Organic Gardening in Hawaii

Our friend Cherie runs a Hawaii bed and breakfast on Maui and writes a Maui Hawaii Blog where she talks story about all the great stuff she does in Hawaii (like running her volunteer on vacation in Hawaii program). If you love Hawaii, you should subscribe to her blog.

In her latest post on organic gardening in Hawaii, Cherie offers up some hints for any organic gardener, and she posted some pictures of luscious fruits we cold weather gardeners are lucky to see in a supermarket!

Times are tough for the organic coffee farmers

As you probably know if you read this blog regularly, we know some organic farmers and we do our best to help them thrive. But times are tough, especially for people selling products that are more expensive than conventionally grown. As one of our financially challenged friends likes to point out, it's just too damn expensive to do the right thing when it comes to food. Arguing with him that their are hidden costs to cheap food that we all pay for later doesn't phase him, as it just doesn't matter because he can't afford to eat organic unless he grows it himself.

This has led me to the conclusion that the burden on those who can afford to eat and drink organically is higher than on people who cannot afford it. People who can afford it, in fact, have more of an ethical obligation to go organic, which will increase demand for organic products, thereby increasing supply and lowering the price for everyone. The affluent shoppers must sustain the sustainable so that we can increase the supply of sustainable food and products.

To wit: organic Kona coffee. This isn't just coffee... It's heaven in a cup. Seriously, anyone who really loves coffee should give Kona Comfort a try. I've been drinking the coffee from this farm through two owners. The new owners, Mike and Ric, bought the organic Kona coffee farm right before the recession hit, and they're having a tough time making ends meet. Competing with the big guys is hard enough, but then there are the inevitable other set backs that come with commercial agriculture operations, all which have led to tough times for these great guys who are busting their butts doing the right thing.

So, all you affluent readers (I know some of you are doing OK and can afford some of this coffee), go to the Kona Comfort Organic Coffee website and sign up for the automated shipments of organic Kona coffee. You will be seriously glad you did, and you'll be helping to sustain sustainable domestic coffee production. And what could be more fair trade than buying directly from the farmer?

Still not convinced? Just check out these reasons to order this particular gourmet organic Kona coffee:

‣  Our coffee beans all come from our own land, all unmixed with questionable crops from other farms.

‣  Each bag is processed here under our direct control, no secondary party management!

‣  We operate the farm ourselves, twelve months of the year: we are not absentee.

‣  We use traditional fermentation (with mountain rainwater no chlorine) followed by natural sun drying.

‣  Your coffee (before roasting) is cured AND kept protected in a climate controlled room,

when you order, then we fresh roast and ship it right out to you for your best enjoyment.

‣  Each person here is dedicated to and educated in strict organic practices, our compliance is certified.

‣  We don't "send out" our coffee for any step, it's never exposed to questionable handling by third parties.

I've had coffee from all over the world, and I'm not kidding when I say this is the the best... Seriously ONO coffee. Da Kine, bra. And these are good people who deserve a serious shot at success with this great product. Help 'em out.

It's About to Get Cold So I Think Hawaii

In this summer that wasn't, we've had some 60 degree mornings. But today, with a little breeze reminding me that Canada is right over there and the first frost is right around the corner, 60 degrees seemed a little cooler than the surprise 60 in the middle of July.

Yesterday I'm out there thinning collard seedlings* that are growing where I should be picking tomatoes, and bringing in handfuls of yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, carrots, radishes and whatnot, thinking, no tomatoes, but not so bad. And then, as if to remind me that the cold is on the way, I get this picture in my email from my Innkeeper friend Cherie, who runs the Hale Hookipa Maui bed and breakfast.



That's quite a haul, all from one day she tells me... Well, put my little pile of squash in perspective, will you! Cherie also runs this volunteer on vacation in Hawaii site, and a great Maui blog. If you like tropical gardening (she also has great flowers), check it out. Or better yet, check in for a week. Maui is a gardener's paradise. But beware, in the depths of winter in upcountry, you might wake up to a cool 55 degree morning!

* Planted from the seeds from the greens I let overwinter last year, in an attempt to make them even more cold hardy. I will let some of these go over winter again, to seed in the spring, for seeds for next fall's crop. I never really learned this technique, it just seems to work well, and my theory is that anything that can stay alive over winter here deserves to be propagated. At least that way, if we keep having summers that weren't, I'll have some cold hardy greens to grow any time of year!

Organic Garden of Fruit on Maui Hawaii

When it's cold and snowy here in upstate NY, I like to think about Hawaii to stay warm. I make a nice cup of organic Kona coffee, and I pull up all my Hawaiian friends' blogs, and cozy up around the warm pictures.


In this latest post by my friend Cherie, who runs a Hawaiian Bed and Breakfast on Maui, she mentions feeding her guests from Alaska fresh organic fruit from the garden surrounding her historic Hawaii accommodations. If you book before Christmas, Cherie is offering a snow bird special of 8% off her already inexpensive Maui lodging.

Mmmmm. Snow bird special. Ahhhgggghhhh. (/homer)

Here's a picture of Cherie with her papayas. She also grows organic cherimoyas and lilikoi, or passion fruit. I first met Cherie when we were living on Maui, in the late 90's. Every time I see a picture of her place, I'm amazed at the results of her years of hard work! Can't wait to visit again someday!

Organic Coffee from Kona Hawaii

Back in 1998, when we were living on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, I was contacted by an organic Kona coffee farmer about helping him sell his coffee beans. I helped him with his web sites (he also sells organic fertilizer) and sold his coffee for years, until he sold the farm and retired to Oregon a few years ago.

Last month, I got an email from Mike, who bought Dr. Faust's farm and rehabilitated it into a sustainable and USDA certified organic Kona coffee farm. One of the things I did to help Mike get higher search engine rankings for his sites was encourage him to publish his journal from the two year ordeal of rejuvenating an organic Hawaiian coffee farm, which he has done at his Organic Kona Coffee Farming Blog. Going back through the posts, it was fun and exhausting to see how much work it was to restore the coffee trees, establish organic weed controls, install all the processing, drying, sorting, and roasting equipment for the coffee beans. Anyone interested in sustainable and organic agriculture should check it out.

And don't forget to purchase organic Kona coffee beans. Mark Twain said it was the best coffee on earth, and it's hard to disagree with him! I'm just finishing a cup now! It's the only coffee I don't have to put sugar in!

Oh, and be sure to Digg the site, and Digg the Blog too!

I have ignored this poor little blog for too long! Until last year, I was working full time as a stage technician in Los Angeles, living in the suburbs with very little land for gardening, and even less time.

A diagnosis of osteoarthritis has put an end my days of heavy lifting, and so, I'm no longer a stage technician. I have to get a lot help with the gardening, but it's good easy exercise, and it helps me to get out and stretch a little.

We moved to the east coast to live more cheaply, and to be near family. I planted a fall garden in the middle of August up here in zone 5, and it's coming along nicely. We'll be eating spinach and lettuce soon, and if we don't get too hard of a frost, we'll be eating collards and snow peas in a few weeks.

My old buddy Mort Mather, an organic gardener and philosopher, has a new web site and blog. My friend Cherie Attix, owner and operator of the Hale Hookipa Inn Maui Bed and Breakfast (which features an awesome organic garden) has started writing a blog as well. She calls it Ho'okipa Aikane, or "home sharing friend." I'm looking forward to reading both of their posts!

Much more to come, including pictures!