Tag Archives: Hawaii

Agriculture, Farming, gardening, Hawaii, Marketing, pumpkins

Harvesting tips for the tropics

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Farming pumpkins is a test of your patience, and part of that means leaving them on the vine longer than you may want to. They reward you with a bounty of tasty fruits that will store through the Winter without refrigeration. If you have properly fed and watered them, done your best to select the right varieties, and counteracted pests, they will thrive will a lot less care than more vulnerable edible plants. With squash, you do much of the work upfront, and then let them go.

One of the problems that growers face is this “hang time” where the vines, blooms, and fruits are vulnerable to anything from feral pigs, rodents, falling branches, floods, windstorms, theft, and insect damage. Throw in that some varieties can also get a sunburn that creates a scorched patch on the squash that will scar the fruits in such a way that it will not store and must be eaten immediately. A lot can go wrong in a season, but a lot can also go right.

One of the ways that you can increase your success is by recognizing when to pick the squash fruits, and then explore how to cure them. In many climates, squash cure on the vine. What I mean by that is that the squash skin toughens, and the stem dries on the vine. The whole squash plant will die back, exposing pumpkins that were hidden below the once lush leaves. In Hawaii, and other tropical and sub-tropical areas, squash vines do not die back for a very long time unless you have stopped watering it or killed the roots of the plant. Leaving the question, “can I harvest them now?” on your mind.

When you grow annual squash plants that have become perennial due to climate, one of the biggest challenges is knowing when to pick. So many people pick way too soon, selecting shiny skinned fruits and then become unsatisfied with the flavor, or lack of flavor. There are traditional recipes in places like Italy and the Philippines, that call for immature fruits. If you are reading this, and have harvested your squash too young, consider those recipes as an option. If you are looking for mature, robust tasting squash, with a dense color and flavor, it is all about patience.

In Hawaii, squash takes a lot longer on the vine than in other zones. The cooling trade winds maintain temperatures that rarely rise above 80 degrees in upcountry and upper 80’s in lower altitudes. For squash, this is very mild. In California, for example, we worked harvesting heirloom pumpkins in the lower 100’s; somewhere around 110 degrees. Pumpkins are durable, but as harvesters, we felt vulnerable.

When I first started harvesting the squash that I had grown in Hawaii, I did not know when to pick it. Through my research, I found an interesting bit of information from Naples, Italy. It described a technique where fruits were “cured” in the sun for 10-14 days, then moved to the shade for storage. I followed this recommendation religiously. It shocked people to learn that I had waited a full month before presenting these squash to chefs. My further experiments in aging squash brought them to optional flavor. A month or sometimes two months of aging created depth of flavor, and intensified flesh color that plated beautifully. I learned this by eating squash every day, cutting open both perfect, and damaged squash to study what is going on inside, and topping that off with reading online.

So back about the curing. Hawaiian landrace/heirloom varieties of kabocha squash are not necessarily orange or yellow. Many are greenish black, and they will remain that way from beginning to harvest.  Try to look past the color, and more to the duration of time, and the skin appearance. A young fruit will shine with a glossy glow. Think of the Summer zucchini in the markets. If you take your thumbnail, and gently press, you can easily make an indent in the skin. You want to utilize this strategy when you first begin harvesting squash in Hawaii or other tropical zones. Some simple rules are that shiny, skin that you can indent with your nail means it is too soon to harvest.

What you will be looking for is a duller surface. Think paint finishes here: Glossy, semigloss, and matte. Make sure not to harvest at the glossy stage and focus on the other two stages. When you do harvest, do not break off the stems. Leave a couple inches of stem to dry on the pumpkin. This is like a “piko” or belly button for the pumpkin. Many of the squash that do not store properly were inadvertently damaged by the grower by removing the stem, which makes them vulnerable to an interior rot in tropical places. This is quite true in tropical and subtropical places, and more flexible in places where squash cure in the field. In general, I recommend leaving a couple inches of stem, let it dry, then once dry, you can clip it further before selling the produce.

After harvesting the squash, try moving them to a sunny, but protected table or part of the field where they can sit in the sun for 10-14 days. This toughens the skin and dries the stem. Then move them to a shady spot, or a storage shed with good air circulation. I found storing them in bushel baskets was not ideal for long term storage, but good for a couple of weeks if kept dry with good air circulation. Old tables under ironwood trees were my “go to.” In wet weather, you want to make sure to check on them, roll them around and check for any soft spots, or “wounds.” Eat any damaged ones as quickly as possible, as they will not be able to be stored for as long. It goes without saying that there are a multitude of types of damage that the skins can suffer. Time and experience will teach you which ones will store, and what types of damage causes internal rot in squash.

