What are Hawaii folks planting and harvesting?

The truth is I doubt that they are organic.  I know they are not certified.  I will ask the gal next time.

Wow!  It must be summer.  So much going on.

We are harvesting green beans, red okra and purple asparagus, as well as an abundance of greens and beets.

Just planted four Japanese cucumber starts.  Our regular cukes were nothing to write home about.  They got about 8 inches long and maybe 4 from the entire vine.

Just planted my favorite Hawaii tomato, Kewalo  (the w is pronounced like a v), Gave it lots of extra stuff, like kelp granules and home made compost and four or five other items (Collin fished them out for me but I don't remember the names).

This tomato is one of the many wonderful items that University of Hawaii created before they were compromised by the evil chemical companies.

Learning more about mesclun.  Different seed packets carry totally different varieties of lettuces to cut small.  They are also called micro greens. The current packet is Black Seeded Simpson, Lolla Rosa, Red Salad Bowl (never heard of before), Arugula, Radicchio and Red Venice. I hope our new idea of sowing and transplanting works out.  The starts in the 4 by 8 are looking good.  Next to a banana clump, shade in the morning sun in the afternoon.  Pictures coming soon thanks to Sanderson.  I will download today or tomorrow.

One of the current delights are the Shamas (some kind of singing thrush I believe).  They are so friendly and curious and on alert for any crawly thing they can snag.  They come within inches of us.  We worry that the cats might get one but they seem to have escaped mostly.

Here's a clip of some of its singing.  My birder friend, David Kuhn, is soon to compile an entire CD of the shama's many songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=537GDac30dM

Enjoy.

Lovely songbird...

WOW! What a beautiful sounding bird.  Our summer harvest here is kinda sparse.
Thanks for sharing.
 Craig

I will let you know when David posts his compilation.  An orchestra of wonderful bird sounds up in Koke`e (our mountains, 3500 ft).  First thing in the morning, about 5:30 an then another chorus in the evening.

And, here are Rosina's photos.  She apologizes for the blurriness.

Eggplant takes over entire 4 foot bed and overhangs it:

A wonderful harvest in Hawaii:

One of our wonderful Shama friends:

Gracie helping Collin fluff Mel's Mix:

Gracie supervising Collin.    I'm finding I like getting my bare hands in the wonderful Mels Mix and other mediums.  Yes, my fingernails get pretty grimy but I'm not entering any beauty contests soon.

Mesclun bed, from which we pulled starts for 4 by 8 sfg:

4 by 8 sfg with starts from mesclun bed.  In shade of bananas so they do not burn all day in this sun:

Good salad makings:

Many thanks Sanderson.   It takes a village.

I forgot one. Third try at seed set:

Or, it takes a whole international Forum.

sanderson wrote:Or, it takes a whole international Forum.

Yes, you are right, sanderson.
Now, if only the whole world were like us?

Rosina sent me some more photos of her garden.  Oh, to have a mango tree. . .

Malabar spinach:

One of our friendly Shamas.  One or more of them come out to greet us when we are gardening and they are getting plumper as time goes on.  

Malabar spinach climbing on tomato cage.  It will climb on anything in proximity. (Sanderson can't straighten photos)

Beautiful leaves of the breadfruit tree.

Breadfruit closeup.  We have lots and lots of breadfruit coming on and it is a challenge to work them in to our menus.  Its Hawaiian name is Ulu and one of our large market chains is having cooking classes featuring it this month.

Collin in the mango tree.  I wanted this non producing mango out of the way because it was shading the garden. So Collin (hanai grandson) and two of our women took many branches off for sunshine on the 4 x 7 coming lettuce bed.

Right side of experimental lettuce bed.   We are planting the lower half of the bed with an enhanced compost, adding kelp, Henrikus spring fertilizer which is higher in nitrogen and other items that I cannot remember this morning.  The upper half of the bed is compost only in transplanting.

These are the lettuces we have in that bed: Palla Rosa, Outstanding, Grendblaise, Artic King, Winter Density Romaine, Magenta (my favorite)Bekana Greens and Encore.  I will be sending updates in few weeks so we can see the progress.

Seed starts.  First steps.  Ed sows in these seed flats.

Step ups:



Into 4 by 7 square foot.    This is the square foot bed that we were going to abandon as it was getting too much shade.  It now has so much sun that we may have to try
misters or shade cloth.  Any ideas?  And yes, we are blessed with year round planting and harvesting and year round varmints. Our cukes are getting stung.  Boo hoo.

Thanks Sanderson for posting these photos.  I'm particularly interested in whether the enhanced compost will give us more vigorous lettuce.  We will post again in a few weeks.  If no hurricanes.  Jimena is passing us by and may give us some showers next week.

Everything looks great, Rosina!  Oh, to be able to plant year round...

