05-29-2008, 03:51 PM
Hafa adai, (bonus points if you know that greeting and where it's from)
I bought a purple lilikoi last week and put it in a fairly large container with good potting soil. Within a couple days the leaves started turning white/ashy and falling off. I'm at 3000' and I chose the purple variety because I heard they are much more hardy. I'm not a green thumb by any means so I'm wondering if anybody knows why this is happening. It has to be one or more of the following: Not enough nutrition, too much rain, too cold, not enough sun. Any ideas?
I am also having similar trouble with my sugar snap peas they have been in the ground (3x4 raised bed) for over a month now. They initially shot right up and were growing at a good rate. Then in the last week or so the leaves have started to shrivel a little and also turn pale. Not sure how they turned so suddenly. The only thing that is different in that time frame is we did have a couple of unusually hot days up here. I did keep them watered fairly well during that timeframe.
My green beans have been doing great, which are in a pot. I actually took the seeds from some green beans I bought that were spoiling, dried them in the window for a couple days and planted them. I didn't expect much but they have been my biggest surprise. Not big enough to trellis yet or give beans but steadily growing.
Cherry tomatoes are sprouting healthily in a couple hanging baskets.
Spinach is looking real nice. I think that may be my easiest low-maintenance crop so far.
Strawberries are growing slow but steady, no sign of fruit yet.
Green onions sprout up very small but don't seem to go anywhere from there. I'm thinking it may not be hot or sunny enough for those here.
My poha berries are looking good as always and probably ready to start dropping in the next month or so.
Bought a small green tea shrub. Not counting on getting much out of it and tea is pretty cheap to buy anyway. Just thought it was cool to have and if I can use the leaves to make my own some day then great.
Bearss Lime tree still alive and healthy. Its only a couple months old so I know I have a long time to go with that one. It is understood that I may be fighting an uphill battle with that one in my location. If I ever get to a point that I don't think it will survive, I'll probably put it up for adoption.
My next attempt will be growing potatoes in a large container.
With the exception of the poha berries, everything is in my raised bed or in containers. I have experimented with keeping the containers under my eaves for cover from the rain and moving them out in the open so they can catch more sun when it is not so rainy. The most frustrating thing has been the lack of sun and persistent precipitation up here, despite quite beautiful weather down in Hilo the last few weeks. I realize that probably just comes with the territory at this elevation, and in return I get no coquis, no need for A/C or even a fan, and incredible peace and quiet. I'm sure lots of residents of Hilo and lower Puna would love for the loudest noise to be that of the crickets at night and birds during the day. I'd like to welcome any input or advice about some of the challenges I'm having, and suggestions on what else I should attempt to grow. I have a little control over how much water my plants get, but am at the utter mercy of mother nature about how much sun I get. Perhaps the theme I should stick with is plants that aren't overly dependent on constant sunshine.
I'll now turn it over to some thumbs of a greener hue. I await your wisdom and thank you in advance for it.........
I bought a purple lilikoi last week and put it in a fairly large container with good potting soil. Within a couple days the leaves started turning white/ashy and falling off. I'm at 3000' and I chose the purple variety because I heard they are much more hardy. I'm not a green thumb by any means so I'm wondering if anybody knows why this is happening. It has to be one or more of the following: Not enough nutrition, too much rain, too cold, not enough sun. Any ideas?
I am also having similar trouble with my sugar snap peas they have been in the ground (3x4 raised bed) for over a month now. They initially shot right up and were growing at a good rate. Then in the last week or so the leaves have started to shrivel a little and also turn pale. Not sure how they turned so suddenly. The only thing that is different in that time frame is we did have a couple of unusually hot days up here. I did keep them watered fairly well during that timeframe.
My green beans have been doing great, which are in a pot. I actually took the seeds from some green beans I bought that were spoiling, dried them in the window for a couple days and planted them. I didn't expect much but they have been my biggest surprise. Not big enough to trellis yet or give beans but steadily growing.
Cherry tomatoes are sprouting healthily in a couple hanging baskets.
Spinach is looking real nice. I think that may be my easiest low-maintenance crop so far.
Strawberries are growing slow but steady, no sign of fruit yet.
Green onions sprout up very small but don't seem to go anywhere from there. I'm thinking it may not be hot or sunny enough for those here.
My poha berries are looking good as always and probably ready to start dropping in the next month or so.
Bought a small green tea shrub. Not counting on getting much out of it and tea is pretty cheap to buy anyway. Just thought it was cool to have and if I can use the leaves to make my own some day then great.
Bearss Lime tree still alive and healthy. Its only a couple months old so I know I have a long time to go with that one. It is understood that I may be fighting an uphill battle with that one in my location. If I ever get to a point that I don't think it will survive, I'll probably put it up for adoption.
My next attempt will be growing potatoes in a large container.
With the exception of the poha berries, everything is in my raised bed or in containers. I have experimented with keeping the containers under my eaves for cover from the rain and moving them out in the open so they can catch more sun when it is not so rainy. The most frustrating thing has been the lack of sun and persistent precipitation up here, despite quite beautiful weather down in Hilo the last few weeks. I realize that probably just comes with the territory at this elevation, and in return I get no coquis, no need for A/C or even a fan, and incredible peace and quiet. I'm sure lots of residents of Hilo and lower Puna would love for the loudest noise to be that of the crickets at night and birds during the day. I'd like to welcome any input or advice about some of the challenges I'm having, and suggestions on what else I should attempt to grow. I have a little control over how much water my plants get, but am at the utter mercy of mother nature about how much sun I get. Perhaps the theme I should stick with is plants that aren't overly dependent on constant sunshine.
I'll now turn it over to some thumbs of a greener hue. I await your wisdom and thank you in advance for it.........
