Helping one another is part of being a community member. It's a sign that I belong, that I care. I am often the one who is doing the helping, but it is not uncommon for me to be the recipient either. "Helping out" often crosses the line with the idea of "participation", but that's ok. I'm not trying to right a dissertation here, so I don't mind if the points of discussion get a bit muddled.
I find that helping out forms community bonds. In the past hubby and I have helped erect a quonset hut, lent a hand building a roof, helped install solar systems. We spent a day with a group cleaning a local beach, another day helping with a whale count. We joined a group of community volunteers cleaning up trash in the local park. We have taken care of livestock when owners spent few days away. We've rounded up stray livestock, weedwacked overgrown lawns, gone food shopping and cooked meals. I help at the spay/neuter clinics. Hubby helps people with their computers and loads their e-readers with books.
Not everyone in a community is capable of physically lending a hand. That doesn't mean that they aren't active community members. Helping out can be as simple as making a daily phone call to check on a house bound senior. Many of us here live alone, so a daily check by a neighbor can be very valuable and appreciated.
I look around and see all sorts of examples of residents helping residents. I see people care taking a house or caring for animals while the owners are away. I see people cooking meals for someone that's sick. I person in the community recently had surgery, and folks came to mow the lawn, water the house plants, and pretty up the house with flowers before they came home from the hospital. An elderly man ran out of firewood and a younger person came and spent several hours cutting up a hugh pile of branches and tree trunks, enough to last months if not a year. When I needed advice about a permit problem, a community member searched out the right person for me to contact. A sick resident was returning to the mainland to be with family, so her community organized a luncheon in her honor.
This month I'm helping my next door neighbor get his overgrown property under control. I've staked out 4 sheep and a goat, moving them around twice a day. Once they eat or trample the grass down, I mow the munched area and collect the grass clippings for mulching my garden. It's a win-win situation for everybody. My livestock gets to eat virgin grass, they get the attention from my neighbor several times a day (thus taming the wild ones), the neighbor gets rid of his overgrown grass, I get truckloads of grass clippings. The neighbor has a whole acre that needs to be munched by the sheep, so the critters will be happy for quite awhile. Since the area will eventually become a garden, the dirt will benefit from the manure and urine. Plus by having the adults next door, my own pasture has a chance to grow.
Tomorrow we will be helping with the July 4th celebrations. Yeah, it's only June 29th, I know but that's when the town is doing it.
Lest you think otherwise, I don't spend my life just helping others. On the contrary, I have a farm to run, a house to build, a husband to take care of. But I find myself interacting with my community in lots of little ways, and sometimes a big way once in a while. Plus some of the things we do count as entertainment, really! A beach cleaning day or a barn raising day is like a working vacation. Something different to do, often fun, a very satisfying.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Community ...part 3 - Participation
I was chatting with some fairly new people not long ago who were complaining about living here in Ka'u. They said that there was nothing to do. They had done the sightseeing things and were now bored. Impossible to make friends, they said. They were considering going back to the mainland. When I started talking about all the things hubby and I get involved with, things that we do especially with the community, these people seemed astounded. They had no idea. They have since started getting involved. Whether they stay or move is yet to be seen.
The community here is always doing something. And residents are welcome to get involved, though they won't drag you kicking and screaming to join in. But I find that getting involved with communiy events really helps form strong bonds, plus makes friends. Some events are small affairs, like a half day workshop being hosted by a local artist. Others can be big such as the week long coffee festival, with it's dinners, tours, contests, music fair, and lectures
Some events I can choose to be a worker bee, like helping to set up tables and tents at a local fun-in-the-park day. I can help man information booths. Offer to put up posters around town advertising events. I can volunteer for the annual whale count. Take part in the beach clean up. Go plant trees in the national park on volunteer days. Become a volunteer at the extended care facility, reading newspapers to residents, placing games, taking time to chat and listen. Or I can join local community action groups, such as a 'friends of the park" type group, or a group like OKK that has helped seniors make their homes safer, has cleaned up local ponds, repaired and cleaned forgotten cemetaries, restored local historical buildings.
