Banana Joe's Fruit Stand by Artists

Here are a few depictions of our stand we have accumulated over the years.

The first by a German tourist was sent by her in 1987, a year after we opened.

The second was done as a gift to us by a local artist named Eunice Brandt

Salute to Kauai Farmers

Here's a photo of my friend Sherwood  Conant holding one of his prize winning mini watermelons. Sherwood farmed for  many years here in Kilauea , growing fruits and vegetables. A mainstay of our stand for years, some of his trees are still giving fruit to other farmers. We miss his bell peppers and talk story sessions though. He works for the State Dept of Agriculture and they are lucky to have him as he knows farming  from the ground up.

Springtime Honohono Season

Walking through the orchard last week I caught a whiff of a familiar perfume and I knew right away the honohono orchids were in bloom. Here is one I have mounted in a mango tree. Its amazing how far the sweet perfume can drift. Most of the year they are nondescript stems but then suddenly  in spring they put on a brief show.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today on this first day of Spring I want to send out a Happy Birthday greeting to

my father Tom Halasey. Dad thanks for everything.

Photos:

1926 On the farm with Spike the dog, Attalia,Washington.

1949 Portage Bay Seattle, houseboat at U of W

2002 Kilauea, Tomatoes and Cukes in the greenhouse

Great Day for Fruit

Today after posting my Jabong I found a ripe 27 lb. Jakfruit to pick
and my friend Brad brought in
15 lbs. of Mangosteen from a second flowering! Sweet!

Jabong Season !

Ray Chuan gave this beauty to my Dad. Its a red fleshed type and very
sweet. I think Hanalei grows good Jabong as I used to get some really
sweet ones from Harry Ho who grew them along the river.
Thanks Ray!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here's a photo from last years"wearin of the green" at Banana Joe's. 

Oliver Shagnasty , a local beekeeper always keeps it festive, giving green carnations to the ladies.

I didn't start the day with a shot of Bailey's Irish Creme but tonight I may toast my Irish ancestors, the O'Hallassey's from Cahirciveen County Kerry. In the place of whiskey we'll have to use shochu from Sakurajima though, those Irish do get around....

Salute to Kauai Farmers

One of the best parts of running a fruit stand is being able to do business with the local farmers. There are some trials and tribulations but overall it is a very positive experience. In this post I'd like to salute Yoshiko and Nobu Tokashiki. 

Longtime farmers in Kapahi, Nobu has passed away but Yoshiko still farms and provides fruit and flowers to her neighbors and friends. When we first started planting banana in 1980 we got keikis from the Tokashikis. For years after we first started our stand I would make the weekly drive and pick up banana, papaya and pineapple . My daughter would be in the car seat and always smile when we pulled in the driveway because Yoshiko would have some treat, Okinawan doughnuts, mochi candy or some goody for her (and me) to eat. This photo I took of them in their pineapple fields around 1989.

Calabash Tree First Bloom!

Its always exciting to see a tree you started from seed fruit. At first I spotted what I thought was a young calabash on a tree, I'd missed the flowering. Then this morning I saw that the small round green thing had opened. Hope we get some fruit set and calabash (Crescentia cujete L.) this year.