Fern Forest Farming

[dayna]

Oh and PS, it does get quite muddy on our property, especially where we drive.

Dayna

www.JasonAndBlue.com
My artwork

[dwedeking]

Like most have said, whether the property your looking at has soil or not, depends entirely on the specific piece of property. I've just cleared a 1/2 acre parcel of the place we are renting and am finding limited soil. I ground is slightly uneven so I am filling in the low areas with mulch and soil and essentially doing garden beds. Check out the book "Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre by Brett Markham" it has a lot of good ideas on raised bed gardening.

The secret to keeping things down after you clear is to stay on top of it (especially the vines). If you do a "I'll clear them every 6 months" type of plan you'll be starting from scratch each time, where if you do a section every day (or whatever interval) you'll just be dealing with starts and eventually stay ahead of them. There's no gym here so I've been going out each day for an hour to replace my workout with swinging a farm tool and physical work.

This is also the land of microclimates. Another reason to rent and explore the area to find the right spot for you as these climates will influence what you can grow. As an example the other day it was gorgeous clear and sunny on our property and had been all day. I figured on riding the bicycle to the store as the weather was nice. 2 blocks away I was soaked, my rain gauge for the day stayed at 0.

I'd recommend a 4x4 vehicle. It doesn't need to be tricked out with extended clearance like you'd need for some of the trails in the Southwest but the extra traction and standard clearance of a 4x4 suv or truck is warranted.

You'll find a wide range of people living "off-off grid", "semi off grid" and completely on grid on the island for a wide range of reasons (economic, philosophically, necessity due to location). We live on a property that is on catchment (very common here) with solar while still tied to grid.

@Paulw - thanks for that link.


http://www.wedekingphotography.com

[kani-lehua]

Our property in FF is down the hill from Dayna's. Several neighbors none of which have bothered us. No problems with theft as our house sat empty for 7 months. There are some "different" lifestyles in the area and the occasional loose dogs. I miss the serenity up there. Had it not been so secluded, we would have never moved (i don't drive). The only thing in the ground as far as edibles that grew well (for us)were bananas.

"a great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

w. james

[pslamont]

Fern Forest is south of the highway 11. We live 1/2 mile North of highway 11 on he same road. The difference i properties is amazing. We are 13 feet deep i soil... rich clay. I have a friend who is just reloating onto a Fern Forest lot. They ripped the driveway and everything is in 1 to 3 feet of soil. Every lot is different. The flavor of every neighborhood is developed by the neighbors. I would STRONGLY recommend not buying until you are here. Renting for 3 to 6 months will educate you enormously and you will be able to buy something that will fulfill your needs.

When you know your true arrival time we have a little cabin that will be available to rent in the next month or two. It's little and odd, etc... however something like this for a couple months will make all the difference in the world. Take the chance to look around and get a feel for each neighborhood.

Good luck and welcome to paradise!

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[terracore]

As Dayna said, our soil depth varies from 0-6 inches in the areas that we have explored. One lot a mile away has soil at least 8 feet deep. (That's how far they dug, don't know how far it really goes) and it also has areas with no soil.

When you're looking for lots online you can sometimes get a good idea of the soil depth from the pictures. If you can see a lot of tree roots in the pictures, it's because they can't grow into the ground. On the other hand, there could be deep soil on the lot that didn't wind up in the pictures. You can't photograph 3 acres with just a few snapshots.

Fern Forest is a large subdivision and has everything from homes made out of tarps to homes that could be over a million dollars. And everything in between. You can't characterize it. Here's a pic I took somewhere in Fern Forest next to the kapu signs. Its blurry (I wasn't going to get out of the car) but reads "Porthole to the 4th dimension. Enter at your own risk" above "Posted No Trespassing Keep out"

http://www.city-data.com/forum/attachmen...forest.jpg

Generally, the further the property is away from pavement, the more...uh...interesting the neighbors are.

[Futureresident]

Thats a funny picture! It certainly illustrates the point quite well!!
And I never would have imagined the soil depths would vary so much in such a short distance! I'm definitely glad to know that it is that way. Does anyone know if soil depth is something that is generally taken into consideration when the owner prices the property, or does its relation to a main road and a shorter commute have more to do with it? (I suppose to a large extent this would depend on the owner..)

@pslamont An odd little cabin sounds like fun! I'll let you know when we're getting closer to heading out that way! Probably not gonna be till this fall or so.. Any idea what you'll charge for rent yet?

Thanks for everyone's info!!

[pslamont]

Send your email to pslamont@yahoo.com and I will give you information. I don't really want to post it here.. though I don't know why. The good thing is that I am on N. Glenwood Rd and Fern Forrest is on S. Glenwood so it's easy access. I will look forward to hearing from you. Pam

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[terracore]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Futureresident

Thats a funny picture! It certainly illustrates the point quite well!!
And I never would have imagined the soil depths would vary so much in such a short distance! I'm definitely glad to know that it is that way. Does anyone know if soil depth is something that is generally taken into consideration when the owner prices the property, or does its relation to a main road and a shorter commute have more to do with it? (I suppose to a large extent this would depend on the owner..)

@pslamont An odd little cabin sounds like fun! I'll let you know when we're getting closer to heading out that way! Probably not gonna be till this fall or so.. Any idea what you'll charge for rent yet?

Thanks for everyone's info!!

---

I think soil depth is more a consideration for the buyer than it is the seller, so I don't know that it influences the asking price. (Unless it has NO soil like in HOVE) That might be different if you were trying to sell an existing FARM but most of the lots are either completely undeveloped or fully/partially bulldozed. The winery in Volcano was originally put in using a jackhammer and a pickaxe to create over 10,000 "planters" in the lava for the grapes to be planted. Now they do it with an auger in a fraction of the time. And after all that, most of their grape products arrives on the barge from California in the form of a concentrate. Other people use raised planting beds, which is also sometimes done in areas of deep soil anyway to keep stuff from rotting/molding. Soil depth isn't the only environmental consideration. I see more and more aquaponic projects getting started using tilapia to take the soil out of the equation.

[DanielP]

One big issue is whether you will need to earn money from the local economy. It is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!!! Make no assumptions, it will not be what you expect, no matter what you expect.
RENT FIRST, preferably for 6 months or better to get to know it better.

Dan
ed 4 sp.