The Garden

I had heard about the community garden here and made this a high priority after moving. I attended the first meeting with my mom because she was already visiting for the first time. 

We were all super excited to get started. Cliff was really into it and we gathered the whole family to clear out the weeks. Here is our 7' x 21' plot overrun with weeks...

They have a tool shed with almost any supply you could want! See I told you they were serious!

We discovered how horrible the nut grass with it's little root balls are, how relentless the mosquitoes are, and how much work it was going to be to get this thing going.

We also discovered bugs, caterpillars, cockroaches, ant hills, chickens, ferals cats and hogs, and other things to battle against.

Yes, he worked very hard!

We all did!

But he worked harder, I guess...

While this one goofed off...

Fast forward several weeks! 

After planting many things including lettuce, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves!

However, the kids were sick of getting eaten alive every time we went and I could not keep up on the weeds. I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the weeds that took over once again. It was pretty insane. I learned that nut grass must be completely pulled up from the ball about 6 inches down if you want any success here. In addition to that, I started taking closer note of what the experienced gardeners were doing. Maily MULCH! They all had mulch (available for free in huge piles at the entrance to the garden) covering their dirt. Once I did that, the weeds were SO MUCH easier to control. 

Also, several of my plants that did well at first, did not continue to grow or they just died completely. I am still in the process of figuring out which things to grow and will begin soon using the natural plant derivative Neem. It keeps the bugs and pests away, so maybe I can attempt the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers again. My rosemary, basil, scallions, oregano, and hawaiian peppers are doing great!

I have also been experimenting with some new plants!  I am growing bitter melon, lililoi, lemon verbena, cat nip :), orange mint, and citronella (hoping to keep the mosquitoes down while gardening!) 

 Here are my sweet girls modeling with our newly planted herbs and my homemade naturopathic mosquito repellant that makes gardening much more enjoyable.

Bitter melon plant with a lovely little hibiscus that Cambria added for a little extra flair.

Another benefit of having a community garden are the aloha areas. These areas are places outside of the plots that have all kinds of wonderful fruits for us to share. Papaya, coffee beans, starfruit, banana, pomelo, sugar cane, limes, lemons, avocados, and other things are available to grab from time to time when they are in season.

Several weeks ago, I was going to throw in the towel. It takes about 10 minutes to drive there and with all the weeds and sports and homeschooling obligations I didn't think I was going to keep it up. But Cliff is encouraging, my fellow gardeners are telling me I'm doing great, and that my plot looks nice, and I'm finally growing more plants than I'm killing (with fewer weeds than ever attacking :) 

It would be nice to have this in my back yard, but it has been a really great experience for all of us to grow our own food and find out more about tropical growing environments. For now, this is our only option. And for $15/year (including water!) it's a pretty great option. Plus I've gotten to know a lot of local folk who love to talk story and share their wisdom with this haole. :)