I was in need of a serious amount of mulch material (and a truck) to complete some of the new composting beds this week. Here I am just about running out of steam after a long, hot afternoon spent shoveling. The fine ground brown waste was purchased from Organagrow mulch
It isn’t my nature, but I have been slinking around like a true guerilla with my sites on the fruit fly population. I wrote a 4 page essay on my findings, that I will spare you for now. I will unleash it on my readers soon enough. As some of you bundle up, and pour through your seed catalogs in hopes of Spring, perhaps dreaming about lands where there there is no true Winter, let me remind you, here in Hawaii we have the same brutal Agricultural pests as the Congo. I wish I were joking. One soon learns why 90% of our veggies are shipped in from Fruit fly free localities. Here in Hawaii we are in the heart of yet another fruit fly “bloom” (they can have 8 to 9 cycles within the Calendar year. ) I refuse to be defeated. Who knows, maybe outsmarting tropical pests will be my legacy. It isn’t glamorous, but it is true. OK back to the war…
Three waves of determined effort are necessary, and well, a continuous parts of your growing practice here in Alohaland.
Clean crop practice: I bag the stung squash in reused metallic coffee bags that my Starbuck’s Grounds for your Garden come in. I then place them in the sun for a couple hours before they are dropped into a sealed bucket where they will die and decompose in the weeks again.
Lures: The men are targeted and lured by the use of the right scent for the right fly ( sorry guys.) Though Oriental Fruit fly does not attack squash, they are on the property in large numbers, so I am taking them out for the benefit of someone’s crops. They may be feeding on a neighbor farm. The mean, but gorgeous Melon fly is my leopard spotted enemy. Cure lure is their bait. See reused cup trap image in prior post for the general idea. Homemade traps have cleared hundreds of males from the two varieties, with the bulk being Oriental Fruit Fly.
Bag…no double bag ’em: I have used my fledgling Blue Hubbard as a case study plant, trying out all kinds of strategies. So far, my vote is for a quick, but meaningful hand pollination followed by a parafin wax baggie, topped with a brown paper lunch bag. Driven by scent, this seems to be a good solution so far.
I haven’t mentioned this on the site as of yet, but it is important to do so. After much debate, the Mayor passed the legislation on behalf of the farmers, the Native Hawaiians, and the many concerned citizens of the state and beyond. It is hard to sum up the importance of this legislation for me personally, but I will try. I wrote two testimonies and delivered one in person. It was terrifying for me. I get stage fright, so delivering testimony was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But I had to get it together and look beyond myself to see the power in numbers, and stand tall. On a practical level, it was also completely necessary for me to do because GMO squash would wipe me out. GMOs have the potential to wipe out many who are organic. You loose you Organic certification if your fruits/veg test positive for GMO. Believe it or not, some non organic farmers tried to say that that wasn’t a very big issue. Loosing your certification/foreign markets due to your neighbor’s actions would probably be a pretty big deal to most people.
For me personally, it allows me to continue to grow squash without cross pollination with GMO varieties. Squash is one of the most susceptible to cross contamination, and since bees travel many miles, it is almost impossible to control without close pinning shut each and every bloom (not possible on this scale that I am growing.) Different varieties of squash all cross with each other so that without a shutdown of GMO seeds, GMO squash would quickly cross contaminate the existing squash farms, and wipe out all local squash varieties, and we have no local seed bank to go to. It allows me to continue to offer pure strains of pumpkins that were in the hands of our ancestors. It allows me to know what I am growing, and to be proud of what I am doing with my life. It allows me to expand my farming efforts, and celebrate the uniqueness of our isolated island environment. It allows me to offer non-gmo squash and pumpkins from Hawaii all of which are grown in hand built soil using organic methods.
This is just what is on my mind right now. It is like the skies opening after the rain. It is possibilities for the future of farming, of reclaiming sustainable methods, and feeding our families right. It sets us apart from the rest of the state in the best possible way. The Big Island is now a leader. OK off the soapbox.
When walking the Ironwood lined path behind the squash vines, this tiny man was found working his way home. Beautiful and independent, I let him go again so that he could return to his tall tree home.
A venti Starbuck’s cup had a second life on the farm as a fruit fly lure. Here in the foreground, a male Oriental Fruitfly (one of 4 species of fruit fly here in Hawaii) floats in a mild soap solution after being lured by the Methyl Eugenol drops that were placed on the suspended cotton ball. A cheap and effective reuse solution. Next…the Melon Fly!
This week feels like two. It is a hot week here in Hawaii. What better time to be carting about my body weight in fish heads? Yes, you heard me. Alright, so it isn’t an ideal time to be working with raw fish, but opportunity knocked, and I answered. The theme of the week is to make use of even more restaurant waste. What better place to make the most of the discarded fish bits from our beloved Ahi and Mahi Mahi? The Chefs have set me up with enough fish heads to enrich the new farm addition. I am getting my composting game in overdrive with the gloves pulled up high for this messy week….but I am ready and grateful for the challenge. And it should also be noted that I say a small prayer of gratitude for each fish that is added to the soil building project.
Fish composting and fish elulsion making are on the adjenda.
Dark green, with light green and gold freckles, Dream Keeper is a new organic squash that I created by cross-pollinating two strong C. Moschata strains. The result…a beauty that is virtually mildew and bug proof without sprays. On the inside she is as gorgeous as a Hawaiian sunset.
The first bloom of the first heirloom in my 2012 squash seed trials. It was simple, beautiful and perfect to mark what would become the first of many plants that were grown so to try to solve a problem here in Hawaii.
Squash and Awe 