Coffee in Fern Forest?

[dobanion]

Anyone care to guess if Coffee would grow well in Fern Forest Estates? No bulldozing, ripping, or anything, leave the ohias, do some hand clearing, and planted in between the trees.

I'm thinking the shallow soil, lava underneath, and really high rainfall would drown them. Then again, I read coffee was grown from Keaau to Glenwood on both sides of the highway before 1900 (and sugarcane).

[leilaniguy]

I have a few trees that have done well here at the top of Leilani. Not as cool as Fernforest, but just as wet. Cacao and tea do OK too.

[james weatherford]

Don't worry about "shallow soil" or lava and rain.
Coffee loves the lava.
As leilaniguy alluded, if there is any constraint, it is most likely the cooler temperatures (and that may not be a problem).

At Pahoa (500 ft elev) we have some ohia forest with coffee that has naturalized from plantings made there decades ago.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[dobanion]

From what I gather, cool and shaded is ok, in many cases better for coffee. Yields might be lower, but that's fine. Not going for maximum yield. I like the idea of preserving the natural forest, and having coffee growing in the partial shade of the ohias. Some folks in Kona are doing it that way, others use the shade of mac or mango trees.

Read that the cooler, shaded coffees develop slower, and make for a richer cup.

I guess I wonder, what's stopping more people from small scale coffee farming in Puna? The math works out pretty good on cost/acre and yield/acre.

[DanielP]

I have 125 trees in Fern Forest. They are 3 years in the ground, I ripped for drainage. Cool temperatures is not an issue. More rainfall requires more fertilizer. They are heavy feeders. Good drainage is essential. If you can find cracks to plant in you should be good. Weeds are a problem until the plants get big. Insects too.
It can be quite labor-intensive. I think that this year I will get that $5,000 cup of coffee.

Dan

[Rene Siracusa]

I am at 1,200 ft. elevation above Pahoa and have coffee that was naturalized in an ohia forest - unripped. I don't feed them and I can't keep up with the growth/production. I try to prune back as often as necessary, but that's not often enough. They do like the shade. In the Solomon Islands they are grown at sea level under the shade of coco palms on their copra plantations, and are a cash crop.

[dobanion]

Thanks guys. Great to hear from people who have seen it work with their own eyes.

I wouldn't want to do it if I had to doze/rip the lot. I want those ohias to stay. Wonder...do the ohias and coffee bloom around the same time? That'd be a sight, white and red everywhere.