Tropical Gardens

Garden #1

This was a garden I helped plant. A couple of notes on the picture above. On the far left is a Sealing Wax Palm. Originally from Indonesia I believe, it is a rainforest palm and likes it wet (ie: peat moss for sure). These are such unique palms, and definately one of my favourites. If you look closely the trunk of the palm is a deep red. This palm got it's name after the sealing wax they used to use to close up envelopes. Remember, they would use some kind of mark as well, maybe a ring, to squish a design into the wax as it dried. Then you would know it had never been opened. Anyway, extremely valuable palm and very hard to grow, Dave has it all figured out. This is pretty close to his signature palm I'd say.

Also with the red flowers, Red Ginger. Same family as the root Ginger we eat back home, but this one is not edible. Obviously used for it's gorgeous flowers, there is also white and pink Gingers. We used read to highlight the Sealing Wax Palm.

On the ground, Impatients (sp?), these grow like crazy here. They're wicked ground cover and keep out the weeds. Ironically these grow as weeds in our nursery. So we take them out and then transplant them into garden settings like this one.

On the right side of the pictures, just to the left of the brown trunk, is a Manilla palm. These are found everywhere. They don't grow that tall, and always look clean and tidy. Very minor maintenance and a great palm to put in a triad, which we did here but it's hard to see from this angle.

I totally forgot to take the before picture, but this side of the house was COMPLETELY overgrown. Here on Kauai, and especially in Haena, the minute you turn away you lose control. We had bromeliads growing up trees, ferns everywhere, and lots of vines. Dave took out the big saw and we dropped probably four trees, and then I dug out the root balls and we brought in some good soil. I wish I had a before picture, but trust me it looks a lot better now. Here's another pictures looking down the other way. You can just see the top of a banana plant in the background.

Garden #2

This garden was oceanside. I've learned a lot from Dave about planting in different climates. I was eager to learn about different settings and how it affected plant selection. First things first, living oceanside is obviously an amazing spot, however it severely limits what you can plant. Living on the north shore of Hawaii means huge swell. Which in turn means lots of ocean spray, which in turn means salt. So you really can only plant things next to the beach which are salt tolerant. And so most of the following are known to be salt tolerant. It doesn't mean the plants will love it, it just means they won't die a horrible death withing a week of being there.

At the bottom of this picture are bromeliads. These are really funny plants they don't root into the ground very much and they catch water in a bowl shaped center. So first drawback, mosquitos, however they are salt tolerant. We'll get a better view of them in the next shot. The middle left of the screen is a Pritchardia. A great palm that Dave grown in the nursery. Actually we just repotted about 18 of these into 15 gallon pots. Big fronds, look kind of like a fan palm, same same but different. Then in the background, oceanside, coco palms. Probably one of the toughest palms out there, and they really don't care about the salt. Obviously known for their coconuts, the best workday includes harvesting coco water at lunch break.

This next picture, has the Cycad I just planted in the middle. (Also note better shot of Bromeliads on left and right). These are amazing plants, and they get huge. Survived since way back in prehistoric times Dave says. It's clear to see why when you look up close as they are full of sharp thorns on their fronds. This defense worked wonders as the thorns stopped animals from eating their fronds, and so they are still here today to tell their story. Beside being salt tolerant, Cycads are tough as nails. Dave said he heard a story about a guy who found a mature Cycad that had been dug up and thrown into a shed bare roots and all, and this thing was found 9 years later, and it was still alive. Now that is impressive folks.

I hope you enjoyed the show...

WW

TSUNAMI

Waking up today had a bit of a different ring to it. I was sure I didn't set my alarm, I mean it was the weekend. Then I listened a bit more intently, it wasn't a ringing at all it was a siren. Oh my god, what is happening why is there a very loud siren going off at 7AM in the morning.

Ah yes, the Tsunami warning siren. Actually being sounded 5 hours early. Hawaii was so prepared for the Tsunami it blew my mind. I mean we were inundated with sirens, phone calls, and every TV station was all about it. 5 hours ahead of time. My hat goes off to the government for being so organized and completely on top of the situation. Although in the end it was all for nothing, however it was comforting to know that plans are in place.

The hardest part of all of this was how gorgeous of a day it was. When I woke up to sirens, my first though was...wait...the winds died, oh yes, tradewinds are down. It was variable winds, and clear blue sunshine. I'm calling the nicest day so far this spring. I mean gorgeous sunny weather, the kind Canadians in Winnipeg dream about in March. But what's this??? A tsunami is coming??? Noooo, now I'm stuck on my computer watching live updates online till noon. It was projected to hit at 11:05AM on the Big Island. I waited till 1215PM maybe, then I was off and out the door!!!