Knowing what you grow is key with squash. Some are closer to either the melon or gourd side of the family tree. They look different, taste different, and have different possibilities for use in the kitchen. I remember the squash Sibley (Pike’s Peak) C. Maxima was a real surprise. Presenting with a golden yellow flesh, and melon like perfume that intensified if left for a month after harvest. Know it, live it, and breathe it, and make note of your findings. These unusual heirloom varieties can be marketed with great success if you understand through firsthand usage, just what makes it special, and how to bring it to its optimal flavor, and color.

Essays and Reflections

A Look at Life

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It is the new year, and I am enjoying watching the world around me, as it grows, and comes to life. January is an interesting time in upcountry Hawaii. Cool, misty rains will be followed by bright sun and high winds. It is our “wet season” where many vining plants will stretch out their arms, and cover their surroundings.

I often make a lot of comfort food in these cooler days. The slow cooker is often on, and jars of soaked seeds come to life on my countertop. It is a wonderful time to make these warm, slow cooked meals, and use the ambient heat to germinate those seeds who need a little more warmth. Heating pads could be used, but then I wouldn’t have the slow cooked soups. Tomato, bean, and chili pepper seeds will get this jump start germination, right before my eyes. I feel again like a child, as I spy on secret worlds in every corner of the pond, garden, and kitchen.

Mexico Midget Heirloom tomato seeds germinate in a simple jar

The greenhouse also wakes up for another season. A Japanese White Eye bird was found in there, and seemed eager for my assistance. Once freed outdoors, it quickly returned to feeding on the young banana blooms. Orchids also bloom, and multiply, and my aquarium guppies, will be freed into the flowing waters of the aquaponics system. Appearing like embers of red, flashing inside the glass vessel. I paused for a moment to take one last close look, before releasing them into a much larger place for them to explore.

Work is everywhere. Planting, and collecting. Repotting, and pruning. Full days, and cozy nights of Winter reading. I don’t even bother to make lists of what needs to be done. At this time of year, everything needs to be done, and every task completed is something to celebrate.

A beautiful Japanese White Eye
gardening, Hawaii, recipes, Zero waste

Raining Avocados

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Upcountry Hawaii is often overflowing with avocados in the Winter. They have been sliced, scooped, mashed, and now roasted. I often clean my kitchen cabinets this time of year, and one of the items that I discovered was an unopened bag of Japanese style bread crumbs, known as Panko. With the winds, and heavy rains bringing down even more avocados, I roasted warm dish was in order. I selected a perfectly ripe one, cut off the bruised bit where it fell to the ground, and sliced it into planks. Next, I beat one egg, and dipped the avocado in it before dredging through the breadcrumbs. I lined them up in a baking dish, and sprinkled them with seasoned seaweed flakes. I set the oven to 450 and let them turn golden (about 15 min.) For a dipping sauce, I combined chili garlic paste, sesame oil, tamari (or soy) sauce, and two spoonfuls of my lemongrass tea (optional.) The result was a lovely warm appetizer with a Pacific twist. I ate it as a meal, but it could be served as a side as well. Simple, healthy, and using our produce abundance in a new, tasty way. Aloha.

Agriculture, companion planting, Farming, gardening, permaculture

Planting Time in Hawaii

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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!

gardening, Hawaii, recipes

Too Much Pipinola?(Chayote)

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I learned to love chayote, an edible gourd that is known as pipinola here in Hawaii. You may recall that I learned to ferment with it, cook with it, and even how to breed it for the characteristics that chefs find desirable.  Here is a look at the start of one of my 10 minute meals.  When I was getting ready to travel, pipinola were ripening, so I took the time to shred the fruits in a food processor, pack into 1qt freezer bags, then squeeze out the air from the bag.  The result were a nice stack of pipinola blocks.  Today, as you see in the image, I took one of those frozen blocks, dropped it into my slow cooker, and added tomato, onion, chili pepper, taco seasoning, pumpkin and more to the mix.  I will leave it to cook all afternoon, and when I return from the farm, dinner will be waiting.  This same technique would work for chili.  The pipinola takes on the flavor of the taco spices, and acts as a great filler.  It is a great way to add vegetables to your cooking, while also making use of the fruits at your doorstep. I have plans on topping the lot with refried beans and cheese before stuffing the mix into tortillas.

