Tag Archives: Hawaii

gardening, Hawaii, Uncategorized

The Climbers

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Squash are either looked upon as amazing, sprawling, productive plants with a mind of their own, or else space hogs that need to be to be reigned in.  Obviously I see nothing but beauty and inspiration in their vines, but one of the most FAQ that I get is how do you control them?  The answer is simple, the more you try to rearrange their vines, cut them back, or run over them with a lawn mower, the more you are destroying your chances of being a successful squash grower.

I advise Hawaii growers to prune both Winter squash and edible gourds back once or twice a year, after harvest.  What I hear, is a lot of people cutting off vines as they are getting ready to flower and set fruit, then they wonder why they didn’t get squash.  Pick your battles here, folks. You get one or the other:  tidy garden or squash.  Considering that the state of Hawaii was down to one commercial grower before I started, one would think that if you got a plant established enough where it was spreading all over, you would leave it alone and let it reach out.

In the past few years, I have made some progress with inter planting with all kinds of things.  Squash will crawl over everything, but it will also keep on crawling.  I let the vine continue on its way and trim off the leaves that may be shading the pepper plant, or eggplant that it is crawling upon.  Now there are a lot of different kinds of growers out there, and this will not set well with some, but for those with a small space, permaculture bent to them, this is for you. Before we go on, just note that squash produce their fruits on the ends of their outstretched vines.  If you cut off these critical vines, you have made a prune that is going to really set you back.  I know many lawnmower cowboys who fight me on this, but trust me cowboy, you’ve shot yourself in the foot.

Here are a couple of photos from my home gardening experiments.  Today, I added additional pieces of bamboo this way and that, so  to create a strong enough trellis for chayote/pipinola to smother.  I crossed the bamboo and tied with wire.  Two untreated shipping pallets can be seen in there as the base, and heavy pieces of bamboo get threaded into the sides of the pallet to create planes where the upwardly mobile vines can go.  At the base, also you will find Winter squash, and Christmas lima beans planted.  It doesn’t really matter who grows on what.  All three are vines, all three are valued plants in the garden.

This garden is now overly shaded from the banana trees, so my focus is now the narrow windows of sunlight.  These climbers are now at a point where they are up and out of much of the shade.  This “living wall” serves several purposes, most importantly, it lessens the wind tunnel effect of this corridor garden. I also like the fact that it becomes a vertical place of interest as well.  But equally important to me, is that it is a home for the Jackson chameleon family and their newborns.  I care about such things, and I realize that many do not, but for me, leaving a permanent place where they can be fairly undisturbed has brightened many a day.  Tonight, alpha male “Zig Zag” eagerly climbed the tallest of the new bamboo stakes before disappearing for the night.

Ever watchful, they seem to be aware of who is looking out for them by building gardens with trellises to climb.  These East African chameleons are a highlight to my day. They too are great climbers, but get themselves down to the ground to eat snails and slugs.  They are territorial by nature, so if they like a spot, they will remain there and have their family there.  I have been blessed with seeing them in all ages, from those only a few days old, to full grown.  I have treated them for injuries and dehydration when needed, and I have learned so much about them in the process.

On the flipside of this wall, I have created a mini garden that gets a lot more sun.  In December, I transplanted the leggy seedlings, as well as the aging, may not germinate seed, and got this! A lovely mix of all the things I love.  A little bit of everything planted quite closely together.  So close, that I have to be really proactive with the fish fertilizer, as in, fertilize tomorrow because these plants are beginning to fruit.

I should also mention that banana stumps create the border for what is a very shallow raised bed garden that is at the base of this climber trellis.  The nutrients of these bananas stumps will continue to seep out, and eventually, they will breakdown in place.  A new stump can be piled on top, and continue the cycle.  I’ve found these to be excellent cool places for worms to have their offspring.  All of these reclaimed things were free to use in the garden.

Hawaii’s seasons come and go in such a way, that you can keep some plants going for quite a long time.  Some peppers and eggplants last over 2 years with proper care.  They do not fruit year round, nor do they have the enormous yields like they do in many parts of the country, but they can be fixtures to count on and plan around.  Lima beans need a very long season, as do so many of the Winter squash that do well in Hawaii. So think ahead, and plan on those plants to be in the same spot for 6 months or more.  If you think ahead, and leave them alone as they grow, you may find that you like the look of sprawling vines after all, especially after eating the bounty of the season.

