it to be warmer, some need it to be less windy, and other plants are more impacted by day length. Observation is the key to understanding this. Some of you may recall my transplanting many stunted Aji Limon chili peppers a few days before Christmas, 2015. Though slow to grow, the wet season that December (sometimes) brings was just right for them. They became big, full plants, and then fruited profusely in June. This had them producing chili just in time for pairing them with mango. It is now October, and those one time stunted, and seemingly mistimed plants, have remained in continuous fruiting. I am sharing this to remind us that every day, every plant, and every challenge, gives us an opportunity to learn. Most mainland planters may have kept those peppers in pots until March or April. I was tempted to try to over winter them in pots. As it turned out, these Peruvian peppers liked the cooler temps, and additional humidity that an upcountry Winter can bring. I learned that not all peppers are alike. Weather that made some chili plants dormant, made another double in scale.

Just this week we had snow on the mountain, known as Mauna Kea volcano. Though the snow is at 14,000ft, and I am at 2700 ft, it impacts my growing, by bringing cool winds down the slope. In order to make the most of this endlessly cold year, I am getting out the seed flats again, and getting a lot of leafy greens going…again. Swiss chard, a variety of kale, collards, peas, and favas will all love this season. Since the temperature is changing rapidly from day to day, I am also using this window of time, where we still have quite a bit of warmth, to start some more tomatillos. I am taking the risk to try a few more pepper starts that all need quite warm days to germinate. Will it work? Only time will tell, but I do know that having a wide variety of plants will keep you, and your community well fed, no matter what season holds in store. Just like these loveable heirlooms, we can adapt, and we will be better gardeners for it. Aloha!

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, permaculture, Soil, Zero waste

Squash Rich Soil Poor

April 22, 2016 squash and awe Leave a comment

Two years ago, I planted a new area with squash, I was hopeful and optimistic. It was open, free of the Iron wood trees, but it desperately lacked soil and the area needed serious rehabilitation. I thought I had given it a good look over, but what I had underestimated was the wind. I was fortunate to have timed my plantings in a year where heavy rains broke the 15+ year drought. The plants thrived. But then the winds came, and destroyed the raised beds, made irrigation very complicated, while also setting back my optimism. Those Winter rains were a fluke, and they haven’t returned again. The wind gusts, on the other hand, have returned with great force, just when you least expect them. For the last two and a half months it has been blowing, then punctuated by dead calm. As a personal challenge, I decided to rethink that area, and figure out how to do raised beds in a wind gust area while also using minimal irrigation. I needed to figure out a way to farm rock.

I walked the area with Randy, the AG (mainly pest and plant disease) inspector. He kicked the ground and noted that they call it the Kau Desert for good reason. He is facing retirement at a time when farming in Hawaii has hit some pretty hard times. My projects seemed to offer him hope and a few smiles in is last years as an AG field agent. Farmers often speak of rocky soil, but this isn’t that. This is rock, period. 100 years ago, and as recent as 50 years back, the Japanese farmers of this area just removed rock day after day. When I say rock, I should note that they are boulders. They created areas of farmland from this rocky outcropping. Some areas are now cultivated by tilling methods, some are run as ranchland, and my borrowed parcel is run as no-till. This Spring I am again facing off with the hardest to farm section of the property. Here, patches of rock that have been exposed by years of wind erosion, and that hard layer of stone will be under my beds. Under normal circumstances, you would never plant on top of rock, but this is a test of possibility. If you can grow there, your system will grow just about anywhere.

The above photo shows what the ground looks like under the new garden system that I am creating. Roots will not be able to penetrate those stones, so all that they need will have to be delivered through the raised bed system. The soil that is there is no longer capable of absorbing and retaining water. But soil has an amazing ability to be transformed back into a condition where it will absorb water. So let’s get to work…what needs to be done? First think about your wind and wind directions. Where is it blowing from most of the time? I am planning on running one simple soaker hose through the base of this bed. Overhead isn’t going to work like it does in my other patch. In the main patch, overhead works, because whenever the wind blows, it will blow the water onto a plant, in this area, that isn’t so. Also minimal overhead irrigation works in the other patch because of the tons of soil building materials that were reclaimed and put to work as a living mulch. A technique that works in one area may not work right across the road. So once you think through your irrigation strategy, think about the movement of the sun. In Hawaii, you can really notice a difference in the direction of the sun’s rays, season by season. Lastly, is it in a location where you will be able to check on it easily? Anytime you are doing a test project, a watchful eye is going to lead you to learning from the experience.