I just returned home to find my neighbor telling me that he can smell my cooking down the street!  It is a homemade smell that we all want to come home to.  I just finished it by thickening it with a can of refried black beans, and some of yesterday’s rice…and I realized that this would make a great dip too!  I will be happy to eat this in many different ways in the days ahead.  Taco salad?  Maybe my kraut tacos…with scrambled eggs in a breakfast burrito.  See the bottom photo to see the transformation it made while I was at the farm trellising more pipinola vines.  Now it is time to top with cheese and test it out.

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Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Marketing

Waimea Gold

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A brief note to update you all on a new variety I am breeding for Hawaii.  It is called “Waimea Gold,” and it is growing beautifully here.  I have crossed two strong landraces, then inter planted with other c. moschatas that were performing well. I allowed them to again cross, and now I am hand pollinating and selecting traits.  This last step is currently going on, and it will be part of the stabilization process.

The result is a market variety that is beginning to show up at some of our farmer’s markets, and the chefs have been serving them up too.  I have given seed to two local farmers that are growing them already. They have noted that it just “wants to grow” which is exactly what we need.  No fuss. But I will be doing a bit of fussing in the months ahead, as I continue to stabilize the traits.

For those of you interested in plant/squash breeding, here are the traits that I am selecting for:  Small size (3-4lb max), smooth, easy to peel, versatility in flavor profile (can be used in a wide variety of dishes,) pest and disease resistance (especially powdery mildew and pickleworm,) and best of all it is a contender to give the imported bland little kabochas a run for their money.  Tasty and local…not to mention kinda cute.  Here are the current photos! The green ties on the stem mark that the pumpkin blooms were hand pollinated for seed purity. So Waimea….let’s hope we have struck gold!

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

Squash Rich Soil Poor

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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.

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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.

DSC_1246

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.

DSC_1231

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.  DSC_1247

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

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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!

Farming

Lessons from a Rooster

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When thinking back to the family farm of my childhood, I remember the animals most of all.  Some things will never change. I have always felt a connection to the creatures around me.  I credit my parents for instilling the strong sense of responsibility that goes with caring for animals.  When the storms came, you went out, not in. You stayed out until every single one was accounted for. Their health and safety was always on our minds.  But with that being said, I’ve found that I have had to acquire what feels like an enormous amount of skills.  Now, I am the grownup, and that means that I need to figure out how to care for hurt or injured animals, often times on my own. Some of it is natural to me, some of it takes all that I’ve got.

2015 brought upcountry Hawaii the mosquito spread avian dry pox, in wave upon wave of illness. It does not effect humans, or other animals, but it can be devastating to birds of all kinds. I was fortunate that I was given the “heads up” warning by an old artist friend of mine.  Her alert allowed me 72 hours of precious time to come up with a game plan. I was able to prep the birds, by giving them extra things in their diet. Nutrition was key to helping them through the pox, that can also cause blindness.  For six weeks, the illness first struck the domesticated laying hens, then spread to the wild poultry that are near home, and then those at the farm.  I steamed pumpkin scraps and fed all of them really good food.  Lethargic sad looking birds were everywhere.  Even very wild hens and roosters allowed me to gather them up and put them in poultry ICU. That was a clear signal that they were very sick.

The most challenging order of business was eye care, as the pox often involves the eyes of the birds.  I wrapped them in bath towels, nice and snug, then bounced and patted them like a baby before swabbing their eyes with homemade saline solution. Every day, I made a new batch of simple medicine from local Hawaiian salt, and boiling water that has been left to cool.  This went on three times a day, for each bird, at both locations, for weeks.  This work was on top of the normal ins and outs of vegetable farming.  It felt like I lived on coffee for 3/4 of each day.  There are things that you just have to do, regardless, and this seemed like one of them. It wasn’t the kind of thing I could turn my back on.

I had been down this road before, when the neighbor dog was injuring the hens.  I realized how much was possible, and how loyal and grateful each animal became after caring for them.  A lot of people ask me why these animals are so loyal to me, even though none of them are mine.  I think a lot of it comes from the fact that each and every one of them has been sick or wounded in some way, and I did my very best to step up and help them out.

