The Hawaiian Garden During January
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Welcome to the first month of the New Year!! In Hawaii, January is right in the middle of Makahiki season, which is a time of rest from hard labors and a time to celebrate the harvest. There is a lot of food available to harvest right now. For the wetter parts of Hawaii, everyone seems to have an Avocado in season this time of year, so get your guac on! Starfruit, Citrus, Sapotes, Cacao and Breadfruit are some of the other big producers this time of year in lower elevations. Did you know that in the higher elevations you could be harvesting blackberries and raspberries this time of year, as well as one of my favorites, Persimmons!! Lastly, if you are one of the lucky ones, Vanilla Beans should be ready to harvest this month and next, if you were on it back in April to pollinate them by hand of course.
What To SeedSince January is typically a cold, wet month, I do not typically do much seeding and instead wait until February. Instead, I focus on crop planning and getting beds ready to plant for next month. Since it can be difficult to grow many annuals that thrive in temperate climates here in the tropics, we have to get strategic. It is very important to plant vegetable varieties that can do well with our unique climate and pest pressures. UH Manoa Lettuce, Kaala Sweet Pepper, Costa Cucumber, Koba Green Onions & Old Brooks Tomatoes are some great varieties that do well here in Hawaii. You can pick some of your own up at Hawaiian Seed Growers Network. What To Do In The GardenSince weʻre not doing much seeding this month, we are using this time to prepare for spring plantings that will happen next month. How do we do this? Iʻm glad you asked. Iʻm going to be showing what I do this month in the garden in an upcoming video titled: "40 Hours To Prep The Spring Garden" to be released on my YouTube channel. Itʻs going to be packed full of tips and tricks so be sure to keep an eye out for that video being released in the middle of the month. My goal this year is to get my garden to produce 2xʻs what it produced last season. Are you with me? Then Iʻll see you in the garden. A Hui Hou!!
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Homesteadinʻ Hawaii
November In The Tropical Garden Homesteadinʻ Hawaii The Abundance of November The abundance of the garden here in Hawaii never seems to stop. Here we are, deep into fall and the garden is filled with squash, beans, chard, kale, green onions, pac choi, kalo, sweet potato, and SO many other crops. But how do you get a garden started? It's really not that hard. Just play the long game. In year 1, you can prepare your soil by smothering the ground with mulch and growing cover crops. While you...
September In The Tropical Garden Homesteadinʻ Hawaii Starting A Garden When All You Have Is Rock The question I get asked most has to be this one, "How do you start a garden when all you have is rock?" I figure that I may as well take a moment and try and explain how to do it. You see, much of Hawaii Island has shallow soils, in fact, a lot of it is just rock. (If you're one of those blessed by soil, you can snicker and move on) So how do you grow in soils that are so rocky? There are a few...
September In The Tropical Garden Homesteadinʻ Hawaii Cool Season Crops are IN this Time of Year You may not think Hawaii has seasons, but it does. The daylight hours are getting shorter, rains are picking up and the temperature is just a little bit cooler.Last month I mentioned you could start some cool season annuals such as beans, peas, Kale, chard, and more.Now is an even BETTER time to do it. So start sowing some seeds.Hawaii Seed Growers Network is a great place to find locally adapted...