Gardening in Volcano

[Mitzi M]

Avocados might grow but won't fruit at that elevation. It's also too high for bananas, pineapple and lychee to grow and fruit well. As for other veggies, cold season crops that can stand a lot of rain might do alright, but as for producing anything on a large-ish scale...the only thing I know of that was grown up there in the past was cabbage. Interestingly, although they intensely cultivated lower lands, the Hawaiians never farmed or settled that land, but considered it "wahi kapu" or highly sacred. If you are intent on mini-farming, it would probably be better to look into lower elevation land that has already been cleared. At 3,500' you could have a small garden and call everything in it an experiment. If you have native forest on your land, please preserve it. Our native forests persist in such small little pockets - especially the high elevation ones. Every little bit helps. Even something as simple as preserving the trees that form a continuous canopy can make the difference in having certain native birds on your land or not. If you enjoy gardening, then you will certainly want to use some space for that, but there is no other place on Earth where the Hawaiian rainforest grows... It is uniquely beautiful, and once disturbed or cleared, cannot be replaced easily - or at all. If you are lucky enough to live there, take time to learn from and enjoy this sacred place. The Volcano Community Association is a great resource for new residents in your situation. They put out a great brochure called "Building in the Forest" which you can see on their website:

http://www.volcanocommunity.org/index.html

If you ask them, they will also send someone out to walk your land with you and let you know what kinds of trees, plants and animal habitat is there. They can also hook you up with people who have found some very stylish ways to integrate their homes into the Volcano area forest and have either preserved or restored native plant communities on their land. The Volcano Arts Center (in Volcano Village) is also a wonderful resource. They offer classes in native plant ID and other interesting things ranging from art to Hawaiian culture. When you're up there it's worth a visit because they are situated in Niaulani kipuka, an old growth rainforest. There is a free guided tour down the .5 mile trail every Monday from 9:30 to 10AM, but you can walk it by yourself any time and take a look at the some of the gems of our native forests.

Aloha,
Mitzi

Uluhe Design
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