Cilantro can be quite temperamental. It takes a good spell to finally germinate, only to be quickly consumed by Hawaii’s vast array of bugs. Always up to a challenge, I wanted to see if I could finally make it work.
Plants in Hawaii
This section holds an encyclopedia of plants that have come from or will be brought to the Hawaii Kai Plant Exchange. There are also anecdotes about permaculture: composting and aquaponics in particular.
Cilantro, the plant we in Hawaii once knew as Chinese parsley, is a gardener’s frustration.
It’s slow to sprout, and once it gets above ground, a feast for slugs and snails. Then, if we’re lucky enough to get a few leaves of it, it goes to seed in the hot Hawaii sun.
We hear that there are plants that are like cilantro, but are there really?
Going green isn’t a one-size-fits-all, and it’s time we go beyond the government encouragement. There’s something for everyone but traditional methods of composting don’t work for most modern households.
There’s no need to read about indoor farming as the wave of the future. It’s here now and is available to everyone.
Layering is a way to grow new plants from existing plants without having to take any cuttings. In a nutshell, bury part of a stem or branch in the soil and new roots and shoots will form. This method is often more successful than propagating from cuttings, because the new […]
We got these beauties in June of 2020, several months before the temporary farmer’s market shutdown. I have to say that I was never able to get the same rainbow of colors shown above. Mine were red, purple and green. I waited and waited, hoping to see some yellows and […]
I’ve tested these out for Hawaii’s climate. They’re fantastic. The Cherokee Purple tomato is classified as a medium sized variety and the one in the picture weighed a pound. The variety is indeterminate and will continue to grow until first frost, which in Hawaii, is never. After a yield of […]
Okra, a distant cousin of hibiscus, is grown for edible seed pods and is popular in US southern and even Japanese cuisine. The variety we have is Jambalaya Okra, which produces prolifically and can be harvested quickly. Well suited to Hawaii’s climate, after its large yellow and red flower blooms […]
Edible fennel, belonging to the carrot and parsnip family, has the texture of celery with a faint flavor of anise. Used extensively in Italian cooking, the vegetable can be eaten raw or sauteed. Both the bulb and fronds can be used. Fennel grows easily and also produces many seeds which […]
Perfect for anyone who has the room and loves tomatoes. These are approximately 1″ long.