Other times I'm a participant /recipient: going on the guided hikes in the national park, having lunch-with-the-ranger, attending various local festivals, signing up for lei making classes, going to hula classes, joining the group making ceramics, going to local lectures, enjoying the town holiday parades.
Many people in my community are active. Events of some sort or other are constantly going on. By choosing to participate, I meet other people in my area, bonding with my community and meeting new friends.
I was just sitting here thinking of some of the things we have done recently that involves the community in some way ....
...helped out with the "Pork in the Park" event, setting up tents, chairs, tables, trashcans
...ate dinner at our local dinner club in support of the hosts
...spent several days helping to drive people to the local week-long health clinic
...volunteered at the community vegetable garden
...worked with two different community groups that do things locally
...took donated vegetables to the senior nutritional program
...participated in seed exchange events
...gave neighbors rides into town
..volunteered at the local canine spay/neuter event
...join a group of neighbors for dinner and an evening of chatting
In the next few days we will be drive into town to cheer and clap for the town parade, go to a local restaurant to support a new local entertainer (she's going to sing with a local musician group), eat lunch in the park to help raise money for the keiki Christmas dinner, go to the community bingo event, donate books to the little used book store run by volunteers (all books only $.25!), eat lunch at the local cafe to support a new business, go to the local farmers markets and swap meet.
There are many things that we simply don't have time to get involved with, but they sound like fun or worthy events. Community game nights. Bus trips to the astronomy center. Hiking club. Quilting group. National park volunteers. The rodeo club. The ham radio operators. Hula. Weekly ceramics. Flower arranging. Hawaiian language classes. Ukulele. Buddhist temple events. Swimming at the Pahala pool. Garden clubs. Horse riding club. Puppy kindergarten classes. Yoga.
If I just stayed at home, kept to myself, I could still be happy but I would miss out on being part of a community. I find that I like community life. I enjoy doing things with other area residents. I especially enjoy working alongside them on a job such as cleaning up a beach or helping to restore a building. Plus I enjoy the socializing. It's like having hundreds of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
The community here is always doing something. And residents are welcome to get involved, though they won't drag you kicking and screaming to join in. But I find that getting involved with communiy events really helps form strong bonds, plus makes friends. Some events are small affairs, like a half day workshop being hosted by a local artist. Others can be big such as the week long coffee festival, with it's dinners, tours, contests, music fair, and lectures
Some events I can choose to be a worker bee, like helping to set up tables and tents at a local fun-in-the-park day. I can help man information booths. Offer to put up posters around town advertising events. I can volunteer for the annual whale count. Take part in the beach clean up. Go plant trees in the national park on volunteer days. Become a volunteer at the extended care facility, reading newspapers to residents, placing games, taking time to chat and listen. Or I can join local community action groups, such as a 'friends of the park" type group, or a group like OKK that has helped seniors make their homes safer, has cleaned up local ponds, repaired and cleaned forgotten cemetaries, restored local historical buildings.
Other times I'm a participant /recipient: going on the guided hikes in the national park, having lunch-with-the-ranger, attending various local festivals, signing up for lei making classes, going to hula classes, joining the group making ceramics, going to local lectures, enjoying the town holiday parades.
Many people in my community are active. Events of some sort or other are constantly going on. By choosing to participate, I meet other people in my area, bonding with my community and meeting new friends.
I was just sitting here thinking of some of the things we have done recently that involves the community in some way ....
...helped out with the "Pork in the Park" event, setting up tents, chairs, tables, trashcans
...ate dinner at our local dinner club in support of the hosts
...spent several days helping to drive people to the local week-long health clinic
...volunteered at the community vegetable garden
...worked with two different community groups that do things locally
...took donated vegetables to the senior nutritional program
...participated in seed exchange events
...gave neighbors rides into town
..volunteered at the local canine spay/neuter event
...join a group of neighbors for dinner and an evening of chatting
In the next few days we will be drive into town to cheer and clap for the town parade, go to a local restaurant to support a new local entertainer (she's going to sing with a local musician group), eat lunch in the park to help raise money for the keiki Christmas dinner, go to the community bingo event, donate books to the little used book store run by volunteers (all books only $.25!), eat lunch at the local cafe to support a new business, go to the local farmers markets and swap meet.
