Ohia Trees Are Now In Bloom

Ohia is an Hawaiian tree. Young trees look rather like a scrubby bush, but as they mature, especially in a forest, they become towering trees. 

Photo...taken in the rain, so it's not a great photo. Sorry. 

And one unique tree it is! It is well adapted to growing in pure lava where nutrients are difficult and moisture scarce (even when it rains frequently, the moisture tends to rapidly drain away). It is one of the first plants to colonize fresh lava fields, being very opportunistic and adaptable. It will tolerate desert to boggy conditions, soil to no soil, low elevations to high elevations. It is evergreen, but sheds leaves throughout the year, creating its own mulch beneath its canopy. It's root system totally amazes me because it is aggressively fibrous, sending massive numbers of rootlets out in a dense mat in just about every direction, including up. Yes, up. I've created raised beds around ohia trees only to find the bed completely rooted in 2-3 years later. It also sends roots out from the truck, which eventually reach the ground and anchor the tree. On top of that, certain trees will also produce masses of air roots, red colored and alien looking. 

This tree is a big one, with a 24" diameter truck. 

Our farm is loaded with ohia trees. Most are healthy, though we've lost a few from damage by previous land users. Recently we lost a few to a fungal disease. But all in all, our ohias are doing fine. We've got a few big ones dotted here and there (18" to 24" diameter trunks) but by-and-large, most are medium 6"-12" trunks. 

(Photo.... bright red flowers amid silvery, grayish green foliage.) 

The honey bees love the nectar from the brilliant red flowers. The flowers are called lehua flowers. Thus the honey is called lehua honey, a thick, whitish, crystalline honey that spreads like a soft peanut butter.  The flavor is unique and nothing like you find in supermarket honey. I never liked honey before I tried raw Hawaiian honeys, but I quickly fell in love. My own lehua honey is in my top 3 favorite honeys. 

Photo.....close up of the lehua blooms. 

Ok.........here's why I chatting about the ohia tree. On the farm they are in bloom. Beautiful. In fact, they started blooming in earnest 2 weeks ago and I'm now seeing more and more trees sporting red flowers. And though red is the dominant color, I also see the occasional orange and the even rarer yellow lehua flowers. 

New Orchids

We've been getting a bit of rain almost every day now for long while. Perhaps this is what has triggered some of my new orchids to bloom. These are my unknown ones that I picked up at a super discount at Home Depot & Lowes...those out of bloom plants that nobody knows what they are. 

Now don't go ahead and start asking me how to care for orchids. Honestly, I haven't the foggiest idea. I just stick them around. Some up in trees. Others atop rock walls. Here's some of the rock wall orchids......

I'm always amazed and delighted when they bloom. Sort of like a miracle. Coming from New Jersey, I see orchids as being that impossible plant that only the super experts can get to bloom. So I'm still in awe when it happens to my own little plants. 

Photos - Color Around the Farm

Took a brief walkabout before I left for the cat spay/neuter clinic today. I really love the vivid colors that dot my place. 

Roselle. 

Marigolds along the path. 

Crotons along the driveway. 

Caladiums line the rock wall.

Pentas I grew from a gifted cutting. 

A surprise orchid I wasn't aware of. 

Fungus. 

Haven't the foggiest idea what kind of plant this is. Bushy. Covered in purple & white flowers. 

Photos - Gingers

Gingers on my homestead (I'm still looking to add three others, but that's for the future).. ..

White ginger. 

White ginger clump by the house makes the yard smell wonderful! 

Kahili ginger. 

Yellow ginger. 

More yellow ginger, which smells almost as grand as the white ginger. 

Shell ginger.

My Turmeric is Flowering!

Just a couple of days ago "S" posted on Big Island Self Sufficency Facebook page a picture of turmeric blooming. Quite honestly, I've never seen mine bloom. But lo and behold, there in the garden today was a strange bloom I had never seen before on the farm. But I instantly recognized it for what it was.....a turmeric flower. 

While I have perhaps 200 turmeric plants, only this one was in bloom. I wonder why this one but not the others? 

Gourd Flowers (this post contained a goof)

"P" asked, "If you are hand pollinating, where do you get the pollen from?" 

The pollen comes from the male flowers, which in this case are on the same plant because I only have one gourd plant. Different vegetables have different flower set ups. In the case of gourds, the plant produces separate male and female flowers. The plant starts out producing lots of male flowers, which actually confuses new gardeners. The think that something is wrong because they see lots of flowers and no fruits.  But it's the way gourds work...males first, females later. After a while the plant sends off lateral vines (side shoots) which will produce the female flowers. Thus the reason why pruning one's gourd vine to a single stem is not a good idea! 

Above, this is a male flower. Notice how the blossom is supported right on the stem? Below is a female flower. Instead of the straight narrow stem, the blossom sits atop a round miniature fruit. 

I always find lots of male flowers, but only a few females. With a little experience, the females are easy to spot. 

