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Tomorrow is the first planting of a citrus tree at the farm. We will see how it goes. No irrigation yet, so we don't want to plant too many trees since they will need to be hand watered if necessary until the irrigation water gets put in. I'll see if I can get lavender to grow as a ground cover around the base of the trees. The bees should like that. Maybe if we have citrus flowers and lavender we can get citrus/lavender honey from the bees. It should be interesting.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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That's going to be so fun! Love hearing the progress of your little farm...can't wait for your first fruitings!
Carrie Rojo
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama
Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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A good source of small biz farming examples is on
www.FarmAid.org. Also check out
http://attra.ncat.org/
Delia Montgomery
d/b/a Chic Eco
Environmental Fashion & Design ~ Consultant & Broker
www.ChicEco.com Info@ChicEco.com
Delia Montgomery,
Environmentalist
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Hotzcatz, as you experiment with lavender, keep us posted. I will be on the island in October and maybe we can meet and talk lavender. I have a small lavender farm in WA State and also in MT. I own a lavender shop in Red Lodge, MT. I'd like to purchase dried buds and lavender essential oil from the island as I can not seem to grow anything here that is so sweetly fragranced. I have a large market for it here and can sell all I could purchase from small growers on the island such as yourself. Have fun! Ann
And then, I dreamt of Hawaii...
http://crazypineappledream.blogspot.com/
Enjoy the day! Ann
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Drop by when you're here and you can give me advice on setting up the lavender in the farm. I'm thinking it might be a good ground cover under the citrus trees. The bees would probably like it as well. I know rosemary grows real well in our area. Advice on how to grow and harvest the lavender properly would be wonderful.
Growing something that already has a market sounds a lot easier than growing something and then trying to get folks interested in buying it.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
Posts: 473
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Joined: Jan 2009
Okay Devany dear... we bought one of those bacon chocolate bars at Whole Foods... I'm still trying to get the taste out of my mouth....
-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/
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LOL!!!! Lucky you having a Whole Foods.
I thought that they were good, in small bites. Sorry to lead you astray. When you come here, we will get you some Sharkey's Hawaiian made 70% dark chocolate! No bacon.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com
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And maybe I will send you the rest of this awful bacon chocolate bar because no one else will touch the thing LOL.
-Blake
http://www.theboysgreatescape.blogspot.com/
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So far farming has been expensive and still no trees planted. However, there is now about three quarters of an acre cleared and with the backhoe my DH bought me last week, I'm making that sucker level. Ha! Terraced Farm instead of Hillside Farm!
The current plan (so far farming has gone through about ten different plans) is for fifty foot square garden/crop areas with a tree planted on each corner. Then trees will be filled in between them at twenty five feet on center after the next tree sale at Plant It Hawaii or as trees are acquired. Since it is raining at the moment and I can't go dig with my new toy, I guess I'll boot up AutoCad and see what it would look like with 60'x 60' garden squares and trees at 30' on center. There is a variety of trees, so they don't all grow to the same size. It is also difficult to get actual mature sizes on some varieties, too.
Anybody know how big a mature brown turkey fig tree gets? Several places have mentioned they can get big, but I've never seen a fig over the size of a small tree or big shrub.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
Posts: 613
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Joined: Jun 2005
what i've started to see that have become effective models are a pick your own or a cooperative/share program...there's a small farm in pahoa that grows mostly greens and gets their customers to a weekly schedule for 6 months committment and they get a container for veggies for a good price....i'm sure you can come up with something comparable for your area also....the name of the coop farm is milk and honey in pahoa.