There are many things that we simply don't have time to get involved with, but they sound like fun or worthy events. Community game nights. Bus trips to the astronomy center. Hiking club. Quilting group. National park volunteers. The rodeo club. The ham radio operators. Hula. Weekly ceramics. Flower arranging. Hawaiian language classes. Ukulele. Buddhist temple events. Swimming at the Pahala pool. Garden clubs. Horse riding club. Puppy kindergarten classes. Yoga.
If I just stayed at home, kept to myself, I could still be happy but I would miss out on being part of a community. I find that I like community life. I enjoy doing things with other area residents. I especially enjoy working alongside them on a job such as cleaning up a beach or helping to restore a building. Plus I enjoy the socializing. It's like having hundreds of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Community -part 2...Courtesy
In my experience courtesy is a major requirement of being in a community. Courtesy to me is the act of being polite and respectful. But I find that as I practice being courteous, I often breakout with acts of kindness, helpfulness, all of which surely helps the community connection.
So, as I practice courtesy, I find that I tend to be more courteous not only to other community members, but also those outside my community. I find this happens even if the person is relatively a stranger. Perhaps the person is only someone I see, say hello to, every time I stop at the post office. Soon I find myself opening doors, helping to carry a big box or get the car door open. and surprise, my community just grew a little bit bigger. Who knows, perhaps some day that person will become a friend.
As I found myself becoming connected to a community, I found my acts of courtesy spilling over to more and more people. I began greeting more people as I recognized their faces. Saying hello, wishing them a good day. Opening doors for others. Getting into pleasant conversations with people in line at the store checkout. Helping overloaded people with their bags. Lending a hand to unload trash bags from someone's car at the trash dump.
I surprised myself by extending courtesy to more and more people, often strangers, even tourists! Before you know it, I'm helping a disabled person put gasoline into their car. Letting someone else take the parking spot we were both heading for. Letting another car into the line of traffic. Helping out a confused tourist.
The courtesy thing snowballs into actions. Every day brings a different, sometimes new, connection to the community. Often the things I do surprise myself! These acts are definitely not things I would have considered doing while living on the Eastcoast. I often see a person I recognize on the roadside thumbing a ride. I stop, pick them up and drive them into town. I will go out of my way to give a community member a ride to the doctor or even the airport 2 hours away. I often stop to help change a tire or make sure the person with a broken down car is ok, sometimes arranging for a tow and driving them home.
I find myself returning shopping carts to the cart line inside the store rather than leaving them in the parking lot. My town is small, so there are no cart cages out in the lots. I often buy a newspaper for the elderly shut-in whose house I pass when going to my mother's. It is not uncommon for me to drop off an extra piece of cake or pie to the old man that lives along the highway by himself.
Hubby and I eat at the local restaurant each week. Sometimes the place can be jammed, with no empty tables left. The first time we offered to share our table with some tired, worried looking folks, we not only surprised ourselves that we did it, but actually enjoyed chatting with the strangers. We now offer to share the table on a regular basis to the point that the waitresses are aware of our habit.
Courtesy to me also can extend to compliments. Just the other day I thanked the employee at the trash dump for keeping the place so clean. Yes, it is part of his job, but it is nice to see that he puts a good effort into it. He was proud of his job and happy to be complimented. My compliment was genuine.
While acts of courtesy keep my community connection alive, the acts grow and spill over into other acts......like being nice, happy, appreciative. And while courtesy applies to acts of politeness, it often grows to include acts of caring. Plus one surprising effect, courtesy can be infectious. Countess times I've let another driver get into traffic only to see them extend the same courtesy to another driver a short distance down the road. How wonderful! Yup, before you know it, random acts of kindness break out.