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PS-  "S" emailed me let me know that I goofed. The above flowers are those of the Golden Hubbard squash, not the gourd. Gourd flowers are white. Yup, I goofed. but the flower structure is similar in shape and male vs female. 

Here's a female gourd flower......

And the male......

Another Orchid?

With the abundance of rain this past year, the homestead is blooming every direction I look. Today I noticed that there is some sort of orchid-like plant blooming here, there, everywhere. They're along my driveway, around the house, and back in the woods. 

In the past I've notice a few here and there, but this year it's like they are on steroids. And hey, I didn't even have to do anything to encourage them. Free flowers! 

And I've noticed that I have dozens of new plants popping up all over. Ah, the past rains have been good to this plant. 

The flower looks like an orchid to me. Anybody have an idea what it is? 

By the way, I took a walk down in my Secret Garden and discovered that one of my unknown orchids is blooming. How cool is that! 

A New Ginger

I just discovered that I have a new ginger blooming on the farm. Some rhizomes were given to me a while ago and I was under the impression that they were shampoo ginger. But I'm happy to find that they are something altogether different. They're beautiful! 

Just one bloom, but it is really exotic. I don't know what kind of ginger it is, but I can tell you what it's not. Not Kahili. Not red. Not shampoo. Not white. Not yellow. Anyone know what this one is called? 

Flowers in My Salad

Personally I like the idea of growing edible flowers. Sure it's a part of self sufficiency, but it like the beauty of them in my food. Hubby is just the opposite. They are not something he ate as a child, so he sees no need to start eating them as a adult. Oh well, his loss, my gain. 

Above is a bowl of mixed greens topped with lovely nasturtiums. I end up eating all the flowers. Can't even sneak one colorful tidbit passed hubby. Sigh. 

It may surprise you that I never ate a flower until I came to Hawaii. Like hubby, I had the opinion that I never ate them before and I wasn't starting. But getting into my self sufficiency project, I opened my mind to possibilities. Flowers are openly acceptable now. How pretty! 

Naturalizing With Orchids

I'm a great flower lover. They are simply pretty and make me happy. So I plant lots of flowers. Orchids are something I like but know very little about. Regardless, I plant them around the place anyway. I guess it's called naturalizing with orchids. I've talked about my orchids before, but I've been asked to give an update. I was asked to show how I plant them.  I guess I have about 60 of them tucked into the farm by now, maybe more. If one looks carefully for them, sort of like going on an Easter egg hunt, they can be found in lots of nooks and crannies. 

I've learned that orchids don't need to be planted in soil. In fact, they seem to do better without it most of the time. They need really good drainage. No soggy roots. Not needing soil means I have lots of flexibility in planting orchids around.  I  can stuff a bit of moss into the crotch of a tree branch. Good place for an orchid. The moss is just there for support. Over time the moss rots away leaving the orchid pretty much attached on its own to the tree trunk or branch. 

Or I can make a pouch out of a mesh bag, stuff it with moss, add an orchid, then tie or wire the pouch up in a tree. If I don't tie it, the wind will blow it out of the tree. But after a while the orchid will have grown enough roots to hold it in place. By the time that happens the moss has broken down and I carefully cut away the old plastic mesh bag, leaving just the orchid behind. 

Old logs make nice orchid "planters". Bind the orchids in place so that they don't fall off while their roots grow. Once rooted, they hold themselves. And simple lava rock walls can host orchids too. Shift the rocks and stuff an orchid down in the crevice. Or simply plop the plant atop the wall and place a rock over some of the roots to hold it in place until it secures itself. 

All sorts of planters can be good orchid containers. Cobble together some tree branches, add a rope hanging handle, wallah! 

Not knowing anything about orchids, I'm sure I'm making tons of mistakes. But many of my orchids rebloom, so at least I've got some of them right enough. And being that I'm a bad orchid grower, I'm just tickled pink when one of them reblooms. 

A few things that I've learned about orchids is that some do fine in fairly bright light while others need more shade or semi shade. Some like it wet (with lots of drainage) while others like it a bit drier. Some tolerate cooler nights than others. I'm told that my area is excellent for orchids called cymbidiums. But I have many others that rebloom here and seem happy enough. But I've had failures. I'm not knowledgable enough to know in advance which types don't like my location, so I just give those bloomed out cheap sale plants from Home Depot and Lowes a chance here. Most make it, some don't. 

Perhaps some day I'll take the time to learn about orchids. But for now I'm too busy finishing my house, learning to grow food and how to raise livestock. Lucky for me I live in a spot with good orchid weather. 

Edible Flowers in my Gardens

As you know, I love flowers. Their beauty makes my heart joyful. But they often have another use......to eat and/or beautify my food. 

It wasn't until the past 15 years or so that I gave much thought to eating flowers. I knew, as a child, that  my cousin made wines from lilacs and dandelions. But other than that, flowers were never found on the dinner table. 

In the past couple of years my diet has turned to more salads. Crazy mixed up salads. And I've begun to include flowers for a bit of color. Here's what I'm growing that I'll steal a few flowers to add to the bowl......

Beans ... A mild slightly earthy flavor. I prefer the purplish ones. 