Agriculture, Farming, Hawaii, Uncategorized

Picture Perfect Pumpkins

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I frequently reference putting a small block of untreated lumber under your pumpkins and Winter Squash.  Many people note that they do not have the time to do so, but also note that wet weather and bugs caused their squash to rot in the field.  I recommend making the time to protect your pumpkins with a little extra care. The way I look at it, by increasing your yield through the reduction of waste, you are saving time.  I took these photos (below) to give people an idea of what squash that have remained in contact with the ground all season can look like, especially here in Hawaii.  Keep in mind that in Hawaii, many of the Winter squash and kabocha that do well here take more than 110 days.  Often more than 120 days until harvest.  Somewhere in there, as the fruit sets,  try to make time to “block” your fruits by lifting them off the ground with a scrap piece of wood. The scrap wood only needs to be 4″x 4″ or so.  Once you have the wood blocks, you can use them over and over for years. I keep them in small stacks near the edge of the patch. It does take some getting used to, but it helps to safeguard from rot that can occur due to surface moisture as well as insects that can damage the surface of your squash.

The above featured squash shows what damage can occur.  Luckily, the harvest occurred before it caused the pumpkin to degrade on the inside.  Since I caught this while it was simply a surface issue, I happily made it into my beloved squash curry for myself.  This could have easily gone deeper into the pumpkin and caused the entire fruit to be lost.

With the way I farm, there is no true “loss” because the damaged squash can become nutritious pet food, chicken food, and rich soil building materials.  But when you farm small, you need to think smart and safeguard what you grow.  Some squash simply drop from the vine, and others may only half develop due to incomplete pollination by bees at flowering.  These things happen, and it is just simply part of the natural cycle of things.  What you can do, is give a little extra tlc to the fruits, and you will be rewarded with picture perfect produce that inspire chefs to put them on display before heading into the kitchen. One chef that I will not name, has been seen giving a slight hug to the squash as they enter his kitchen domain. Huggable produce is good produce.

This extra step in protecting the skin of your  squash will probably add an overall awareness by creating an intimacy with your farm as well.  You can tell a lot from how your squash are flowering and fruiting. A watchful farmer can see signs of insects, powdery mildew, the need for some fish fertilizer, pruning, and more, by stepping carefully into the vines.  These preventative observations can really make the difference in having a successful season. So while you are inspecting your fruits, give them a boost.  You will be rewarded at harvest time.

Farming, Hawaii

The Fermented Farm: Beer Traps

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People ask me what school of farming I use.  There are a lot of groups to choose from:  organic, no-till, Hawaiian natural farming, Korean natural farming, biodynamic, intensive, permaculture…the list goes on and on.  I use elements of all of those, and I have adapted them to the particular situation I have, and my situation is one of ever changing conditions.  If there is any one thread that continues through all aspects of my farming, it is microbes.  Today, I am going to share one of the ways fermentation is part of my farming practice.  Beer!  Yes simple as it may seem, the humble dregs of beer kegs, and other cast away remains of beer gets used in my farming as beer traps.

A beer trap is my way of capturing the insects, slugs, and snails that would otherwise damage newly planted seeds, and seedlings.  It is a highly effective way of trapping them before you plant your seeds or seedlings, as well as during your growing season. I trap before I plant.  People often think that in the dry upcountry, we don’t have slugs and snails, but we do.  When you add a little moisture to the plot, every single slug or snail will be drawn to that parcel.  By simply taking reclaimed cups, saucers, trays, plastic tubs, and the like, and putting an inch or more of beer in the bottom, you will have a very effective way of removing the pests from your field.  My strategy is to place traps near new plots of seedlings, depending on the time of year, I will catch a wide variety of the bugs that would lessen my productivity.

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Above are two small traps that will be put out today.  With this small amount of beer, you will be surprised what shows up in there.  I can add some water to top off the traps.  Each day the beer trap will have a riper aroma, making it even more tempting as bait.  To increase your success, you can burry the traps so that they are nearly flush with your soil, you can make them larger, deeper, out of different materials, but the basic idea remains the same.  Trap before you plant and you will see results.

 

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Farm Fermentations: squash, beet and seaweed

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I began fermenting back in July as a means of finding even more uses for the vegetables that I grow.  In the past six months, I have continued to explore ways that fermentation can be good for me, my farm, other farmers, and the entire community.  It continues to be a journey of discovering new things with each new ferment.

This past week I decided to continue to work with other farmers and their abundance.  It turns out that my quarts of fermented produce have become a wonderful item to barter with. Squash is the core of all I do, so squash is also the core foundation of my fermentation.  I have experimented with two varieties of winter squash, one variety of summer squash from my fellow farmer Lark, and pipinola.  Pipinola is what I consider a cousin of squash.  We have a unique name for it here in Hawaii, but it is more commonly known as chayote.

I have previously sung the wonders of pipinola on my webpage, but I would like to add that it is a good source of vitamin C.  Raw chayote it crunchy, and crisp, which are two great things for fermentation.  It is also quite neutral in flavor and color, making it my fill in for cabbage.  It also releases water quite easily when salt is added.