More importantly, I learned a valuable lesson today. In times of Tsunami Warnings stay on higher ground, but go biking. Oh yah baby, hit the road on the bike. If you've ever hated biking next to trucks, or if you've ever cursed that big semi that buzzes your ear on purpose, the answer is here. Tsunami Warnings = Highways to yourself!!! Hahaha I was the ONLY one on the road. I was doing huge turns back and forth all over the highway. Double yellow line, who cares, the whole road was mine!! What an eerie, but wonderful feeling!!!

Definately a story to tell, surviving the tsunami, but the big news was being the only bike on the road.

WW

The Napali Coast

I want to touch briefly on the Napali but I think I'll let the photos do most of the talking. This incredible coast line is on the north shore of Kauai. It is the only portion of the island with no roads on it, for obvious reasons. It has been left untouched by vehicles and can only be reached by a grueling hike, or by boat. It has to be one of the MOST breathtaking and awe-inspiring hikes I've ever done in my life. To add to the already beautiful scenery, there were 30-35 foot waves that day. We could hear thundering crashes and heart pounding explosions from below us along the whole trek. It was an amazing time to be on the north shore, and it created a unique photo from all the sea spray, as you can see from the picture above. Enjoy the rest...

Truly a sacred spot,

Peace be with you all...

WW

Favourite Fruit on the Farm

I just want to say that I love avocados. Now I know that they're not for everyone, but I love them. One of the best parts about wwoofing on an organic farm is the food trade. And we have an abundance of avocados. There are over 30 varieties that grow on Kauai alone. Where I am we have at least 10 different varieties, all shapes and sizes and all sorts of flavours. Dave has planted his Avocado trees in the nursery for shifty shade, and he also chose specific varieties for there fruiting season so as to try and have Avocado year round. Year round...wow!

Avocados are very healthy for you as well and provide a great substitute for meat. Avos are known to reduce your LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and raise your HDL levels (good cholesterol). They also have a higher fat content then most fruit which is mostly monounsaturated fat (good stuff as well). And a little known fact: Avos have 60% more Potassium than bananas...who knew?

We make guacamole here by the bucketful...one of the best feelings in the world is cutting up like 10 avos and putting all the necessary ingredients and blending it with your hands! Really the only way to really to make guac! I eat avo on my toast in the morning, on my sandwith at lunch, and in the salad at dinner. J'aime les avocats!

Second on the list of favourite fruits: Tangelos. These are an incredible fruit. We're talking about a sweeter more potent orange flavour. In appearance they are almost identical to an orange, however they have something very special about them. Tangelos are affectionately known as juice bombs here on our farm. I've done this research myself, so I can attest to it's authenticity, but a tangelo in comparison to an orange has a 4 to 1 ratio of juice!!! Isn't that amazing!!! Same size and everything almost twice the weight, and so much juice. I drink around 8-10 tangelos every morning. I cut them in half and then squeeze them with my hands into a glass. 8 tangelos fills up two full glasses of freshly squeezed organic tangelo juice, and I do it all the time. It's almost addicting, I've talked about it with Drew, but you crave it. It's so much natural fructose, you just start to want more and more. Which is a good thing, because citrus fruits are going off right now, we can't eat them fast enough. It's just madness out there, 5 or 6 falling every day and we have like 8 trees on the property. Oh and if the tradewinds kick up and knock a ton down, I'm making litres of tangelo juice!!! Lastly, I want to make this point. One medium tangelo provides you with 120% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. One, not 8-10. Dave swears by these fruit, says he never gets sick. And you know what, I believe it, I feel sensational during tangelo season and it has everything to do with our immune systems being just pumping with Vitamin C...thank the heavens tangelo season lasts 5 months...what a blessing that is!

Ok last but not least the papaya. We have 3 papaya trees right outside our outdoor kitchen. I'd say 3 mature trees give us at least one papaya a day. Perfect for breakfast, papaya is such a great fruit. It's so awesome because you cut them in half, take out the seeds, and you have a bowl. We like to put in almond butter, or maybe even MacNut Cream inside the middle. It's a great treat and I really enjoy them.

Now here's the coolest part, papayas are the only natural source of Papain, an effective natural digestive aid, said to digest an amazing 200 times it's own weight in protein. Known as the "Nutritional Masterpiece" papayas are very high in Vitamin C, folate, potassium. Also good sources of vitamin A, vitamin E, fiber carotenoids lutein and zeaxantin and lycopene.

I also like Papayas because they bear fruit year round.

That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed my top 3 favourite fruit on the farm.

Peace be with you,
WW