Leeks ... A mild oniony flavor. 

Chives...A mild oniony flavor. 

Onions...A mild oniony flavor. 

Garlic chives....A mild garlicky flavor. 

Nasturtium....Peppery and a bit tangy. Very colorful. 

Violet...Perhaps mildly sweet. There isn't much to them, but the color is nice.

White ginger...Mildly gingerish. 

Rose....A light flavor with a hint of rose. The first time I tried them they had bitterness to them then I found out that you're suppose to remove the white base. So using scissors, I just snip off the colored part of the petals, discarding the rest. It's easy when you hold the entire flower in be hand and wield scissors in the other. Roses are fun because they come in so many different colors. 

White clover....Sweetish with a hint of licorice. Chewy. I usually only use one per salad bowl, as a garnish. 

Marigolds....Peppery. I use sparingly just for accent color. Some varieties don't taste too good, but others are fine. 

Squash....Mild. Not much too them. I just use the petal part. And I've only tried using them in stirfry so far. 

Pumpkin....Same as squash. 

Sunflower....Mild, I prefer to drop them into a stirfry. I haven't tried them raw in salad. 

Radish....A sweet radish flavor. None of the bite associated with the root. 

Bok choy and rest of broc/cabbage family....Small and not much taste, but they look pretty atop a salad. 

Basil....quite small. If it weren't for the flavor, I wouldn't bother with them. They taste like the variety that they are, that is, minty, lemony, clovey, etc. 

Dill....Well, like dill. 

Gladiolus ....I just use the petals as a salad garnish. Not much flavor. Kind of like lettuce I think. It's the color that is nice. 

Edible hibiscus.....Mild and slightly.....I'd say acidic. 

Impatiens....Insipid (ha, how often do i get to use THAT word!) I'll add just for color to salads.

Johnny jump ups....Bland. Nothing to them. A couple atop a salad for color, that's all. 

Pea....A mild pea flavor. Crunchy. 

Scarlet runner beans... Mild slightly earthy flavor. Very colorful. 

I don't use a lot of flowers, so I don't know what would happen if I ate a lot of them. Usually I'll just pop a couple in the bowl for accent color. 

There are more edible flowers out there, but these are the ones that I grow to date. Next on my list to try growing, and sampling, will be dianthus, bee balm, and borage. They look so incredibly colorful that I'd love to give them a try. 

Bromeliads

Bromeliads are my style plant -- no decent soil needed and basically ignore them. Wow, can't get better than that! 

I've planted some by simply moving two rocks out of way, sticking the plant into the hole, then replacing the rocks. What can be easier, eh? 

I've noticed that some varieties prefer sun, others shade. But other than that, I treat them all pretty much the same. When I remember to water them, I do. That's pretty sporadic. Otherwise they survive on the rainwater collected at the base of their leaves. Since we get rain frequently at the homestead, the bromeliads do just fine. 

Occasionally these things bloom. The blooms vary quite a bit between the different varieties. Some are quite spectacular. I don't know what triggers blooming, but when I least expect it I'll find one blooming its head off. 

Another thing, they come in all sorts of sizes. I've got a few miniature types. And on the opposite extreme, I've got a few that are humongous. Then there are the vast number that are in between. 

Since most of my bromeliad plants survive my hit and miss attention, they must be one tough plant. 

The only downside to bromeliads is that the collect water in their crowns. That makes a nice spot for breeding mosquitos. So once a month I will walk around and drop a few of those mosquito control granules into each bromeliad crown. 

Vegetable Flowers

Just about everybody knows that I really enjoy flowers. While I don't waste a lot of precious time on non-edible plants, flowers are the exception. But hey, veggies have flowers too! Ever notice them? 

First of all, some of the veggies I eat are actually immature flowers. Broccoli is the first one that comes to mind. Cauliflower. Chinese kale. Then there are the flowers that I add to salads....nasturtiums, squash, violet, chive. 

(Chinese kale flowers)

Lots of veggies bloom, though I seldom give the much thought. Squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas......

(Pea flowers)

I've noticed that even within the veggie variety, the color of the blossoms can be different. So they could be white, other times pink or purple. I see this commonly with peas, beans, and potatoes. 

Bean flowers. This one starts out white then goes to golden as it matures. 

(Sweet potato flowers)

(Gourd flower) 

(Eggplant flower)

My herbs often go to flower. I've been known to sneak a few of these flowers into our meals. The various basils flower readily. So does dill, cilantro, summer savory, marjoram. 

(Dill flowering)

(Cilantro flowering)

Without flowers my garden wouldn't produce fruit type veggies, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, squash, beans, peas, corn......well I haven't been to successful with corn yet, but I'm still dreaming. Bumbye. 

Most of the flowers in the gardens don't have much scent. At least I don't notice them. But then I'm not noted to have a fine sense of smell either. But the two that I do notice are roses and macadamia nuts. Both smell wonderful. 

 (Rose flowers. A nice colorful addition to salads.) 

(Macadamia nut flowers)