I reused some wire table tops for multiple reasons, I wanted to see if they would:

1)keep the wind from tipping over the stacked design of the beds

2)keep the chickens out

3)create a sturdy base for a trellis

This is what they look like with a variety of squash and edible gourds creeping through.

Not bad, but it gets better. Since I have been working to locate and breed heirloom varieties that are disease resistant, I am putting that to the test as well. Powdery mildew knocks growers flat when they first start growing in Hawaii. This method of mine would never work without the prior, careful study of natural disease resistance. So in other words, know your plants first. I am planting absurdly close plantings of all kinds of things: tomatoes, beans, mustard greens, tomatillos, even some flowers. Most of these I have grown before, but some are new to me heirloom varieties that are getting their “test” here at the farm, such as the Zuni Gold bean that is loved in New Mexico. We see how things turn out for them this year.

The idea is to create a mini food forest with tier upon tier of food. It is my own interpretation of the “Three Sisters” planting method, combined with another Native American technique that includes burying fish. I have fermented the fish first, adding much needed microbes to the mix. My compost scares people. But I am in Hawaii and we don’t even have compost facilities anywhere near where I live. I became the compost facility by working with my chef customers. Raw and fermented material is at the bottom, and it will have plants growing above it.

The close plantings will be a “only the strong survive” kinda deal. Plants can “work it out” and find their ways to get enough sun, water and nutrients. So far, they are working together nicely. are two months in. These close plantings also protect from the drying, harsh winds. These close plantings also create strength in numbers by supporting each other against the gusts. High winds can snap tomato and tomatillo stalks, even with some trellising. This will help your system to better take care of itself. Not only will this planting method provide a great variety of foods and beans will add nitrogen to the soil, it is also planted with bees in mind. Bees area squash growers friend, but unfortunately, they are few in number here where I grow. So I make a bee buffet of all kinds of blooms. I plant in harmony with the native Hawaiian plant Ilima and give those small blooming shrubs extra care and nutrition, and they supply lovely blooms to attract our bees.

Here we see tomatillos growing in harmony with the squash plants. Those bright yellow blooms will be a beacon to the bees. Strings run up from the table tops to a simple bamboo trellis that has the ability to shift in the wind. It has already withstood nearly 20 days of heavy wind, so it has proven itself.

As for the chicken proofing, Hunter is seen here patroling the surrounds while not disturbing the plants themselves. The chickens and I have all enjoyed their collecting of many harmful to the garden insects. I should also note that these plants are growing in very raw compost, and all reclaimed materials were used. This is not something that I advise you to do, but I am doing it as a means to see how fast the restaurant waste can turn to soil. It can be done with careful planning, and a lot of trial and error. I will leave that for another post. So I encourage you into thinking of creative ways to grow your food, create your soil, save our water and nourish our bees. If this can be grown on rock using restaurant waste, so much is possible.

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, pumpkins

Become a Latin (Language) Lover

March 15, 2016 squash and awe Leave a comment

Alright, so you may have thought this was going to be a steamier post than it is, so let me explain. Some of you may have seen those Latin names in the seed catalog, or on the packets and you have simply glazed over due to bad experiences in school. You may be thinking that you do not need this Latin in your life, and it is just there so to look good. I encourage you to learn what it means in the context of your garden. This extra effort may make you succeed beyond measure. Seed packets have limited space, so we should assume any information found there is quite important. The packet can begin to lead you to your future success. So I recommend reading them, but also taking the extra step of understanding what they mean.

This year, before you buy all of your seeds, I ask you to look into the Latin names of the varieties that you want to grow. It is fun ordering seeds, and heirloom growers get really carried away in our celebration of plant diversity. You may like to select based on color, or taste, or select to grow only rare plants. I try a lot of seeds, and test them out each year. The results have been extreme. My growing history is pretty rough, for every one that succeeded, 20 may have been a total bomb. Part of that is where I am growing (Hawaii) part is our multitude of microclimates, altitudes, come and go seasons, and drought…or floods. So what I have decided to do is to stop torturing myself with the “oh maybe this year” denial, and just accept that some will not do well where I am, and others may thrive. I am an optimist by nature, but enough is enough, and I have to accept defeat when it comes to certain plants. The key to future success is not to stop with a success or failure, but to understand what those results had in common. That is where the Latin name of the plant comes in.

On “research Sunday,” I stayed awake into the early morning hours as I plotted which varieties I hoped to grow for the season. I took it one step further than your average grower, by making lists of the plants I grew, then looked up their scientific, aka Latin name. This was the year to reorder chili pepper seeds, but with some doing great, and others performing poorly, I would not allow myself to order another seed, before understanding if there was a trend behind my successes and failures.