So, as I practice courtesy, I find that I tend to be more courteous not only to other community members, but also those outside my community. I find this happens even if the person is relatively a stranger. Perhaps the person is only someone I see, say hello to, every time I stop at the post office. Soon I find myself opening doors, helping to carry a big box or get the car door open. and surprise, my community just grew a little bit bigger. Who knows, perhaps some day that person will become a friend.
As I found myself becoming connected to a community, I found my acts of courtesy spilling over to more and more people. I began greeting more people as I recognized their faces. Saying hello, wishing them a good day. Opening doors for others. Getting into pleasant conversations with people in line at the store checkout. Helping overloaded people with their bags. Lending a hand to unload trash bags from someone's car at the trash dump.
I surprised myself by extending courtesy to more and more people, often strangers, even tourists! Before you know it, I'm helping a disabled person put gasoline into their car. Letting someone else take the parking spot we were both heading for. Letting another car into the line of traffic. Helping out a confused tourist.
The courtesy thing snowballs into actions. Every day brings a different, sometimes new, connection to the community. Often the things I do surprise myself! These acts are definitely not things I would have considered doing while living on the Eastcoast. I often see a person I recognize on the roadside thumbing a ride. I stop, pick them up and drive them into town. I will go out of my way to give a community member a ride to the doctor or even the airport 2 hours away. I often stop to help change a tire or make sure the person with a broken down car is ok, sometimes arranging for a tow and driving them home.
I find myself returning shopping carts to the cart line inside the store rather than leaving them in the parking lot. My town is small, so there are no cart cages out in the lots. I often buy a newspaper for the elderly shut-in whose house I pass when going to my mother's. It is not uncommon for me to drop off an extra piece of cake or pie to the old man that lives along the highway by himself.
Hubby and I eat at the local restaurant each week. Sometimes the place can be jammed, with no empty tables left. The first time we offered to share our table with some tired, worried looking folks, we not only surprised ourselves that we did it, but actually enjoyed chatting with the strangers. We now offer to share the table on a regular basis to the point that the waitresses are aware of our habit.
Courtesy to me also can extend to compliments. Just the other day I thanked the employee at the trash dump for keeping the place so clean. Yes, it is part of his job, but it is nice to see that he puts a good effort into it. He was proud of his job and happy to be complimented. My compliment was genuine.
While acts of courtesy keep my community connection alive, the acts grow and spill over into other acts......like being nice, happy, appreciative. And while courtesy applies to acts of politeness, it often grows to include acts of caring. Plus one surprising effect, courtesy can be infectious. Countess times I've let another driver get into traffic only to see them extend the same courtesy to another driver a short distance down the road. How wonderful! Yup, before you know it, random acts of kindness break out.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Blame It On The Grass !
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| A young runner starting to develop. These runners easily get 6 to 8 feet long! |
Speaking of grass, tropical grass is far different from the grasses I was use to in NJ. Here a lot of the grasses spread via runners or underground stolens. So they quickly spread beyond your neat lawn and into every nook and cranny, including heading into the flower beds, choking out the vegetable garden, up the sides of a building and even under the siding, through the cracks in your deck, even up through the floorboards of your sheds. It's like the plant from hell.
 |
| I dug up this underground stolen with several plants growing from it. These stolens run for feet and feet about 10" below the surface. |
Lots of newcomers put a lot of effort into making their lawns. Within a year or two they start spending their time with the opposite endeavor....controlling the monster they created. Here the grass. There the grass. Everywhere a grass, grass. Aaaayyyyy. Although I'm not a big advocate of herbacides, I can fully appreciate the need to use something like Round-up in certain places.
Tropical grasses have their benefits. They like to grow. They spread easily. Many make good pastures. They fill in empty spots quickly. Many are excellent forage for livestock. ....... But just don't let them near your gardens!
Friday, June 21, 2013
Being Part of a Community -part 1
Being part of a community is a big subject to discuss. So I will be exploring this in parts. Ha, my very own series, just like the movies! ...."Ohana, Hawaii" ..."Ohana, the Sequel"....."Ohana, Part 3". LOL!