I've never had a breadfruit.  What do they taste like?

Great photos! How fantastic to have a year round food source, Rosina! The cukes are getting stung? What does that mean?

CC

Gorgeous cukes getting stung by something that I think is called pickle worm.  That is the downside of such a lovely climate.  EVERYTHING grows more prolifically, including the pests.

kauairosina wrote:Gorgeous cukes getting stung by something that I think is called pickle worm.  That is the downside of such a lovely climate.  EVERYTHING grows more prolifically, including the pests.

We get pickle worms every year that just destroy the pickles.  Next year I may try putting pantyhose over each individual cucumber that is growing on a trellis.  Or, grow them on the ground and cover with Tulle and hand pollinate or use parthenocrapic varieties.

Breadfruit on its own is pretty bland.  It is used in place of potatoes.  Can be substituted equally.  Ned and Lindsey use it instead of mashed potatoes over their shepard's pie.  Since we would prefer not to eat that many carbs it is a challenge to use all of it.  The freezer gets pretty full what with that and a bumper mango crop this year.  (I know, I know, you're crying your eyes out)..

Thanks for the ideas about the pickle worm.  The vines are just so gorgeous.  At what point do you put the stocking on?  And here is another amusing thing about our females in this family.  It has been a long time since we have used stockings!! There are those in Hawaii who do wear mainland type clothes and go from air conditioned car to air conditioned office.  Not us.

Breadfruit is a staple as are potatoes and I think the staple foods are generally bland and boring and have to have something with them for flavour.

On the other hand, that is the good part because staples are a lot cheaper to produce and the flavour enhancers are more expensive.

That's why in England one would get a large piece of Yorkshire Pudding and a small portion of roast beef.  That was in the old days when poor families could not afford meat. That was also a reason why soup is served first.  It is inexpensive and fills you up.

kauairosina wrote:Breadfruit on its own is pretty bland.  It is used in place of potatoes.  Can be substituted equally.  Ned and Lindsey use it instead of mashed potatoes over their shepard's pie.  Since we would prefer not to eat that many carbs it is a challenge to use all of it.  The freezer gets pretty full what with that and a bumper mango crop this year.  (I know, I know, you're crying your eyes out)..

Thanks for the ideas about the pickle worm.  The vines are just so gorgeous.  At what point do you put the stocking on?  And here is another amusing thing about our females in this family.  It has been a long time since we have used stockings!! There are those in Hawaii who do wear mainland type clothes and go from air conditioned car to air conditioned office.  Not us.

Yes, I too never wear stockings except each year at the Christmas party I did wear knee highs.  I don't know exactly when to put the stockings on.  I have never done this.  I saw a youtube video talking about it.  The pickleworms here come about the same time each summer so that would give me some idea of when to start doing this.  Here is the video I saw talking about the stockings.  I assume you could also use something with a fine mesh maybe Tulle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17KU7930YJQ

Rosina,  I received your email with the photos of the harvest.  I won't be able to post them until I return home.  Please remind me in 5-6 days.

no problem Sanderson.  Enjoy your time away.

Cool breadfruit tree. We used to get those when I was a kid. Very bland. But yeah, quite a volume of food.

Sometimes people would cook it in so much oil that it got super-greasy and just yuck. I guess there's an art to it.

We have been harvesting beets, turnips and lots and lots of different lettuces.  Got down to only collards for a green.

We are sowing many varieties of lettuce seeds, Magenta and Marvel of four Seasons some of my personal favorites.  Crisp and colorful.  Got a bunch of seeds from Italy (I'm Sicilian ancestry).  Stepping up and sowing endives and kales also.

We are having a terrible time with my favorite herb, Sweet Basil.  It seems there is some kind of fungus type thing that is affecting it.  So sad, because it is really a must in my cooking. Our tomatoes didn't do well, possibly due to so much rain.

We just keep on keeping on.  This morning there were five gardeners who arrived at 7:15 am.  Plenty to do so I did some of the sowing in the earth boxes this afternoon. We have found the earth boxes work even better than the seed flats so have continued to do that.  People are developing specialties.  I sow, Ed steps up and Susan plants the young things.

Shall put my two cents in about my SFG.  I had planted three types of lettuce seedlings and one type of beet, then left on vacation for 2 weeks.  When I returned the SFG was filled with produce and the "volunteer" tomato plant grew 3' and has green tomatoes.

Have to give away some lettuce as there is too much for us to eat.  This is the 3rd planting in that bed, and the one that was most productive.  I wonder if my going away had something to do with it being so productive.

NanSFG wrote:I had planted three types of lettuce seedlings and one type of beet, then left on vacation for 2 weeks.  When I returned the SFG was filled with produce and the "volunteer" tomato plant grew 3' and has green tomatoes. I wonder if my going away had something to do with it being so productive.

Sometimes it seems that way!