Food-Grower's Question-Answer

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Comment by Alexander Aaron on June 10, 2008 at 6:23pm

Here ares some answers for Charles:
1.Cherry tomatoes are the most resistant to fruit flies and Roma tomatoes are known to resist their sting as well. It is possible to limit your fruit fly attacks by enclosing your tomato patch in a mosquito net structure if you would like to experiment with the softer skinned, larger varieties.
2. As for sweet potato starts, I have sweet potato cuttings. They produce sweet potatoes that are white on the outside and lightly purple on the inside. The trick to growing sweet potatoes is to plant them in raised mounds (approx. 1 foot wide by one foot tall, and as long as you can manage) and then trim back the green growth as it begins to spread. The growth can be replanted to make more tubers. I have heard of neem cake being used to limit the pest attack on the sweet potatoes. Mark Comstock of Kauai Neem knows more about the use of neem cake and its availability on Kauai.
3. Cardboard can potentially be used for weed control. I suggest removing the plastic tape and metal staples before laying it down. First mow your weeds very low to the ground. Then ay the cardboard over the area desired to be weed free. Be forwarned that this is very difficult to do on windy days. Then apply mulch or sticks on top to keep it from being moved by the wind. I suggest watering the carboard as you lay it down to weigh it to the ground before you add your mulch. Make sure that your carboard pieces generously overlap.
4. I am unable to give you feedback about papayas without more specific information request.
My number is (808) 651-3043.

Comment by charles roessler on June 5, 2008 at 1:23pm

i did grow bananas years ago commercially but i am relatively new on the smaller gardens. i too am looking for fail-safe veggies. have had good success (i'm in kilauea, mauka) with green beans, eggplant, okra, and japanese cukes (till the worms came -- bt to the rescue this time). am wondering about a few things:
1. how can i grow good tomatoes without spraying?
2. where can i get sweet potato seeds/starts? are the purple ones best around here?
3. i thought i heard folks talk about using cardboard for weed control? is that right -- will it work for guinea grass? how?
4. what's going on with the kauai papayas? specifically the sunshine variety? anyone have a delicious alternative for the north shore?
basically, i'm in the early stages of gardening but i'd like some shortcuts to my trial and error approach.
mahalo for any input.

Comment by Alexander Aaron on June 3, 2008 at 10:32pm

Does anyone have any hawaiian pumpkin or tahitian squash seeds for trade? Thank you Andrea for starting this group! Alex

Comment by Andrea on June 2, 2008 at 1:25pm

Sun, a very experienced organic farmer, is willing to answer any questions. He is not much of an online person, so give him a call: (541) 621-5997

Comment by Brad on June 2, 2008 at 11:48am

I'll ask Joseph on Wed. Brad

Comment by Jamie McSweeney on June 2, 2008 at 11:16am

I love Pigeon Pea and Sweet Potato. Both are prolific, low maintenance, and highly nutritious.

Comment by Benjamin Sullivan on May 30, 2008 at 8:56pm

Sorry, Laurel, I got nuthin on mushy carrots. I'm just learning, just establishing my garden, trying to figure out the 'easiest stuff' to grow. Can people throw their favorites at me? So far, the eggplant & the green beans seem to be the top picks (pardon the pun) Soy & corn are looking good but not producing yet. I'm most interested (at least initially) in low maintenance perrenials. I'm just starting some asparagus which seems to be doing alright so far, also having good luck with arugala. I cannot grow a pepper plant that yields more than ONE pepper (my kids like peppers, so I need to learn) They grow incredibly well in pots on the lanai, huge beautiful leaves and then when I transfer them to the garden, all the big leaves die off and just wither away.

Thanks Andrea for setting up the site. Hope Ray starts posting, I'm eager to learn more from him.