Aloha

[Niele da Kine]

Aloha,
Not sure what to post since we're usually out of sync with a lot of other people when it comes to gardening. But, gardening is always good even if we're not in step with everyone else.

This is Hawaii Island, aka the 'Big Island' which is Zone 11B, I think, as well as elevation of 1,200 feet which is important for our gardens around here, not sure if it matters elsewhere. Not sure of the annual rainfall, probably somewhere around eight feet to three meters or so.

Lots of sun with no frost or freeze so there's always gardening. Which means there's always weeding. Sigh! Someone imported Guinea grass since it was fast growing for the cattle around here, it's the bane of everyone else. We did fence in a lot of the back yard this past August and installed two sheep for lawn mowers, they're still working on getting the grass less than ten feet tall, but at least now we can see through it a little bit.

Usually, I seem to be trying to grow things that want a winter freeze like apples and peaches, but maybe I'll switch over to citrus instead and go the easy route. Do you try to garden outside your zone?

A hui hou!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

All the time, though of course for me up here, it's the reverse situation growing things that should properly be grown much further south.)

Sniff around. For a lot of genera, there are other, less well known species of the family that are far more tolerant of odd conditions than the "standard" one. For example, raspberries have the Mysore Raspberry (Rubus nivaeus) which is tropical. And there are blueberries native to places like Costa Rica as well.

And of course, you have the whole panoply of native Hawai'ian plants to work with.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Wonder why folks always seem to try to grow outside of their zones? Peonies would be lovely, but even the special 'low chill' requirement ones don't thrive here. There's a nursery, Bay Laurel, in California which has low chill varieties of fruit trees and I've gotten quite a few in from them and planted them, but even with the special low chill varieties, there's still very few fruits. We got five apples from a four year old grafted tree this summer along with one pear from a pear tree planted at the same time. Maybe next year there will be more fruit.

The Mysore Raspberry is on the noxious weed list around here. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/mysore-raspberry-rubus-niveus/ It's got loads of thorns and shows up everywhere since it's spread by birds. I have to cut it out with gloves and long clippers and it's hard to get rid of. It doesn't seem to have very tasty berries on it, which is a pity since it grows really well.

I do have a new thornless blackberry that I hope to plant out soon and see if it produces fruit. Be nice if the birds could spread something without thorns. There's also a blueberry experimental farm at our local AG extension. They found several varieties which did better than the others, although I forget which exact one at the moment.

The easy to grow stuff around here is things like avocados, bananas, coconuts, citrus, coffee, tea, assorted tropical fruit trees like longan and such. All of those will grow as long as they're not choked out by tall grasses like the Guinea, Cane, Elephant, Reznor, etc.

Most of the native island plants don't seem to have much in the way of fruits, although the later 'canoe plants' brought over by the first humans to the islands do. Since then, there's been a huge number of different plants and animals brought over, some work out well, some cause trouble.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, Welcome from Louisiana.

Down here on the Gulf Coast I'm not all that sure what my zone is. Some things like beans and corn are a challenge in the heat of summer. Right now I'm trying to decide if I get something out of the garden for supper tonight (collard or mustard greens, that last cauliflower, maybe turnips, lettuce maybe) or use some more of that head of cabbage in the fridge. Decisions, decisions. But yes, I'm out of sync with everyone else.

Anyway, glad you found us. How about posting some photos, we do like photos.

 

[PhilaGardener]

Welcome! We're all feeling a bit out of sync these days! It will be nice to seem some pictures of warm, growing gardens!

Did you feel the recent earthquake when Kilauea awakened again?

 

[Carol Dee]

Welcome from Eastern Iowa.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Here's some almost current garden pictures:

This is the latest raised bed garden, although it's actually sort of a hillside terrace as well. We'd cleared the area for the sheep fence. The two sheep are in the back there behind their fence, they have a shaded area under the grasses that they haven't eaten yet. This picture is from November, I'd just replanted the garden because the chickens got in and ate up all the sprouts.

The corn got about 2" tall and then the chickens got them all. Wretched chooks! I'd fenced it, but they can go right through the field fencing. So, I put the string across the holes. Then they flew over the top.

I need to figure out a better way to keep the chickens out of the garden. There's two of these gardens that are for vegetables. There had been a third one, but it ended up with cotton and a mulberry tree in it so it's a bit too shaded for veggies now.

There have been more earthquakes lately and I did feel the one when Kilauea started up again in Hale Maumau caldera, although that one wasn't as strong as one which had been several days earlier. We're about seventy miles from Volcano National Park, though, so that's why we didn't feet it very much. Also why we haven't gone over to look at it. I suppose we should, but I've heard there's long lines to get in.

 

[flowerbug]

welcome to TEG from mid-Michigan. i always like to hear from people in different climates, antipodians or even people from south america, but i don't think i've seen too many people posting from there.

 

[Zeedman]

You will not be out of step, @Niele da Kine ; this is a global forum, with people from the Old World, New World, and both Northern & Southern hemispheres. And since there are plenty of warm-season gardeners here you'll fit right in! From someone formerly in zone 9B, married to someone from the tropics, Welcome!

Now if we could just find a gardener from Antarctica...

P.S.: for everything which suffers under your climate, there is an equal or greater number of things you can grow that most of us can only dream of. Many of the vegetables grown here as annuals, are perennial by nature & would bear year-round for you (like peppers, eggplant, and limas). And as for fruit... having lived in the tropics, I envy the vast array of fruit trees that you could grow in your climate. I could easily get used to it.

 

[valley ranch]

Helloa, Come on in ```