Landscaping on lava

[nanasohana]

You to Mella! Man I think a bunch of us will be gardening up a storm!

[Glenn P]

Like most good gardeners I've been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding tropical gardening. I came across The Subtropical Garden by Jacqueline Walker the other day. She talks about the lack of good soil to garden in is a fairly typical problem, given lava and poor soils. She recommends building up instead of down. Planting in heaps of compost and building up and planting in layers. This makes sense as it mimicks what's going on in nature. As I will be composting everything I can get my hands on, this should not be a problem. Starting off with some raised beds to get some trees and bushes started and then layering from there. Layering up gives good air and water circulation and should add soil over time. In the Northwest we have have poor soil in our forests and so the native plants basically do the same thing here in the wild. Blue rock? No worries, bring it on.
Glenn P

[mella l]

Yes Glenn, lasagna gardening in small areas for the landscape plants should work too! The article Nancy suggested, regarding lava planting took away a lot of my concerns. The process is simple, layered, inexpensive, and relieved my anxiety of lava gardening.

We will probably rent a heavy duty chipper when we get serious about our place, and chip up a whole lotta chips. With that and the moisture and tropical weather, we could be producing black soil in no time!

mella l

[Katie D]

Ahhhh, gardening year round. One of the draws to the Big Island for me!! Just wanted to suggest a series of books that I was introduced to by Jerry and Markie of Orchidland B&B when I stayed there last month...I was able to find the books at Basically Books in Hilo, expensive, but sooo fun to read thru and dream about...anyway, they are:

Permacopia I: The Core of Sustainability: Endemic, Indigenous, and Polynesian Plants Species of Hawaii

Permacopia II: An Encyclopedia of More Plants for a Sustainable Hawaii

Permacopia III: Weeds

All are by D. Hunter Beyer and Dr. Franklin Martin, and each book costs $24.95. And no, I'm not related to the authors!! LOL! There are no color pictures, just tons of info, and I mean tons.

Thanks much for the advice to be wary of bringing in soil - had realized it would be important to check the plants for coqui's but didn't think about the soil!

Jerry and Markie are growing lots of great plants on their land in Orchidland, and they said just to find a nice crack in the lava, put in some compost/topsoil, and plant the tree, etc. Hope it's really that easy! I'm so looking forward to growing much of our fruit and veggies! Hail to all gardeners!!

[Glenn P]

One of my favorite books to look and drool over is Tropical Garden Design by Made Wijaya. It is more like a concept book in that it shows a great many tropical gardens in their incredible splendor and color. It is great for getting ideas and plant combinations. The text could be more but that is just a small complaint. All and all I would give this book an A.

Glenn P



Edited by - glenn P on 08/14/2005 21:33:16

[mella l]

Hi all, Glenn I ordered the book you recommended and it was due here on the 22nd but is delayed, and that makes me nuts. What new things have you learned about landscaping on lava? Neat tricks, clever techniques, how to avoid back breaking labor! We have a pressure washer and I've been wondering if we should bring it when we move and try to water blast our way around the garden, what do you think?

We'll be over end of September and have arranged to borrow some garden tools from a friend to mark our driveway and if the energy level permits a path around the area where we would like our home. Probably to ambitious but hey why not give it a try!

mella l

[Hanalei]

I found a link for all kinds of topic relating to Hawaii including turf management and agriculture. I haven't had time to read these PDF files yet, but thought I can post the link here. I hope it is useful for some of you.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/ctahr2001/PI...Pubs09.asp

[mella l]

Hey Kim thanks for the warning about bringing in soil. We will try to compost a lot in our composter, I understand that in the tropics compost works faster than temperate areas. Also the warning and tactic for checking in the evening for plants you bring into your yard for coqui.

Glenn hurray I received my Tropical Garden Design, by Made Wijaya, thanks for the recommendation great choice. Ordered a used paperback thru Amazon and it is in beautiful shape. What a fantastic book. Now what to plant first, such a tempting dilemma. First home then garden plan, then the hard work begins. Must have a pond! Think I'll be renting for weeks on end that jack hammer loffelkopffl told us about! Happy digging everyone, we'll be over in a month and if it is the last thing I do I will plant at least one thing while I mark a drive way and house pad area. Hope to see you! Mella L

mella l

Edited by - mella l on 09/01/2005 01:42:35

[Glenn P]

I just returned from a week looking over our property and getting plans started with Janel at Honsador for our house. As eager as I am to get our house built, I really look forward to all the landscaping challenges. I will be moving over Jan 2006 and my partner follow me 4 to 6 months later.
Mella since you liked the last book, there is another gorgeous one you might love. Mine is paper back and has wonderful pictures, it's Tropical Garden by William Warren. The book is a never ending source of ideas and inspiration.
While on this trip we toured Nani Mau gardens. Very beautiful, pastoral even.

Glenn P

[AaronM]

Great book suggestions here for anyone looking to start turning their new black rock a little green!