Aloha from the beautiful North Shore of Oahu,
I am excited because over the last 2 weeks I have planted two new gardens at my house! The summer here in Hawaii is hot, a bit humid when the trade winds don’t blow, and there are many things that are impossible to grow in this heat. Believe me, I have tried to grow fall and winter crops in the shade of my tomatoes, peppers, etc. in the summer but it just doesn’t work very well. So, now that we have turned the corner on the summer heat, and the long, hot days , I have planted for the Fall. Into the garden with broccoli, cauliflower, many types of lettuce, bok choy, kale, chard, carrots, asian cabbage, spinach, radishes, eggplant, cilantro, green onions and more. Since we can grow tomatoes most of the year, I also have about 15 plants going with 5 different varieties. By the way, I grown only heirloom varieties. I will publish more on the disappearance of our heirlooms and the appearance of more and more GMO’s in the near future. I just love watching the new, fragile life popping up through the rich, brown soil. If any of you have read my blog on building an asparagus bed then you would know that I planted my bed a few weeks ago. The asparagus is up with more than 95% germination and is about 4″ tall now.
I usually have two compost piles going so there is nice, rich, beautiful compost available every week or so, but I have nixed one and the next one will be going away in a week or two. Say what??? Don’t worry, I have gone hi tech and have purchased two new items for the garden–a compost tumbler, and an electric leaf shredder. We will see how they work, but they sound great. The tumbler promises black, rich compost in 14 days and the leaf shredder says I will be able to reduce leaf volume by 91%! So, now I will have a lot more room in the garden to grow, and I will be able to compost in a more efficient way or so I hope. I will keep you updated. I still do however have two 30 gallon trash cans going that make compost using an anaerobic method as well. I cannot emphsize enough to all of you how composting is not only the best thing you can do for your garden, but a great thing you can do for the planet. It completes the circle where there is no waste, just harmony.
Big news! I have been researching solar energy and am making plans to get panels on my roof in the near future. I am already using solar panels for my water heater, but now would like to add panels and use them for electricity and to heat my spa. I am also looking into a few wind generated turbines for the same purpose as well. The goal is to get off of the grid and only use it as a back up. The next thing I will be doing will be to build a cistern to catch the rainwater from the gutters on my roof. I am reseaching the different type of filters now. If anyone out there has done this, and the solar thing, please get back to me with your thoughts.
Mahalo, and thanks for reading.
Jamie
