Patrick Leatherman manages several farms as part of his business, Edible Kona Landscapes. Buying a farm of his own not only seemed too expensive but also felt like he’d be taking his work home. Then he heard about a half-acre of fee simple ag land in Honalo at 1,600 feet elevation that was affordable. He and his wife, Megan Lamson Leatherman, felt they could manage it. They built a small off-grid house and have been living on “Old Goat Farm” since 2013.
Patrick and Megan both have jobs off the farm, which makes a small farm perfect for them. Megan works as a marine biologist for Hawaii Wildlife Fund and the state. Her interest in aquatic biology started when at age 8 when she won a goldfish at a California county fair. As soon as she could work, she got a job at a fish store and basically fell in love with marine creatures.
Megan’s parents had always loved Hawaii and in 2001, they moved the family to Ka‘u. Megan followed and finished her master’s degree in tropical conservation biology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
When I asked how a marine biologist ended up on a farm, she jokes, “I’m mostly just a side kick on the land but I do most of the paperwork and some of the mowing.”
Megan offers a great service to a farmer who’s happier in the field than at a desk. Patrick spent his college summers getting his tropical agriculture chops working on farms in Costa Rica and Maui. He got lots of practice growing a wide variety of tropical edibles in an agroforestry environment.
After graduation, he headed to Kauai to work on a farm. When he was offered a job at Pacific Quest on the Big Island, he moved here and never left. He loved the job teaching adolescents sustainable life skills through a wilderness therapy program.
After a few years, Patrick decided to venture out and start his own business. He wanted to apply his tropical agriculture experience to helping local farmers and gardeners plant and maintain edible landscapes sustainably.
“My bottom line is to offer organic and sustainable solutions to growing edibles,” Patrick explains.
As part of his goal to be more sustainable, he has replaced most of his gas-powered landscaping tools with battery-powered alternatives that he recharges on solar. He now mows, blows and weed whacks quietly and with a lower carbon footprint.
Though he wasn’t sure his new tools would be comparable, he reported, “I was happy that the battery-powered tools were as powerful and effective as the gas-powered ones. I’m sticking with them.”
Their small farm gives Patrick a place to experiment by growing new plants and developing new practices. Maintaining an organic farm well requires experience and ingenuity. Patrick has both, which was obvious when I toured his farm.
Once they had finished building, Patrick and Megan started planting close to home and expanded slowly until they had cleared and planted the entire half-acre below their house.
Close to the house is an ulu tree that provides lots of edible fruit. A large chaya shrub offers hand-size green leaves as a vegetable to steam like spinach or use as a great addition to soups and stews. Several varieties of sapote, avocado, mango and banana add to their edible harvests.
Throughout the property, nitrogen-fixing plants that sequester nitrogen in the soil have been planted. Pigeon pea, crotalaria and glyricidia are growing where they can offer a nutritional boost to the surrounding plants. By coppicing them or merely stripping the leaves occasionally, they provide supplemental nitrogen.
Touring the farm, I was struck by how many different plants are growing on such a small piece of land. The water hyacinth plants that are growing in their irrigation catchment tank add to their mulch pile. A cinnamon tree is growing near the house and they’ve planted vetiver grass in areas prone to flooding. Tucked in here and there are exotics like peanut butter fruit, eggfruit, rollinia and a lemon drop mangosteen. They have a dozen cacao trees which is actually is their sole cash crop at this point. Native Hawaiian plants like mamaki and olena also appeared throughout this very diverse farm.
Though Patrick grows yerba matte and prefers that as his morning beverage, they are also growing the yellow caturra coffee variety which is a bit unusual.
“I wanted to try growing it as an alternative coffee variety. It reportedly has a milder and more delicate flavor profile than the Arabica that is traditionally grown in Kona,” Patrick explained.
It’s not all edibles though. A lovely annatto tree serves as a red specimen plant when in bloom. Her seeds also make a dye used in cheese as well as crafts. A huge Mexican sunflower graces the lower part of the property adding color to a mostly green landscape.
To maintain their view plane from the house, Patrick decided to keep the coffee and other trees and shrubs low. This makes for a clear from their lanai down their property and to the ocean beyond.
Though Patrick definitely loves the land, he shares Megan’s love of the sea. He is an avid surfer, which is obvious from the collection of old floats and surfboards decorating their home.
The couple have managed to create a wonderful retreat from their off-farm jobs. At Old Goat Farm they can enjoy peace and quiet as well as some delicious edibles.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living part time in Kona.