January 2009 – Lucy L Jones PhD LLC

Thirty Plus One

click here for larger image
OHIA IN BLOOM

At the end of 2008, I made a commitment to myself and to NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to do 30 posts in 30 days. I wasn’t too sure I could actually do that, but yesterday was my 30th day! I did it – and it was fun!

Today is a little extra one thrown in to satisfy my need to tidy up, balance everything out, and make it a full month. So since there are 31 days in January, here’s the bonus post.

Several friends have asked what plants I do have, so I did a little calculating about what kinds of edible plants I have on my acre. I thought maybe my readers were curious, too, especially since my posts have been a little scattered on exactly what I have here. Most of these plants are either in containers or in raised beds. A few I have placed in a hole in the lava with some of the good rich soil I’ve made. This is only the beginning.

Starting tomorrow (February 1) I will be back to doing a longer post on Sundays. I just might do a short post mid-week, but I’m not promising more than Sunday right now.

Enjoy the list! I will expand the list as I plant more things.

FRUITS/VEGGIES
peanuts
figs
bell peppers
yams
arugula
tomatoes
beets
mustards
collards
string beans
chard
kale

NOT BEARING YET
gooseberries
apricots
blueberries
bush cherry
lime tree (still very small)

TROPICALS
Pineapple
coffee
bananas
lilikoi

HERBS
cilantro
marjoram
oregano
parsley
chives
mint
rosemary

ANIMALS
Hens for eggs

PLANTS THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT
Sage
Fennel
Dill
Kabocha squash
Papaya

Beautiful Chard!

click here for larger image
CHARLOTTE CHARD

Chard is one of those vegetables that I “think” I recall from my childhood, but I honestly can’t remember whether I ever ate it, or if I even liked it. I sort of remember my mother talking about something she called “Swiss Chard.” I do know I had never eaten it as an adult.

Please don’t laugh! I raised four children and fed them well, considered myself a good cook. But for some unknown reason, chard was rather intimidating. I never fed it to my children, never ventured to buy it in the grocery store. The huge dark green leaves were almost frightening.

When I started looking through Cook’s Garden catalog for seed ideas last year, the pictures were so beautiful that I just had to try some. I had no earthly idea what I would do with it once I grew it. The seed packet languished on my kitchen counter, along with other seeds I bought.

This must sound crazy to other gardeners, but I finally got up courage to plant the chard in a corner by my back door. It was beautiful, just as the seed catalog had predicted. The leaves were bright, shiny, healthy, and I still didn’t have a clue what to do with it!

click here for larger image
CHARLOTTE CHARD CLOSEUP

I accidentally ran across a tiny paragraph in some magazine about how to cook chard, so I clipped it out. It seemed simple enough.

Last week, I picked my chard!

Following the directions, I carefully washed the leaves, cut out the tough center stem, and cut them into pieces. I sautéed garlic in extra virgin olive oil, then tossed in the chard for a quick stir.

Delicious!

In fact, it was so good, I’m going to plant more next time. What a delightful surprise!

Is It Frangipani or Plumeria?

click here for larger image
PLUMERIA ALBA

One of my favorite tropical flowering trees is the plumeria. I never get tired of their fragrance, so I have planted quite a few around my house. My hope is that they will soon be big enough and produce enough flowers that my place smells sweet most of the year.

Above is the Plumeria alba, the one I planted first. I laugh at the description that says the common name is “frangipani,” when here in Hawai`i the common name is “plumeria. So I suppose it depends on where in the tropics you are living. I have friends who have spent most of their life in the South Pacific or Caribbean, and they call it “frangipani.”

There are so many colors, and my favorite is the deep red, or maroon, but I don’t have one of those in my yard yet. I’d love for someone to break off a couple pieces of their tree and leave it on my doorstep!

That’s how easy it is to grow plumeria here. You simply move a few rocks, pour in some soil, and stick in the cutting.

My next favorite color is the pale pink. I have several of these around my “patio in progress.” These photos were taken in the summer when their blossoms were at their peak. Where I live, they lose their leaves in the winter months, but they are already showing signs of early flowering.

click here for larger image
PINK PLUMERIA

Over the past three years of living in this particular place, my plumeria have shown substantial growth, unlike some of the other plants I try to grow. That should tell me something, don’t you think?

Please check Wikipedia for facts and history of the frangipani.

From Coffee Bean to Coffee Cup

click here for larger image
COFFEE SEEDLINGS

In spite of bad press in the past, coffee is now coming into its own as a beverage that has healthy properties. I’m one of those who is ecstatic over the latest scientific findings.

On the other hand, as an instructor in substance abuse counseling, I know it to be a stimulant that can be abused. What we call “uppers,” are a natural way of life for the majority of the population.

Consider our love affair with coffee, tea, sodas, chocolate! Oh my!!!! Still, we love these items, and with careful use, they can add so much to our lives.

I don’t have a coffee estate, by any means, and I’m struggling to keep my few coffee trees alive. Like most other plants I try to grow, my coffee trees don’t grow very fast. I hope to eventually get a cup of coffee out of what I have.

Above, you can see the seedlings I started from raw beans. That picture was taken in June, 2006. Here is the largest of my trees, photo taken in December, 2008.

click here for larger image
SMALL COFFEE TREE

Soon, I plan to do a longer post on my friend, Lori Obra. She has a coffee farm and I showed her at the Na`alehu Farmers Market holding up a bag of “Rusty’s Coffee.”

Any guesses as to when I’ll get that first cup of coffee from my own trees?

A Healing Circle

click here for larger image
HONU`APO BEACH

There is a little beach in our district of Ka’u that most of our visitors to the island don’t know about. I’ll take you to that beach in another post, but this time, I want to tell you of a gathering of friends at that beach recently. We came together to create a healing circle for a woman who is a dear friend to us all.

The celebration came on the first full moon of 2009. We each brought food to share – and what a feast that was! In addition to that, we each wrote something about how much she means to us. Later in the evening, in a circle of candlelight, each person read their piece. These were given to her later to be put into an album.

These are flowers brought from someone’s back yard.

click here for larger image
BOUQUET OF LOCAL FLOWERS

What a beautiful way to offer healing to a dear friend!

Olakino maika`i! (Good health!)