I searched for the Latin (scientific) name of the plant variety, then checked several sources to make sure that they were listed as the same name. Check a few sources, because mistakes do happen. Two of my favorite vegetables to grow are categorized into more than one species (example squash and chili peppers) compare what varieties(also known as the common name of the plant) are within each species. Example for the Triamble squash, the species is Maxima, and the variety name is Triamble. Triamble is what the pumpkin is most commonly called, but Maxima is its Latin (scientific) classification that categorizes its genetic lineage. It is necessary for plant breeders, but it can also lead you to success as a grower because it helps you to understand the relationships between plants.

Chilis are a love of mine, so lets look at how this applies to chili peppers. Below, you will see two comeback stories. They were plants that nearly died when I was away travelling. When we look at these peppers, you see that they are very different in their structure. They are, in fact, in different species, but both are hot peppers. The plant on the left shows more vigor, and the plant on the right looks healthy, but rather average, if not below average. The plant on the right I consider so-so in its production of peppers. I happen to adore the taste, so I grow the plant, but I would never consider growing these peppers commercially. The pepper on the left has vigor, and it is putting out triple the blooms of the other plant. This species seems to really want to live in my microclimate.

Black Hungarian Wax

I have struggled year after year with Poblano, Jalapeno, Anaheim. My CA growing buddies sometimes laugh and give me a concerned look, as if I am a chili pepper growing “hack.” But when I mention my success with Ghost peppers, they listen up, because Ghost is one of the most challenging peppers for many to grow. For one, it needs a very long season to produce. Secondly, it can be very challenging to germinate. In CA, and beyond, Jalapeno may be one of the easiest to grow, so it becomes confusing, until you look to the species names, and you will see where the line between successful and so-so pepper plants is drawn.

The beauty in plant diversity is that one size, or in this case one seed, does not fit all. If you are optimistic, you move forward knowing success is out there, you just need to find it. Hawaii farmers are constantly told that we cannot get our production numbers up high enough. The problem is in part due to the fact that many of the plants that have become commercial “sweethearts” do not grow well in Hawaii. Yet other plants in other species, thrive, and produce crops. Because of the way our distribution channels work often times, only the common commercial varieties are seen on the produce order form, so chefs do not use the wonderful, unique fruits and vegetables that thrive here. (more on that is another post) In fact, they may not even know that it grows here.

the bounty — Ghost, Thai Dragon, Lemon Drop, Hawaiian, Fish, Cayenne, Banana, Jalapeno

So what I encourage you to do, especially those in Hawaii, is to study what did well (or failed) for you, and then look into its genetic make up. Are there plant “cousins” that are in the same species that you can also try? To follow with the example, Ghost peppers are in the same species as the pepper image above on the left, Jalapeno is in the same species as the pepper on the right side photo. So I can be relatively certain that if I select more from the same species on the left, I may have further successes! I have never felt that the key to agricultural success in Hawaii lies in creating new seeds in a lab, or trying to grow and compete within the narrow scope of commercial hybrids that are shipped in by the hundreds of tons. Our success is right before our eyes, written in an ancient language. By learning from our success and our failures, we can make better seed selections in the future, and we will certainly move forward with confident strides.

So become a Latin lover, and begin the journey of the plant family tree. You will understand how plants are related to each other, and then maybe explore the possibilities that you may not have tried. Fail too! Yes, fail and make note of what did not do well, then use your new research skills to understand that as well. I say, if we learn from both our mistakes and our failures, we learn twice as fast. Guaranteed, you will love Latin (scientific names) when you have a more successful growing season. When your harvest overflows, with plants needing so little care, you are going to be happy that you took the time to do a little botanical research. Understanding plant genetics is as easy as reading the plant’s seed packet, or catalog description, so give it a try.

Aloha! and good luck!

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, pumpkins

Try (New Things)

June 30, 2015 squash and awe 1 Comment

What if you thought that you couldn’t grow tomatoes or melons, or pumpkins, only to find out that you could have all along? A lot of Hawaii gardeners begin by thinking of mainland season, and mainland vegetables, Soon they watch their dreams fizzle as plant after plant fails. I read and respond to so many messages where all I can do is encourage experimentation, research, and expand your tastes. All kinds of plantings are possible, but sometimes, you have to be the one to figure out those possibilities. Now, so many of us have websites that can hopefully cut your research down by several seasons, if not years, But due to micro climates, what works for me may not work for you, or maybe it will. Often we must just try and see. Many just want answers, they just want seeds, while others are problem solvers and researchers.

