one month growth of sunnhemp

Weeding NEEDED. Anyone. Anytime.

different kinds of sweet potatoes.

Composter Started and Ready for Contribution

The composter is near the garden and officially set up today.
Contributions are welcomed with the following protocols:
YES! = dry and green leaves, kitchen waste like raw fruits, vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds and filters
NO! = meat, dairy, bread, citrus, grass cuttings, branches

Sunnhemp sprouting!!!

wow, it took only 4 days

First Planting

Today was a beautiful day in Manoa and a perfect day to garden. We installed a drip irrigation system with an automatic timer. The system is scheduled to water the plants at 6:00 am and 12:00 pm. Very simple to install, a drip irrigation system is the most efficient use of watering available because of minimal water wasted and maximum uptake for the plants. The water soaks the base of the plants and the surrounding earth allowing the roots direct access to the water.

Watering with a hose is OK, but much of the water is lost to spray and water is not absorbed by the leaves. Watering early in the morning and again at the hottest part of the day always adequate time for the water left on top of the soil to dry out. If plants are watered too late in the day they will be more susceptible to pests and root rot.



We planted three varieties of sweet potatoes and two varieties of tomatoes in the plot on the diamond head (east) side. In the ewa (west) plot, we planted a cover crop call Sunnhemp. This cover crop will serve many functions:

1. gather Nitrogen from the air and deposit it into the soil.
2. provide a inhabitable environment for Nematodes to live. Nematodes are parasites that live in many Hawaiian soils that rob a plant of water and eventually kills its' host plant.
3. after growing to several feet high, we will till in the Sunnhemp to provide us with a "green manure".
4. will aerate the soil with its' roots, provides a more workable soil for our next food crop.