Tag Archives: Organic farming

Rare Gori Blue Mottled Pumpkin Trials

March 25, 2015 squash and awe 2 Comments

Growing Species Maxima squash in Hawaii has its share of complications, which is why I do not give up. I am looking for solutions. In the islands, Maxima pumpkins are rare, usually only showing themselves in giant pumpkin contests. also, they are usually not grown organically, even though chemicals are of little help when it comes to the two big island foes of the squash family: Pickle worm and Melon Fly. Throw in three other varieties of tropical fruit fly, endless powdery mildew, and seed digging, fruit munching rodents, and cheap low-end hybrid squash arriving on our shores in hundreds of tons, there is a reason or two why the state of Hawaii lost this crop commercially.

…but it is tasty…and beautiful, so I continue on with my quest

(Sorry to the kind people of Georgia. I’ve used the outdated name “Republic of Georgia” in the video, and also noted that it was in Asia rather than Europe. I should have consulted the atlas first!)

That is a little background so that you understand why a success with a pumpkin is a success in a much larger sense. Take the Gori Blue Mottled pumpkin of Gori, Georgia (Europe.) The seeds have been in my possession after Joe Simcox the Seed Explorer wanted to see if I could grow them out for more seed. I cringed at the thought of struggling with yet another nearly sure to fail Maxima, but I agreed, and I am happy that I did. You see, as it happened, I learned a lot from this pumpkin. It dodged a very critical bullet in that it managed to avoid detection of the oh so sneaky Melon Fly. It did not avoid the gaze and destruction of the Pickle Worm

/moth. But one out of two isn’t so bad, it is somewhat manageable as long as you know what you are getting yourself into. Both predators come in cycles, related to seasons, heat, moisture…the usual. If you give your plants enough nutrition, these long season growers are sure to have a few fruits that manage to avoid the moth/worm cycle. Pickle worm attacks stem, bloom, pollinated fruit, un pollinated fruit….yes, everything. They were the last straw for our commercial pumpkin industry. The ornamental Maximas are much easier to grow

(think Halloween) the bland, non sweet fruits tempt no one, human nor Melon fly. It does make a great treat for livestock and pets who don’t care that it is tasteless and watery.

So featured here in the video is a roughed up 2nd generation specimen that fell out of a tall shrub. The robust vine got a bit carried away and climbed high, only to have the 15 lb fruit crash down during a windstorm. In the quick video, I make a few mistakes, one being that I say it is small for it’s size, I meant to say it has a small seed cavity for it’s size, a great point for culinary varieties. I infer that it is small…but only small for me (15 vs 30 pounders) I also note that I am going to plant them in the kitchen…oh well, I would re-shoot, but it is already prepped and a good quantity was eaten by me. So bear with me. I also would like to recommend Hawaii growers to break off the thick stem of all Maxima variety, due to a multitude of reasons that I will cover later. Just trust me on that one, and I hope all will be inspired by a little “squash success.”

Farming, gardening, Hawaii, Zero waste

Fruit Fly Warfare

January 11, 2014 squash and awe Leave a comment

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.

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Non-GMO legislation passed on Hawaii Island

December 17, 2013 squash and awe 4 Comments

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.