Think it cannot be done? It can, trust me on that one. We are now mining history for seed solutions that have been solutions for many generations. They have just been pushed out of popularity due to commercial interests. It is not too late. The Internet connects growers and seed savers from around the globe.

Possibilities are being rediscovered every season. So give it a try, and see if you can find your own solutions. Inspiration is contagious.

companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture

Interplanting With Squash

June 29, 2015 squash and awe Leave a comment

Squash are not known being team players in the garden, but are we giving them a fair chance? Squash will grow out and over everything in it’s path, but if you plant other vegetables at the base of your squash you solve many things at once, let me explain.

For example, the Three Sisters method was a smart interplanting solution invented by the Native Americans, including the Iroquois. Don’t believe me? Well, squash stars (well assists) in the beautiful flip side of the 2009 US Dollar coin. That is right, not only I say that squash can play fair in the garden, the evidence is minted.

Though I was not yet able to do a true, successful Three Sisters Native American planting technique, I’ve been able to keep true to the underlying truth that considered what plants need, and how those needs can be connected in a self caring system. I add in cherry tomatoes, or tomatillos, along with beans, corn, and squash. At times I add plantings of okra or sunflowers in lieu of corn. Tall stands of okra become an excellent resting spots for small birds that feed upon the pickle worm moths and other flying foes. They use the okra as a lookout spot before diving in for a bug. So for those of you who think that a squash farm is just squash, you are missing a lot of the fun, and a lot of the harvest. Not only does it create multiple crops from one watering and one application of fish emulsion, but it also is good for the soil.

Need more convincing? Please remember that squash vines will grow away from this central point, leaving the other plants to breathe. So give squash a chance in your small garden or farm. It will smother weeds, feed your family, and reduce water evaporation for those, like me, who grow in drought conditions. If the vines threatened to take over, prune them. It is that simple. There is little to lose, and much to gain.

Glass Gem popcorn, Tigerella tomatos, Hawaiian Black Kabocha, Jimmy T's Okra, Rattlesnake pole bean...in harmony — Glass Gem popcorn, Tigerella tomatos, Hawaiian Black Kabocha, Jimmy T’s Okra, Rattlesnake pole bean…in harmony

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, permaculture, Pollination

Can Hawaiian Native Plants and Agriculture Co-exist?

May 31, 2014 squash and awe Leave a comment

Last November I questioned the idea: In Hawaii, where many native plants are endangered, or under threat, can I help the three varieties of native plants that exist on the farm property to thrive, while also benefiting squash production? The answer ended up being a clear yes.

As we know, squash need a lot of everything: sun, water, compost, bees, the works. So instead of using non-native plantings to attract more bees, what if I studied the nature of the abundantly flowered native Ilima shrub and tried to work out a system where each would benefit? The result : The Ilima Project.

Ilima is special, it is a hardy shrub that has struggled in the past 17 years as the Ka’u desert has extended it’s Northern border. I found several of these native plants, and decided to be their caregiver by not pulling them up, and planting around them instead. It created a perfect companion plant for the squash, while also nurturing a plant that many of the elders noted that “it used to be everywhere,” much like local kabocha squash. I decided these two could stage a comeback together. The Ilima thrived and it was most grateful for any bit of water or compost that it is offered.

I read in the excellent Bishop Museum Book, “Native Planters of Old Hawaii,” that the Ilima plant was often pruned heavily so to create even more buttercup like blooms for lei making. Though we often search specifically for the crop that we farm, here we can see how a regional and historical book can assist in modern farming, by applying this information that can assist with pollination. The fast growing shrub was tolerant of my experimental no-till techniques, and the bees plunged into bloom after bloom and pollinated the squash as well. The smaller blooms attracted many new bees and beneficial wasps that were “new” to the farm. The Ilima thrived, and created helpful pollination assists, as well as wind blocks for the squash that really doesn’t care for wind.

success! Growing squash with the Native Hawaiian Ilima plant — Success! Growing squash with the Native Hawaiian Ilima plant

As for the squash, they were happy too, as they climbed up and around the Ilima shrubs and across the no-till cardboard mulch. I grew out one of the world’s rare squash for seed preservation (the bright orange one from Armenia, C. pepo in the photo) along with my go to Hawaiian heirloom squash for the community, a Long of Naples, a grey ‘Crown’ squash that originated in South Africa, and also many lovely Thai squash (C.moschata.)

I am just adding compost to the beds so to have a late summer crop. The Ilima shrubs (seen in the rear of the wheelbarrow photo) are continuing to thrive.