Living in Ka'u, Hawaii I find myself involved in a community for the first time in my life. Oh, I've lived in small towns before, and in cities, suburbs, and the English countryside. But never have I experienced community life like I am now. Everywhere I lived neighbors barely knew one another, seldom did things together, didn't get involved. I had plenty of friends, but most lived a decent distance away, not even shopping at the same stores or eating at the same restaurants. Even the times I was in small towns, people generally kept to themselves....except for the town busybody of course! Every town seems to have one. Was this isolation just part of living on the eastcoast, where people were seldom concerned or even interested? I don't know. In England we were "The Yanks", foreigners. So I can understand that we weren't adopted into any form of community.
So, why is being part of a community important to me as a homestead farmer? The community is part of the network I need to make my homestead successful. The community becomes the source of foods that I cannot grow for myself. And they are the takers of my surplus. They help keep an eye on me, on my farm, on my livestock. Not in a busybody sort of way, but rather with a caring watchful eye. At one time I would have been offended that people watched me come and go. Now it feels more like .... reassuring. I can draw upon the community for help, for suggestions, for information. I can usually find someone in the community to provide a service that I need.
In my community people tend to be nice to one another most of the time, even if they are basically strangers. They are interested without being overly snoopy.
Oh, not everyone is part of my community. Of course not! Not everyone gets along. This surely isn't utopia! People are people, and not everyone has compatible interests. Nor is everyone a "nice" person. Some people take joy in making other people unhappy, just like anywhere else in the world. But there is an undercurrent of interest, caring that I didn't sense living in other places.
Here in Hawaii there is a term for the family : Ohana. I don't know if there is a Hawaiian term for the community, but it's sort of like being in a large Ohana. Like in a large extended Ohana, everyone belongs. And people help one another out when there is a need.
I often talk with the seniors down at our town community center. One time I asked about the time of the great depression and about the time during the second world war. What was the food situation like? Food was in shortage. What did people do? I got back plenty of quizzical looks. I was told that no one went hungry. Those who could, grew food. Those who couldn't, received food. The community acted to feed itself. That's what a community does.
Living in Ka'u, Hawaii I find myself involved in a community for the first time in my life. Oh, I've lived in small towns before, and in cities, suburbs, and the English countryside. But never have I experienced community life like I am now. Everywhere I lived neighbors barely knew one another, seldom did things together, didn't get involved. I had plenty of friends, but most lived a decent distance away, not even shopping at the same stores or eating at the same restaurants. Even the times I was in small towns, people generally kept to themselves....except for the town busybody of course! Every town seems to have one. Was this isolation just part of living on the eastcoast, where people were seldom concerned or even interested? I don't know. In England we were "The Yanks", foreigners. So I can understand that we weren't adopted into any form of community.
So, why is being part of a community important to me as a homestead farmer? The community is part of the network I need to make my homestead successful. The community becomes the source of foods that I cannot grow for myself. And they are the takers of my surplus. They help keep an eye on me, on my farm, on my livestock. Not in a busybody sort of way, but rather with a caring watchful eye. At one time I would have been offended that people watched me come and go. Now it feels more like .... reassuring. I can draw upon the community for help, for suggestions, for information. I can usually find someone in the community to provide a service that I need.
In my community people tend to be nice to one another most of the time, even if they are basically strangers. They are interested without being overly snoopy.
Oh, not everyone is part of my community. Of course not! Not everyone gets along. This surely isn't utopia! People are people, and not everyone has compatible interests. Nor is everyone a "nice" person. Some people take joy in making other people unhappy, just like anywhere else in the world. But there is an undercurrent of interest, caring that I didn't sense living in other places.
Here in Hawaii there is a term for the family : Ohana. I don't know if there is a Hawaiian term for the community, but it's sort of like being in a large Ohana. Like in a large extended Ohana, everyone belongs. And people help one another out when there is a need.
