In case you haven’t noticed, the price of food keeps going up. One way to lower your grocery bill would be to grow some of your favorite edibles. From a few veggies and herbs in containers, to a larger garden plot or a productive landscape planted in fruit trees and/or hosting a few chickens, rabbits, sheep or goats, all are possible and help is available to accomplish your goals.
Of course, growing your own requires some time and energy as well as some money spent on supplies, but the reward is eating your own fresh harvest and getting in some at home exercise out in the fresh air. All good for your physical and mental health.
It’s a good idea to start a garden by growing what you like to eat. It will motivate you to succeed if you know the reward is a favorite food of yours.
If you haven’t experienced a home-grown tomato, get ready for a taste treat. Select seeds or a nursery plant that promises tasty fruit and start growing. Here in Hawaii, the cherry tomatoes grow very well and some offer tomatoes that are almost as sweet as candy. Others offer fleshy fruit that is perfect for sun-drying or saucing.
Think of adding your tasty tomatoes to a salad of greens from your garden. A heading lettuce like Manoa or Anuenue grows well here and seeds are available from the UH Seed lab. Romaine lettuce is another green to consider if Caesar salads are your favorite.
Google “seed lab uh Manoa” to find the pdf list of the lab’s available seeds. Also check out the seeds offered by Hawaii Seed Growers Network at their online store at hawaiiseedgrowersnetwork.com. They have lots of lettuce varieties, some interesting hot peppers and many more seeds from plants grown on farms in Hawaii. Also, check out their numerous blogs that can help home growers navigate the realities of growing food in Hawaii.
Consider the crisp cool flavor of a cucumber added to your salad or eaten alone as a refreshing snack. Given a supportive fence or trellis, you can get numerous cucumbers from a single vine or two.
Don’t forget to plant greens that are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Kale, chard, collard greens or some tropical spinaches can be eaten young in salad or use the larger leaves in a soup or stew or simply steamed. You can also grow cabbage or Chinese cabbage in a pot or garden plot. Most of these do best when grown in cooler months or in partial shade
How about some snow peas or a French filet string bean? Lots of varieties in this bean (Fabaceae) family grow well here as bushes or on supportive poles or trellises. Choose your favorite to grace your table with some fresh protein. All of the plants in this family are nitrogen fixers. They collect nitrogen from the air to sequester in their roots and supplement their fertility needs.
In addition to tomatoes, the nightshade (Solanaceae) family includes peppers and eggplant. Like their cousin, they do well with lots of sun and need less water once they get started. The numerous varieties mean a plethora of flavor and recipe options for these veggies.
Maybe you’d prefer some carrots, beets, a few daikon or some of those lovely little Japanese turnips. Start your root adventure with a few of the tasty radish varieties. They are easy to grow, and you can eat them in a few weeks.
Though squash can take longer, it is worth the wait. I recommend the tough kabocha or the vining chayote. Both are somewhat resistant to pests like pickle worm. Kabocha may take a while, but once ripe it can keep on a shelf for months. Chayote, sometimes called pipinola, produces a squash reminiscent of zucchini in flavor but much easier to grow successfully here. The bonus is that the tendrils of this vine are tasty and often included in stir fry dishes. Just cooked in oil and garlic, they are sometimes called dragons beard and come by the name honestly.
Consider growing some green onions and chives to add oniony flavor to any dish.
If you see slugs or snails in your garden, put out slug bait and/or do a nighttime patrol to get rid of them. Some may carry rat lung disease. Inspecting your veggies and washing them well before eating is a good way to avoid any problems. I’ve been doing a triple wash of my yummy home-grown greens for years and have enjoyed good health.
If you have room and deep soil, you might want to consider some Hawaiian heritage plants like taro or ‘uala. Both root crops were brought here centuries ago by Polynesian voyagers and are still part of a Native Hawaiian diet. Though taro can take a while to be ready to harvest, the purple sweet potato takes less space and offers a tasty starch vegetable in less than six months.
A sunny location is a perfect location for herbs. Consider parsley, mint, oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme for starters in pots or as part of an herb garden.
OK, you likely have room for some of these if only in pots in a sunny window, but if you have more space, you can add things like corn and set up a three sisters garden with corn serving as support for pole beans with squash vines on the ground below.
If you have even more space, think of planting some fruit crops. Of course, citrus, avocado and mango come to mind as well as bananas and papayas. A lilikoi vine will do well on a fence or growing on a large tree. You can also put in a pineapple bed. If you can find the white pineapple, it is a great choice as it is sweeter and less acidic than the standard.
