Not As Easy As We Thought
Setting up our first garden was something that Lou and I been dreaming about for YEARS! The thought of growing our own produce, walking into the backyard, picking out the veggies for dinner, well it just seemed like something that would incorporate so many different aspects of life we love. A garden gets you outside. It's a wonderful ever-changing long-term project. Plus it means organic produce that is fresher than anything we're used to eating.
So when we got to Maui back in August 2021, setting up the garden was a top priority. Turns out though this is a project that has a bit of a learning curve. We planted a bunch straight into the ground and also started tons of seedlings in trays. We tried to find quality soil, but it felt nearly impossible or crazy expensive. We started our own compost, but it takes a very long time to make quality soil as we learned from our new friend Daniel, a very wise farmer based in Oahu.
If you haven't seen the video we made with Daniel and his wife Alohi that is all about their farm project I highly recommend giving it a watch. We learned so much about sustainable agriculture, Hawaiian farming tradition, and what steps need to be taken to start growing farmers here in Hawaii.
And here is a video Daniel made about how to plant huli, which we found super helpful!
But back to the garden update: even though we didn't have all the information or experience the garden started growing, but so very slowly. Some of the plants didn't sprout for weeks longer than expected and some barely grew at all. We weren't sure if it was an issue of lack of sun, too much rain, overcrowding, bad soil, faulty seeds, or poor execution on our part. Some things did decent like the spinach and bok choi, but it wasn't until we planted kalo (or taro) that we saw what this garden could really do!
If you know Lou then you know he loves to keep things organized and every time he'd look down at our original garden bed he felt discouraged. The plants grew strangely - they were super leggy at the bottom and then the leaves were barely growing. Instead of wasting any more time, we made the executive decision to harvest what we had, clear out the bed and start again with a plant that had already proved itself - KALO!
I reached out to Lani at Ola Mau Farms and luckily she had some extra huli (this is the kalo starter plant) that she was so generous to share with us! She has our phone number now and we told her we are happy to help on the farm any day she needs, so fingers crossed we get the call because their farm was absolutely stunning and I know we could learn so much getting to work alongside such experienced farmers.
We ended up planting 18 huli in the ground and harvesting all the kalo and luau leaf from the huli, and have been eating for the past few days. Also since we filmed some leaves that have already sprouted, so fingers crossed this is going to be a much more abundant garden project than our first attempt!