I often talk with the seniors down at our town community center. One time I asked about the time of the great depression and about the time during the second world war. What was the food situation like? Food was in shortage. What did people do? I got back plenty of quizzical looks. I was told that no one went hungry. Those who could, grew food. Those who couldn't, received food. The community acted to feed itself. That's what a community does.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Putting Weeds to Work
I was always told to eliminate weeds. Pull them out, throw them away. I spray them dead. But after decades of battling them (and often losing), I've come to see weeds as a benefit. For real! Crazy, no?
Before I read Ruth Stout's gardening book, I aggressively battled weeds with all sorts of hoes, cultivators, and tillers. Every weekend I was out there chopping weeds. The garden looked good March thru June. July got real iffy. By August the weeds began to win. By September the battle was lost. It happened every year. Some years the battle was lost by mid-July. I only had one day a week to use for battling weeds back then, so maybe if I had had more time the outcome would have been better. But I suspect not.
Then because of Ruth Stout, I started using mulches. Things dramatically improved. Less weed problems in the areas I was able to get a thick mulch onto.
When I started this farm here in Hawaii, I was in desperate need of compost and mulch. Back in NJ one could always get the town or utilities to drop off truckloads of trees chippings. Landscapers were happy to dump their truckload of grass clippings. In autumn bags and bags of leaves were free for the taking. Stable operators were glad to have people come cart their manure and wood shavings piles away. The local sawmill dumped sawdust by the cart load by the roadway for people to take. But here, things are different. No free green waste in abundance. (For a while the county dumped free green waste mulch in Waiohinu, but alas, no more.) Therefore the number one use for weeds for me is as green waste to be collected and chopped into mulch.
Weeds seldom overcome the garden because of the mulching. But along the driveway, around the rock wall, in the pastures and woods, and on the rocky areas weeds constantly regrow. This means that I have a nice source of green material that I can harvest whenever I need it. To me it is a crop, not a bane. I guess it's just a mental adjustment. Funny thing now is that during times of drought, I'm wishing that the weeds would grow!
# 2 use for weeds: compost ingredient. No way, you're gonna say! Weed seeds! Well, if I properly manage the composting, weed seeds don't survive. I monitor the temperature of the piles and attempt to get them to a minimum of 165 with each turning. That seems to be sufficient. I simply don't have weeds sprouting out of my compost. If I see it happening, I know I did something very, very wrong. If I don't get the pile hot enough, then weed seeds will survive. The tricky part is getting the cooler outside sections turned over into the center so that material can also heat up.
Certain weeds work out as animal fodder. The horse, sheep, and goat seek out certain plants that I call weeds. I watch the critters to see which ones they like. Those I allow to stay in the pastures in order to give the livestock variety. I don't know the names of most of those weeds, but I can identify them by sight. I've even purposely sown some of those weeds into the pastures, especially plantains.
Some plants that are called weeds are edible. I've transplanted nasturtiums and purslane into the garden. I found them growing as weeds. Plantain is also edible, but I haven't tried it.
Weeds in the garden can be very useful, so I don't try to eliminate them all. So the garden looks a little weedy. Who cares. The weeds I allow to remain serve a purpose as long as they don't over populate. Some serve as a trap crop for insect pests. For example, whitefly seems to infest nasturtiums long before they move to other crops. So the nasturtiums alert me to the problem so that I can take action. Usually just plucking the infested nasturtium plants is enough to knock the whitefly population way back. Other weeds are very susceptible to mildew, alerting me to take action with the vegetable crops. Weeds can also tell me a little about the condition of the soil. If the new weed seedlings look lush, things are most likely ok. But if they are spindly or off color, then I need to test the soil and make adjustments. I know that certain weeds thrive in spite of poor soil, but that isn't an issue. My garden soil is improved, so it just needs to be tweaked.
