Gardening/ landscaping

[mella l]

Speaking of tomatoes here is a suggestion I gleaned from another forum;

I have thriving tomatoes at just below the 1000ft marked about Honomu. Our soil is very deficient in several things. Calcium is one. Have you soil tested and amend accordingly. I have no problem with cherry type tomatoes. They reseed themselves too! Right now I have two plants that cover a 10 by 12 area! They produce way more tomatoes than to of us can eat! I have added calcium, Phophorus, lime, chicken manure and lots of grass clipping to the area. It you want to grow full size tomatoes bag them with a paper bag once they are of a normal size but not yet red. You will have to experiment as to when to put on the bag. For me I find the cherry's just the right size for our needs. Healthy soil makes for healthy plants which can fend off the pest better. Gardening over here is a new experience from the mainland!

So my question is are the tomatoes bagged while still on the vine, or after they are picked. So I'll let you know when I hear back. Mella L

mella l

[emily]

You can bag the tomatoes after you pick them. We had some back in Illinois that fell off during a storm, most of them ended up turning red and tasted good. It may even take weeks. The reason to pick them earlyis that it is hard to grow big tomatoes here. Bugs bite them as they ripen and then they turn to mush. We have had the same success with cherry tomatoes up in Mountain View. They are like vines and just keep going, they live for years we've heard. Ours is growing over the pot it's in and has started to spread out on the ground.

[mella l]

Here is some info I found elsewhere.

From what I have read you bag while still on the plant and still green. There is a book that I got at Wall Mart in Hilo called Organic Gardening. It is not a large or expensive book, printed here in Hilo written by someone who has gardened here a long time. It is full of helpfull info. Easy read too. Nice quick to reference charts.

Seems there is more than one way to bag a tomato!!

Thanks Emily for the permit scheduleing info. Hey nice truck, and nice boss! The kitten is darling but I've never seen one who wasn't! How about the name scoosh, meaning just a tad, not sure about the spelling. We have a Cleocatra, but we call her Cleo.

mella l

[HADave]

Here's one you could laugh over but you have to use a Spanish twist with it C A'T and if you have a pup you could call it D O'G 0~:

[PunaCat]

I am a brand new member to Punaweb, and as of last week, a brand new home owner in Puna. Our house is still being built, with the lot only partially cleared (thankfully!). I have to admit, I am addicted to gardening, and while very excited about the house, I am more excited about all the gardening possibilities ahead of me! Upon being told about all the strawberry guava still left standing on our lot, and learning that it is an invasive species, I contacted Malama O Puna - an organization (right in our own backyard!) dedicated to protecting the local environment. I spoke to a wonderful woman there who talked to me at length about my new property and what might be on it. When I told her there were guavas on it, she agreed that they were a terrible pest and had to go. She suggested the only true way to get rid of them is to cut them off, close to the ground, and then apply an herbacide (she suggested Ortho Brush Be Gone) directly to the freshly cut stump. You cannot wait to apply it as the wound will quickly heal up. You have to be careful of dropping ripe fruit, as they are full of viable seeds, and must be careful of leaving live roots behind as they sucker freely.

I am the first one to recoil from the use of any kind of herbacide, but in this case, in balancing the need to remove a noxious, invasive and non native species - is it justified? It sounded to me that it might be the only way to truly clear my site of this particular tree. She told me the best way to ensure that other plants are not affected, is to mix the concentrate in a squeezeable bottle - like a shampoo bottle. In this manner, you can squeeze the liquid herbaside directly on the stump and not worry about overspraying.

She told me that after I had the guava removed, that I was welcome to call her back, and she would be more than happy to come out, walk my property with me and let me know what I had for native flora and fauna! I thought that was tremendously generous!! And, believe me, I am looking forward to that day!

So now, I am looking around for someone I can hire to help me in this endeavor. I am also looking for someone I can employ to build me some stone walls with all this lava rock! I too, will be utilizing a raised bed system (as I did for years in PA). But, I'm only one woman - so if anyone has used someone they would care to recommend, please feel free to email me. I would appreciate any suggestions! Happy New Year!

[leilaniguy]

Aloha PunaCat, welcome to Puna! Of course you're passionate about gardening, most of us Punatics are, or we'd be in a drier place There doesn't seem to be any alternative to poisoning mature Waiwi( strawberry guava),it's tough stuff, and always trying to sprout back. I don't know what subdivision you're in, but you might ask at your longhouse, if there is one, or look on your community bulletinboard for reliable, nearby labor for your tree cutting and raised beds- lugging rocks is a good job for a teenager. There are professional rock masons, but they charge by the foot, pretty $pendy.

[pslamont]

I have tons of hapu'u if anyone needs any for landscaping, and am in the market for banana keiki as well as ti.

Have had lots of offers for banana from Kona but don't want to cross the virus line... so Hilo side only please

Love to trade and share in general... Pam

Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!

[PunaCat]

Aloha, Leilaniguy. By the foot, eh? Maybe I should rethink this! Ha! Ha! -Punacat