I have been told that chickens are mean, dumb, that they have no memory, and they are untrainable.  I have found that none of these things seem to be true.  I will never forget the day that Ruby, a wild rooster that was blind in one eye, laid at my feet while I kept his son alive, and also able to see.  I was trying to save at least one of the young rooster’s eyes.  I will never forget that day.  It was pretty powerful to have a full grown wild rooster lay at your feet as you gave another one emergency care. It was clear that he knew what I was doing. I was caring for his family, and he knew that he could trust me.  Ruby remained loyal to me.  He was a lovely, powerful rooster that had survived three mauling by roving dogs, the pox, and even severe injuries from a rival rooster.  In the end, he died in my arms, wrapped in a towel, warmed by the setting sun.  I had administered treatment for him dozens of times, but then finally, his complications let me know, that I had to put him down in the quietest way possible.  I cried.

I buried Ruby beneath the chili peppers at the farm.  For a good long while, the dogs and I just sat and watched the scene around us. The setting sun. The closing squash blooms.  The young hens that stood on Ruby’s new grave. I realized that my family taught me to not overlook such times.

For me, this rooster’s story became symbolic of so much more. I realized how much we learn about ourselves by observing.  Ruby’s story also impacted the life of a WWII veteran at a talk I gave a few months ago.  I was explaining about why I chose to explore squash and farming. I give some context so to help illustrate what keeps you going.  There are a lot of reasons to give up, but also plenty of reasons to continue on. Ruby was part of that context.  I had given out one of my farm cards to each and every of the 60 Sr citizens in the room. Each of the cards had a photo image that I took at the farm.  Some were of flowers, others of pumpkins, baby chicks, and, of course Ruby the rooster.  I passed them out before my talk, and decided not to give a power point.  Each person held an image of the farm in their hands, like a piece of the puzzle.  If you put them all together, you understood how I live my life. If you listened to my talk, you understood why I live as I do.

I had tried my best to guess who would like what photo card.  Who might like dogs. Who loved cooking. At the end of my talk, many of the elders were now holding those cards like a treasured possession.  They had a tiny piece of my story, and that inspired them to share their own stories.  In my talk, I noted that in order to make the drive up to meet with them, I had to reassemble the fuel injection of the old VW that now sat in front of the “speaker parking” sign that they had placed in the parking lot for me. I told them that I also chose to go out of my comfort zone, so to save a rooster’s eye, before making the drive to meet with them.  I generally do not discuss surgical type farm things, but this seemed like a group that could handle it.  The point was that farm life can nudge you into self discovery.  There are those that will act, and those that will look the other way.  Along with this came the story of Ruby, and more, filling over an hour with sharing.

As I made my way out, to the sun filled doorway, several hugs and handshakes came my way.  One of the WWII Veterans that lined the back row, pointed at the photo card that I had chosen for him, and excitedly asked if “this is the rooster whose eye I was trying to save?”  I said no, that the photo was of Ruby, the young rooster’s Dad.  I was happy that my card selection was right, that he would like roosters.  He kept holding my hand, squeezing tighter as the tears welled up.  The previous excitement washed away in an instant.  I squeezed back and simply said in the most comforting voice I could muster up, “yeah, that is good ol’ Ruby.”  Then I simply waited in a way that my WWII Veteran father taught me how to do.  Just wait.

I can only guess what my rooster story meant to that man.  His eyes gave me a few clues.  To be the young rooster was easy in comparison.  Young rooster fell ill, and the farm girl cared for him.  To be Ruby was much more complex.  Ruby had put himself in danger over and over again, so to protect.  He had been mauled, and left for dead, and recovered over, and over.  Then, after being through so much, he laid at my feet, showing strength and courage without the fight.  Ruby had learned to trust, regardless of what he had been through.

The Veteran’s handshake tightened, and he lowered his head as a few tears slipped away. Maybe it was my story, or the symbolism, or the fact that in the end, I recognized the complexities of other lives.  Maybe he realized, that if I could see all of that in a rooster, that I probably saw right into his soul as well. I could only guess that he’s been fighting the war, and fighting the flashbacks, and fighting in ways that I’ll never know.  He’s been fighting for more years than I have been alive.  Maybe just what he needed was some farm girl to drive up in an old Super Beetle and allow him to stop fighting so hard.  That maybe in his own way, his tears allowed him to lay down like Ruby, and to trust, before watching me drive away.