Is there a way to tell if a lot has been ripped?

[Susan]

This may be a dumb question, if so I am sorry. We found a lot we are interested in. Friends in Orchid Land have done a preliminary look for us. They think the lot may have been ripped a long time ago. It’s now a mixture of tall grass, weeds and small trees. Is there anyway to tell for sure? We will be there to look at it in less than two weeks.

Thanks

[JerryCarr]

Susan, in Orchidland, a lack of ohia trees would generally indicate that the property has been ripped. If you aren't familiar with ohias, they are the predominant native tree in that area (and many others,) and almost anyone can show you how to identify them. Or you can google 'ohia' and get some pics on line.

It amazes me how many people do pin to pin clearing (a bad idea to start with IMHO) and then don't build for years, if ever. Once cleared, brushy and/or invasive trees tend to take over, producing a less attractive landscape. Whatever property you buy, don't do any clearing until shortly before you build or you could be wasting your money and have to do it all over again.

Cheers,
Jerry

[dakine]

A ripped lot would be unnaturally level and the ground would be made up of broken pieces of rock. In most cases in lower Puna the underlying lava flow is pahoehoe, and presents a continuous uneven surface, which is clearly different than a flat plane made up of broken pieces of rock.

[Bullwinkle]

google "earth" it.... the data out here pretty outdated .... but you may get lucky


or ask the agent for some current photos... ripping being one thing, making a pad for the house may be another. All of the above would be obvious from a couple of good photos


good luck

[Susan]

One of the things that turned us off about lots in HPP was looking at those that had been ripped pin to pin. We always thought we would like to hand clear even if it meant foot by foot. Our friends in "O land" thinking if the lot we were looking at had been ripped many moons ago we would be able to just punch holes to plant trees, citrus, bananas, etc. and let the rest go natural until it was time to build. They mentioned we might be able to get by with a Bobcat rather than some heavy "artillery" to break up the lava. When you look at the lot on Google Earth it looks "mowed" compared to others around it. Just a little while longer and we will be there to look for ourselves. I am so sorry we are going to miss the slack key festival.
I suppose we are hoping to go up there and be able to pry up some big chunks of lava to see what's underneath. Another working holiday. Our friends did say she thinks a family of pigs will come with the property. Being unable to kill anything I am sure we will have a ready made family.

I understand the ohia tree thing. Much more used to pecan and live oaks. I will take friends to ID. Also know about the albezia. I wouldnt know an albezia if it was staring me down.

The post about the Kalani Oceanside Retreat made us happy. I hope they don't close it down.

[missydog1]

Susan, here are a couple images showing what albizia's look like.

http://kauaian.net/blog/wp-content/theme...a_tree.jpg
http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/heritage/u...before.jpg

I'm not sure what "go natural" means in Hawai'i. Because so many things can grow here, so many invaders, it's rather Darwinian, the race for one species to take over the territory.

In my experience, whatever takes over is a pest.

For your citrus to thrive, it should have a zone around it that's not competing with other plants. Citrus roots are shallow and spread out at least as far as the drip zone, which is where they like to feed. My citrus has lawn around it and it is doing Ok but I think it would be better without the grass. Unfortunately I cannot get rid of the grass without poison, so won't do that, and they'll have to deal.

If you plant citrus you should tend it. Bananas on the other hand can grow without supervision. Citrus trees are kind of fussy as youngsters. Once they mature they're tough. Citrus tends to get iron-deprived in our acidic soil. It has lots of iron but the iron is bound up due to the PH, so you need to lime them. Talk to Jeff at Garden Exchange, at least he's one excellent resource.

[csgray]

Susan,
We didn't plan to buy a ripped and rolled lot, but the house we wanted ended up being on one. If the lot is surrounded by older ohia trees and it only has little scrub trees or big trash trees and albezias then it was ripped. The one plus side to a ripped lot is you get better drainage (and after being flooded out in Orchidland I would say that is important) and it is easier to plant stuff. We only have an acre so losing the natural lava landscape was a trade off with being able to plant most of our place. If I was looking in Orchidland I would keep looking for a lot which was uncleared or only partly cleared because Orchidland still has some really mature Ohia forest and with 3 acres it is less important to be able to plant most of your lot. There is a lot of land for sale right now at much better prices, don't jump into anything, it is a buyers market. Good luck!

Carol