02-15-2012, 11:48 AM
I never had soil when I moved to Nanawale in 1979. Using cinder, macnut husk and occasional soil, combined with the leaves, branches, etc. from ohia, then from trees I planted as well, I have a thriving yard (the lots in Nanawale are generally less than 1/5th of an acre) and a huge compost pile that I throw my kitchen scraps, cuttings and weeds with dirt clumps. It composts naturally here in our wet/sunny environment. I also throw around ash from my fireplace. I grow avocano, papaya (despite ringspot virus), grapefruit, bananas, cassava, strawberries, lemons, sweetpotato, etc. Breadfruit and coconut are too young to be producing yet but they're coming along. You don't need soil...the Hawaiians of old grew plants not in fields but in individual depressions in the lava rock, sorta like planters. It's the nutrients they need, not soil. It's a hydroponic way. The more you grow, the more soil you are making! [8)]