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I began my pipinola growing with green skinned heavily wrinkled fruits.  I found a variation that I liked which was a smoother, softer skinned fruit.  I selected these traits and gradually replanted the fruits that displayed this smooth skin.  Like any variation there are upsides and downsides.  The smoother, softer skin, makes the skin easily used in the kitchen instead of the tougher skinned ones.  The downside, is that they are much more susceptible to damage through bruising and nicks.  Pipinola/chayote is grown by replanting the fruits, and the one large seed within will germinate with a dynamic vine.

One you have your fermentation base vegetables, it is great to explore how new combinations can change it all up.  So this week, I investigated how other farm goods can be brought into the mix.  I have always loved root vegetables which are not easy to grow where I am farming.  Beets have come into season again here in Hawaii, so it was time to revisit the Bonk family and get my hands on some beets. Marlene was happy to take a quart of pumpkin/carrot/pipinola kraut, while I was excited to fill my bag with beets.

With each new vegetable, I create a series of ferments that are linked by that one new flavor.  If we were talking fashion design, my ferments would be a collection, so I will refer to them as such.  In the beet collection, I decided to marry the sweet with the heat of ghost peppers in another, as featured above, I threw it all in.

Each of us will like different combinations of vegetables, and as is the case with fermentation, you may like some fermented vegetables, that you do not like unfermented.  Fermentation transforms, melds, marries flavors into a complex profile.  So with the new addition of beets, we can look at how they shape the ferment in terms of nutrition, flavor, and color.    There is also the need to consider what is the limit of how much beet we can handle?  When is it enough? Experiment so to know the limitations of your ferments.  I love seaweed, known here as limu, but there is a point where enough is enough.  To much limu can make the ferment very salty, and very intense in minerals. It can pack a punch and “kinda levels” those not used to it.  I feel like beet could go the same route, in being an overpowering vegetable, where you need to understand how to use it as an accent, in a combination of flavors, and as a main flavor. As is the story of fermentation, time will tell. Longer fermentation time may make it mellow…or not.

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Above, locally sourced Ogo seaweed is busy making my ferments both intense and complex.

Repurposing found objects is also a great way to begin in fermenting.  I chose to repurpose a 4 qt crock pot crock and found a lid that would work with it.  Most of my ferments are done in one quart jars, but I decided to try a larger quantity of the “kitchen sink” ferment.  Quart jars were used for smaller volume experiments.

I’ll be keeping you posted on how the new farm ferment collection turns out, but until then, think in terms of abundance in your garden, your cellar, your farmers market, and region.  Abundance is a luxury as long as you do not allow it to overwhelm you.  Too much of a good thing can be stressful, and putting up a bushel of vegetables on your own, is quite a task.  I can honestly tell you that it does get easier to work your way through a volume of produce.  I think starting with what would roughly fit in a grocery bag is a good place to start.  So give it a try…and good luck!

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Tropical Raw Energy Bars With Pumpkin Seeds

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I am a chronic meal skipper, so at the start of every new year, my promises to myself are always about food.  I try to challenge myself to prepare ahead of time, and then have healthy grab and go items. Eating homegrown is so satisfying, and it can be an important way to retrain yourself into new ways of eating things from your garden.  But even knowing that, prepping takes time. So I have created strategies to have healthy options at the ready.

One of my success stories is a no bake bar that is comprised of raw foods. This recipe uses two farm ingredients, banana and pumpkin seeds.  I am drying macadamia nuts right now, and in the future, those would make a lovely addition.

I use a mix of ingredients to combine into a snack bar full of energy providing nutrients.  In general terms, the additions are of two main categories:  ingredients that will make things stick, and ingredients that need to be stuck together. Prep time under 10 minutes plus refrigeration.

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“sticky ingredients” can be:

coconut milk, almond milk, nut or seed butters, ripe banana

“things to stick ingredients” can be:

Oat bran, ground flax seed (these two or similar ones will create the body of the bar) dairy free or regular chocolate chips, seeds like chia, hemp, sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes…

I then use carob or cocoa powder to flavor the lot.

Here is roughly my process:

Every time is different, but today, I put some pumpkin seeds through the grinder (or if using the food processor, I put them in whole), add in some sunflower kernels, chia/flax/hemp seeds, some coconut flakes (the big ones) some nuts, dairy free or regular chocolate chips, coconut milk, granola, almond milk, carob powder or cocoa powder.  Added flax seed bran, and oat  bran, and added bran until it was a good consistency to press into a pan.

I just put in what I have.  I add only enough of the milks to smoosh it all together.  I think the addition of  a glob of almond butter and ripe smooshed banana makes the bars rich and satisfying.  I then just press it into a square pan, and top with more coconut,  pressing the coconut into the top of the bars.

