Heirloom seeds in Hawaii

OahuSFG on 5/10/2011, 5:35 pm

I finally got a good answer for why my Heirloom seeds did not grow. I asked a teacher, who runs the Agriculture Program at Campbell High School.

He said that the seeds that I purchased from the mainland were probally not adapted to the weather here. It is best to grow plants from seeds gotten here in Hawaii due to our unique climate conditions.

Anyone out there with Heirloom seed sources here on Oahu?

JustMe on 7/23/2011, 9:02 pm

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/seed/order.asp

UH sells seeds to the public. Maybe not heirloom varieties but definitely Hawaii-friendly.

My family lives in HI and we were just visiting. I saw but didn't go into Fukuda Seed Store on Kalani Street. I ran into the nearby Koolau Farmers nursery for seeds and purchased kabocha, Manoa lettuce, choi sum, and bok choi seeds. I'm not sure if the Hawaii seeds will grow in Wisconsin weather, but I figured it was worth a shot. The kabocha will go in next spring, but I'll be doing a fall planting of the other three soon.

OahuSFG on 7/25/2011, 5:21 pm

I met Ken Ching, head of the USDA inspections at the Honolulu Intenational airport and asked him why my seeds did not grow. He said that Oahu is notorius for having a nematode problem. This could be another reason that my seeds won't grow because of their resistence level. The UH seeds are developed to tolerate this bug and still grow. He also gave me a great tip! Soloraize the soil with black sheeting and then try again. I may just start with new Mel's mix and raise the boxes. sunny

OahuSFG on 12/14/2012, 4:45 pm

I planted some Heirloom Lima and Soybeans about 3 weeks ago. I figured why not, I wasn't having any luck with them during the summer.

The Limas are doing well! None of the Soybeans sprouted (planted them 3 times so far, every 7 days).

Also experimenting with Heirloom Zucinni....again! I got one that sprouted and figured why not try during December since I've had no luck with Zucinni, ever. This will be in a pot using Mel's mix off the ground. If anyone out there has any tips for growing Zuc in Hawaii, any info would be much appreciated.

littlejo on 12/14/2012, 9:54 pm

I have nematodes here too. I was told to plant the bed thickly with 'French marigolds'. After they start blooming, chop them up and turn them under in the bed. I did this and was not bothered by the nematodes this yr.

As far as the seed not sprouting, try sprouting the seed in a damp paper towel. After they sprout, gently plant. You can tear the paper towel to plant ind. seeds, but try not to disturb if possible. If the seeds do not sprout, then it is the seed and not Hawaii.
Jo

OahuSFG on 12/14/2012, 9:59 pm

Thank you for this! I will try the paper towel sprouting and see if it is the seeds.

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