Before I read Ruth Stout's gardening book, I aggressively battled weeds with all sorts of hoes, cultivators, and tillers. Every weekend I was out there chopping weeds. The garden looked good March thru June. July got real iffy. By August the weeds began to win. By September the battle was lost. It happened every year. Some years the battle was lost by mid-July. I only had one day a week to use for battling weeds back then, so maybe if I had had more time the outcome would have been better. But I suspect not.
 |
| A pile of weeds ready for grinding up |
 |
| Weeds make a nice mulch when ground up. |
When I started this farm here in Hawaii, I was in desperate need of compost and mulch. Back in NJ one could always get the town or utilities to drop off truckloads of trees chippings. Landscapers were happy to dump their truckload of grass clippings. In autumn bags and bags of leaves were free for the taking. Stable operators were glad to have people come cart their manure and wood shavings piles away. The local sawmill dumped sawdust by the cart load by the roadway for people to take. But here, things are different. No free green waste in abundance. (For a while the county dumped free green waste mulch in Waiohinu, but alas, no more.) Therefore the number one use for weeds for me is as green waste to be collected and chopped into mulch.
Weeds seldom overcome the garden because of the mulching. But along the driveway, around the rock wall, in the pastures and woods, and on the rocky areas weeds constantly regrow. This means that I have a nice source of green material that I can harvest whenever I need it. To me it is a crop, not a bane. I guess it's just a mental adjustment. Funny thing now is that during times of drought, I'm wishing that the weeds would grow!
# 2 use for weeds: compost ingredient. No way, you're gonna say! Weed seeds! Well, if I properly manage the composting, weed seeds don't survive. I monitor the temperature of the piles and attempt to get them to a minimum of 165 with each turning. That seems to be sufficient. I simply don't have weeds sprouting out of my compost. If I see it happening, I know I did something very, very wrong. If I don't get the pile hot enough, then weed seeds will survive. The tricky part is getting the cooler outside sections turned over into the center so that material can also heat up.
Certain weeds work out as animal fodder. The horse, sheep, and goat seek out certain plants that I call weeds. I watch the critters to see which ones they like. Those I allow to stay in the pastures in order to give the livestock variety. I don't know the names of most of those weeds, but I can identify them by sight. I've even purposely sown some of those weeds into the pastures, especially plantains.
Some plants that are called weeds are edible. I've transplanted nasturtiums and purslane into the garden. I found them growing as weeds. Plantain is also edible, but I haven't tried it.
Weeds in the garden can be very useful, so I don't try to eliminate them all. So the garden looks a little weedy. Who cares. The weeds I allow to remain serve a purpose as long as they don't over populate. Some serve as a trap crop for insect pests. For example, whitefly seems to infest nasturtiums long before they move to other crops. So the nasturtiums alert me to the problem so that I can take action. Usually just plucking the infested nasturtium plants is enough to knock the whitefly population way back. Other weeds are very susceptible to mildew, alerting me to take action with the vegetable crops. Weeds can also tell me a little about the condition of the soil. If the new weed seedlings look lush, things are most likely ok. But if they are spindly or off color, then I need to test the soil and make adjustments. I know that certain weeds thrive in spite of poor soil, but that isn't an issue. My garden soil is improved, so it just needs to be tweaked.
Friday, June 14, 2013
First Gourd of 2013
This gourd is only a few days old, not even a week. So it will get a whole lot bigger. When it reaches its full size I'll take another photo so that you can compare them.
This gourd is a local variety that we call Ka'u Big Butt. Its shape and size makes for very nice bowls.
As you can see in the photo, the ground here is very rocky. There is some soil between the rocks, but on first impression you'd think, "Rocks, nothing but rocks." So it comes as a surprise to some people that things can actually be grown here. Gourds is one of those crops.
This particular gourd will become a practice or training gourd, I suspect. Because I did not discover it soon enough, it has some scarring on one side due to the wind rubbing it against the rocks. But even training gourds have their worth.
In addition, this gourd is valuable for its seed. The plant was the most vigorous and the earliest to set fruit. As long as it proves to be disease resistant, I will be keeping the seed for future planting. Since the only other gourds around are also Ka'u Big Butts, the seed should be true to form.
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