Grow-my-own in Hawaii

June 11, 2015 2:32 PM

I live in Hawaii and will have access to lots of yard space in the next month. I'd like to turn useless grass into several raised beds to grow as much of my own food as possible. I'm looking for ideas on what grows well in our climate, what yields well to feed as many people as possible, and what plays nice in a polyculture bed. I'll probably use organic compost teas and a worm castings to start, but do tell if you have other nutrient ideas.

I've done quite a bit of Googling and seen previous posts like this, but Hawaii-specific advice is what I need. Thanks Mefi!

posted by roygbv to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Taro?
Sweetpotato?
posted by the Real Dan at 2:41 PM on June 11, 2015

You will probably get the best advice from local gardening centers, and definitely visit the Bishop Museum's Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden.
posted by rtha at 3:25 PM on June 11, 2015

You probably want to check the resources available through Hawai'i's Agricultural Extension Offices and make a trip to your local library to scope out their gardening section.
posted by deludingmyself at 3:37 PM on June 11, 2015

This gardening calendar for Hawai'i looks like it's got plenty to get you started.
posted by jquinby at 3:41 PM on June 11, 2015

We're in one of the drier parts of Hawaii and this what has worked for us (in pots and raised beds): basil, rosemary and cherry tomatoes grow like crazy and can be harvested very quickly.

Okinawan spinach (it's purple!) is widely available at home & garden stores - great for replacing pricy spinach from the grocery store.

We're looking at trying potatoes in the next few months and we know other people who've had success with them.

Citrus grows pretty well here too, but probably not a good bet for feeding "as many people as possible." Lots of people here have papayas and they seem to provide a lot of fruit, same thing for apple bananas. I'm not sure on how long it takes from buying a tree to getting fruit from it on those.
posted by entropyiswinning at 5:13 PM on June 11, 2015

Some friends and acquaintances are involved with both Permablitz Hawaii and other urban gardening projects that would be good resources. I participated in one permablitz and we used chicken poop as a soil amendment. Stinky but effective. When I was growing potted plants and a mango seedling (not veggies), I tended to throw used coffee grinds on plants and that seemed well-received.

I've seen in home gardens on O'ahu and on UH Manoa campus that people plant easy things like pigeon peas (which are little known but great for soups and curries) and kale (so much kale)! Arugula also seems to grow well. Papaya trees are fast growers. Hawai'i is such a micro-climate kind of place that the front yard may need different plants from the back yard!

Oh! The Breadfruit Initiative people are really pushing folks to plant breadfruit trees as an easy source of starch (albeit it seasonal) if you have the ability to plant long-term.
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:33 PM on June 11, 2015

Growing up, my mom grew sweet corn that did quite well. This was in Hawaiian Acres on the Big Island.
posted by Nothing at 6:10 AM on June 12, 2015

Which island? Which side? Ag extension offices as mentioned above are a good place to start, UH's College of Tropical Agriculture lets you order seeds and also provides analytic services. They will likely have good microclimate-specific advice for you. We're in the lee of Punchbowl and have strange weather at home, but if you're on windward or Big Island you will have much better climate for growing.
posted by a halcyon day at 1:18 PM on June 12, 2015