One of my favorite experiences during my farming internship on the Big Island has been to participate in the preparation for the opening of a new nursery in South Kona. One of my favorite experiences during my farming internship on
One of my favorite experiences during my farming internship on the Big Island has been to participate in the preparation for the opening of a new nursery in South Kona.
Tropical Edibles Nursery will celebrate the arrival of spring at its grand opening Wednesday. To honor spring equinox and share the space with the community a full day of activities is planned starting at 9 a.m.
Local personal processing equipment guru Emmerich Grosch of Captain Cook Trading Co. purchased the Kamehameha Schools lease on the former site of the Kona MOA Center. Part of the mission of the Mokichi Okada Association is practicing nature farming, which Mokichi Okada defined as “the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and flowers without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.” Tropical Edibles intends to continue to apply and teach some of these principles in its facility on this site.
Two demonstration gardens are in process at the site. A culinary herb garden and a slope garden of medicinal, teas and native Hawaiian plants are both in the works. An old walking path put in by association members is being re-established through the slope garden. Flowering plants, including azaleas and camellias were planted by the original leaseholders and are being maintained along with newer plantings of hibiscus and ti varieties.
The original sign Tropical Fruit Nursery is just south of mile marker 108 on Mamalahoa Highway in Captain Cook. It now reads Tropical Edibles Nursery. The driveway next to a white mailbox with the address 83-5696 leads up to a large white building that will be filled with activity on opening day until 6 p.m.
Tours of the facility will illustrate the nursery’s plans to expand from a nursery of edible plants into a community education and resource center. With a kitchen, currently holding a temporary food establishment permit and outfitted with some of Grosch’s processing equipment, Edibles hopes to offer a place for farmers to process food for farmers markets, as well as sell it on site during farm sales days. A fully equipped classroom with large screen TV for power point presentations and film screenings is in place. A drying deck for locally grown products is available and a large variety of edible plants are being propagated in the hoop house. Opening day tours will visit these areas.
Beyond tours and the plants, lots of locally grown edibles will be featured. Coffee and locally made fruit and nut breads will be available for early visitors. At 9:30 a.m., the staff will be introduced and staffer Momi Subiono will conduct an official blessing and opening for the center, including a kava ceremony. At 10 a.m. she will do a presentation called “Let Food Be Thy Medicine.” Her talk will be followed by a powerpoint presentation by ethnobotany teacher Kat Harrison on “Starchy Staples.” Details on these and other events throughout the day are available at tropicaledibles.com.
The other staff, including Diana Duff, Lynne Sharman, Raven Bolas, Eugene Elmer and Maggie McDermitt and helpers David Subiono, chef Martha Brahm and owner Grosch will lead tours, sell plants and offer expert advice throughout the day.
Appearances and talks by local authors are also scheduled. At noon, Craig Elevitch will talk about his latest book, “Specialty Crops for Pacific Islands.” He will be selling and signing copies during the lunch hour until about 1 p.m. An array of locally grown greens and homemade salad dressings will be available for tasting.
The afternoon will include tours and tastings, a group activity on seed saving, as well as ongoing slide shows of edible flowers, perennial vegetables and other plants and practices Edibles will feature in future classes.
At tea time, local author Clear Englebert will have copies of “Feng Shui for Hawaii Gardens” to sell and sign. He’ll talk about his book starting at 3 p.m. while several local teas and sweets are offered for tasting.
Tastings, tours and slide shows will continue until a 5:30 p.m. pau hana ceremony with the entire staff present to celebrate the day’s success.
The celebration will continue through Saturday with book signings scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information on the event, plants available and future classes and events visit the above website or call 328-0420.
Dominica Esperas is an intern at Hoku Farm in Honaunau. This is the second winter she has come to Hawaii from Montana to learn about organic farming and gardening.
Tropical
gardening helpline
Noreen asks: I brought a sample of a green fruit to the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden event for identification. It looks kind of like a persimmon.
Answer: After consulting with several fruit experts, we have determined the fruit is most likely black sapote. Black sapote is in the Ebenaceae family and closely related to the persimmon hence the similar appearance. This sapote, Diospyros digyna, is even referred to as black persimmon in Hawaii. Elsewhere, it is known as the tropical persimmon.
Though Noreen’s fruit was hard and green throughout when we got it, the skin turns slightly browner and gets soft when ripe. In the tropics, black sapote usually ripens in winter, so ripe fruit should be available soon. The ripe interior is usually very dark brown, almost black, soft and jelly-like with a sweet mild flavor. It is sometimes referred to as chocolate pudding fruit.
The tree has been in Hawaii since at least 1916 when seeds were sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture from here. This sapote has not become a popular landscape plant or cultivated crop in Hawaii, but its scarcity only adds to its exotic appeal. Noreen is lucky to have one on her property.
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by certified master gardeners. Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
This column is produced by Diana Duff is a plant adviser, education and consultant with an organic farm in Captain Cook.