I have always mixed this in a large bowl, but today I made it in a food processor since I had it out and ready to go.  I find that it is easy to use the back of a large spoon to press it all into the pan before topping with more coconut.

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I then I cover the pan, and pop it into the fridge, and I will cut them into squares after a couple hours. I keep them in the fridge, and then put a couple in a travel container to carry with me. I keep key ingredients on hand so this takes just a few minutes. It could be served as a healthy desert too!

I should be making these every week….now there is a New Year’s resolution I can stick with!

Farming, gardening, Hawaii

Winter Garden: using up aging seed

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Even with the highly variable days of a Hawaii Winter upon us, I continue to plant. In these short days, sometimes hot, sometimes rainy days, followed by very cool nights, squash can be sluggish to germinate and take off. I use this as a window of opportunity to get a other plants going nearby. I consider this a great way to make the most of my gardening time.  I have been enjoying the holiday season in these past weeks, and part of that enjoyment is spent in the home garden.  Fog, mist, and bright sun have all come through in unpredictable patterns, though this is not ideal for squash, other plants have enjoyed having their time to shine.

This seemed like an impossibly bad time to plant heat loving chili peppers, but in 2015, we had a very unusual year, leaving my chili plants stunted and at risk.  I wasn’t going to give up on them, though.  Our long come and go seasons can work for chili plants.  Especially those that hail from cooler places, and/or higher slopes.  I have raved about Aji Limon aka Lemon drop pepper, a widely available heirloom chili from Peru.  It loves this mix of hot and cool, wet and dry.  I am happy to report, in the past three weeks, those stunted transplants, when planted into the garden, have really taken off.  They needed care, pronto.  I waited, and waited for the right weather to come, but what they really wanted was to get out of the pot and into the ground.  Here is what they look like now. Textbook pretty little pepper plants that are going into their fruit setting. The aging, weevil eaten seeds of the Christmas limas got a change to grow, and my beloved pipinola (chayote) climbs upwards.  Also seen is the collard plant that also wanted to be transplanted.

I take great pleasure in trying to seed save, but I also like to keep the varieties actively growing, rather than storing the seeds.  The downside of my process, is that my attention is often away from these seeds, so when I have some old, slightly buggy seeds, I get them in the ground quick.  I remain grateful for the “save.”  In an ideal world, all would be labeled and stored in climate controlled situation, but for me, I am thrilled if I find the time to dry the seeds and plunk them in a jar for home planting.  Pumpkin seeds get VIP care, but beans and greens seeds often get less storage, and often just go from garden to shelf to garden again.  Let’s look at the results.  The “forgotten” seeds  are pushing forth from the no-till garden. They will be great providers of fresh seed and of course a lot of meals this year.

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I also take full advantage of the rarely clear space in the garden, by sprinkling any aging seeds about.  Seen above, some lettuce  germinates with radish through a simple, put effective means of my chicken proofing the plot. (Sorry Betty)  Betty is a spurred hen, a real sassy gal with a wonderful love of high kicking her way through the garden.  She puts the “free” in free range.

I think this time of year is a great time to get mizuna, mustard, radish, collards and kales going.  I love my greens, beans, pumpkins and such.  So I plant heavily, and put them “up” in ferments, or use them for fresh eating.  I also freeze my lima beans for making soups and chili.

Yesterday, as I plucked plump chayote from the vine, a gentle, female Jackson Chameleon caught my eye.  She was a teenager, enjoying the afternoon mist and using the chayote vine as a bridge across the garden.  It is a beautiful addition to my workday in the garden.  I hope your garden is also filled with inspiration!

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Agriculture, Essays and Reflections, Farming, Hawaii, Marketing

Three Cheers for the Media

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I just want to write a note to bring attention to the efforts of editors across the country who made the decision to include a story about sustainable agriculture in their papers.  It may not seem like much to some of you, but it means a lot to we small farmers and heirloom seed preservationists/researchers who are trying to get our voices heard.  The idea?  That we have answers right in front of us.  Myself and many others have been trying our best to share old news that is also good news:  Heirlooms matter.  So it is all the better when editors get an opportunity to pick up an AP article about such things and run with it.  So farmer hat is off to the Editorial staff at the following publications:

SFGate of San Francisco, California

The Washington Times of D.C

Lancaster Farming of Ephrata, PA

The Star Advertiser of Honolulu, HI

MySA of San Antonio, TX

and of course the team at the West Hawaii Today of Kona, HI who put the ball in motion.

For running this article about my farming efforts in their publications.  Each and every action matters from seed to soil to getting the word out to others.  So thank you news teams for helping to share a bit of good news.