Hopefully, your taste buds are starting to tingle at the thought of growing some edibles yourself. Luckily, help to get started is available. UH CTAHR has lots of free publications on crops for Hawaii. Kathy Oshiro’s books, “Growing Fruit in Hawaii” and “Growing Vegetables in Hawaii,” offer excellent tips for getting started.
These books and many others, including online publications at UH CTAHR, can help you get your soil healthy and give you fertility information. Healthy soil grows healthy plants and good nutrition helps plants thrive.
The gals from FarmWorks Hawaii can offer consulting services to get you started as well. They can each be contacted through farmworkshawaii@gmail.com.
Kathy Fleming Vass has a new greenhouse and is getting her summer veggie garden going with green beans already in production.
Melanie Bondera is an agroforestry expert. She specializes in family food forests, growing diverse edibles here and there throughout her farm.
Sara Moore has years of experience with livestock. She knows how to grow her own protein whether its chickens and eggs, rabbits and their super poop fertilizer or even a few sheep or goats for milk or meat.
You might also want to consider signing up for some gardening classes. Osher Lifelong Leaning Institute at UH Manoa offers Tropical Gardening classes online Mondays from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Go to “OLLI at UHM” to find their summer catalog.
If you want to meet some plant breeders and see the latest and best cultivars of edibles for Hawaiian gardens, don’t miss the Variety Showcase on the Bay View grounds at the Outrigger Resort &Spa in Kona on Wednesday, May 21. The event is open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and tickets are available at https://e.sparxo.com/Variety-Showcase-Hawaii-Island. A reduced $25 rate is available for farmers by contacting laneselman@gmail.com before the event.
With so many plants to consider and so much help available, maybe it is time to get your edible garden going. Gardening can be an enjoyable activity in the cool parts of the day and it’s fun to plan some delicious dishes based on your own home-grown produce. Make it a family and friends project to share to work and expand the benefits.
Gardening events
Ongoing
“Pre-order Leaf Resistant Coffee Trees” from UH CTAHR office in Kainaliu. Catimor hybrid seedlings and grafted trees are available. Conventionally grown, not organic. Trees grafted on liberica rootstock (coffee root-knot nematode-tolerant) are $15/ ungrafted seedlings $10. Available first come, first serve basis. Email andreak@hawaii.edu to express interest. A waiver and release form must be signed prior to purchase.
Monday, May 19:
“Soil less Ginger, BBTV IPM Prevention Strategies &Pesticide Safety” from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kona Cooperative Extension Office. 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway Kealakekua, HI 96750. Free event. Contact Dr. Amjad Ahmad at alobady@hawaii.edu for information or to register.
Sunday to Friday, May 19-23:
“North American Plant Breeders Annual Meeting” go to napbannualmeeting.org for more information.
Wednesday, May 21:
“Variety Showcase” 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kona Outrigger Resort. Learn about the latest varieties of edible plants for Hawaii. $40 general admission, $25 for farmers. For tickets go to https://e.sparxo.com/Variety-Showcase-Hawaii-Island.
Thursday, May 22:
“Field Day on Coffee Desuckering and Vertical Selection” from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Kona Research Station, 79-7381 Mamalahoa Highway, Kealakekua. Please register for this free event by contacting Matt at 808-322-0164 at least two days prior.
Save the dates
Sunday to Saturday, May 25 – 31:
“Ka’u Coffee Festival” in Pahala. Learn more at www.kaucoffeefestival.com.
Through June 30, 2025:
“CBB-CLR Pesticide Subsidy Program for 2024- 2025” now accepting applications. Contact hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/main/cbbsubsidy/ for more information.
July 17-19:
“Hawaii Coffee Association Annual Conference” More info at www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org
Farmer direct markets
Wednesday: “Ho‘oulu Farmers Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.- Sheraton Kona Resort at Keauhou Bay
Saturday: “Keauhou Farmers Market” 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center
“Kamuela Farmer’s Market” 7:30 a.m. to noon at Pukalani Stables
“Waimea Town Market” 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Parker School in central Waimea
“Waimea Homestead Farmers Market” from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Waimea middle and elementary school playground
Sunday: “Pure Kona Green Market” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook
“Hamakua Harvest” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hwy 19 and Mamane Street in Honokaa
Plant advice lines
Anytime: konamg@hawaii.edu Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu, 322-4893, or walk in Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at UH CES at Konohana in Hilo, 981-5199.
Diana Duff is a plant adviser, educator and consultant living on Oahu and working part time in Kona.
