07-30-2022, 11:06 PM
Re: potatoes
When I was taking ag classes at UHH (a long, long time ago), I remember reading about how the potato fields of Ka'u supplied most of the American military in the South Pacific during WWII. Just as the sugar cane yields were very high in Hawaii in comparison to other growing areas, the rich soil and mild climate allowed for high production and several crops per year. But then after a rainy period just after the war ended, a fungus ( a phytophthora if memory serves ) turned everything into a rotten mess. Because there's no freezing temperatures to kill off the fungus, and at that time there were no suitable fungicides, the crop was abandoned after several attempts to replant. ( I tried a quick google search to find more detail, but was unsuccessful. I do remember the info was in several pieces in the yearly Territorial statistic documents in the Special Collections Vault at the UHH library. )
To SpaceKaren: in an earlier post, you said you had planted potatoes in containers using potting soil. Just out of curiosity, how much did they end up costing per pound after factoring in the cost of the pots and soil?
When I was taking ag classes at UHH (a long, long time ago), I remember reading about how the potato fields of Ka'u supplied most of the American military in the South Pacific during WWII. Just as the sugar cane yields were very high in Hawaii in comparison to other growing areas, the rich soil and mild climate allowed for high production and several crops per year. But then after a rainy period just after the war ended, a fungus ( a phytophthora if memory serves ) turned everything into a rotten mess. Because there's no freezing temperatures to kill off the fungus, and at that time there were no suitable fungicides, the crop was abandoned after several attempts to replant. ( I tried a quick google search to find more detail, but was unsuccessful. I do remember the info was in several pieces in the yearly Territorial statistic documents in the Special Collections Vault at the UHH library. )
To SpaceKaren: in an earlier post, you said you had planted potatoes in containers using potting soil. Just out of curiosity, how much did they end up costing per pound after factoring in the cost of the pots and soil?