Tag Archives: planting

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
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!

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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Hawaii, permaculture

What Wants to Grow

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When planting a garden, it is always nice to consider what wants to live in your area, rather than simply what you want to grow.  Consider being flexible in your chosen flavors, and expand to include unfamiliar tastes that happen to need very little care in Hawaii.  Here in Hawaii with the multitude of micro climates, one often feels fortunate when they discover something that becomes almost “wild” in their garden.  Other gardeners actually mope and complain, while ripping those plants out.

Such culinary wonders as mint and Florence (bulb) fennel spring to mind.  I know many who can grow these plant, but they do not.  They claim that they do not like the taste of them.  The point that I often make is simple: learn to like what likes to grow where you are.  It makes life oh so much easier, and it brings you into new culinary adventures as well.  Letting some of your beans and greens go to seed, and reseed themselves is a great joy, if you let it be.  Let your garden be a little less controlled, a little more lush, and give up on trying to dictate what grows where, and when.  Be an observer, and celebrate how nature leads the way with gardening lessons just as important as those that we search out in workshops and books.

If you notice that your Giant Red Mustard seems to shine in your garden, leg it over to your nearest library and seek out recipes that call for mustard greens.  Mint is expensive in the shops, but loves to tuck in under a drippy eve, or hose.  Mint pestos, mint coolers, mint dappled in fresh salads, or asian style noodle soups.  Research and celebrate, and I promise your gardening days will shine a little bit brighter..

Mint becomes a lovely ground cover underneath edible radish blooms.  This no till garden has many layers of life, just like nature itself.  Radish blooms will soon give way to radish seed pods that can also be harvested young and chopped into your dishes to make a meal sparkle.