New Durian Growth

Fehi Banana

5 inches - November

2.5 inches in last 24 hours
Plants greening up.

Cujete Crescente

Ipu (gourd) Tree
The fruits are dried to make containers and musical instrument.

New Entrance

Construction is winding down next door and the new road is open. Kauai Mini Golf should open mid December.

Wolf Eel Skull

A customer recently brought this in for "show and tell".

I thought it looked like a miniature dinosaur skull.

Some pretty impressive teeth.

Back from Southwest Road Trip

Apologies to those who missed us while the stand was closed.

We're open now.

One Durian Left

Saw ten pigs milling around the area of this tree last night.

October Rainfall

1.75 inches for the month of October.

We had one half inch last night (Nov.3)

September Rainfall

Drought continues here on Kauai. We're lucky as some parts of other islands haven't had this much rain in the last 4 months! Lets hope we can empty this gauge before October ends.

Online Plant Illustrations

Some great old plant illustrations here. bibliodyssey is a cool blog, follow the link at the bottom of post to the original site, three volumes and a great viewer tool .

Mountain Apple

I was out picking Carambola when I thought I'd check out the Mountain Apple I topped last year. Pleasant surprise of prime fruit ready to pick. 50 cents each out at the stand while they last.

Banana Harvest

I harvested some of my own bananas last week from new field. I threw fertilizer about 6 months ago and have been pruning and taking better care of my bananas. Have plan to plant new mats every month and fill in gaps of orchard.

Abiu

Only a few this year. Picked a few and they were sweet.

Durian Fruit Set

Rainfall Report August

Still in a drought but more rain than July

2.75 inches

Peach Palm in Flower

The Peach Palms are flowering now.

I recently bought a convection steamer that should make cooking the fruit quick and easy. We may have enough this year to offer at the Fruit Stand

Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa)

I'm putting in about ten Roselle plants for tea and flavoring. This is a fun plant to grow as it gets big fast with the right conditions. It is an annual that requires replanting but you can collect the calyces and store them.

Eugenia stipitata / Araca-boi

From the western Amazon, an interesting fruit. Tried some today in smoothy and frosty. On its own its a little sour but a few tablespoons of pulp to the blender and a very refreshing flavor. High in vitamin C too.

Pitaya in Bloom

Day and night photos from yesterday.

This Yellow Pitaya is close to the fruitstand and is blooming here for the first time.

Badilla Sugar Cane

Got some of this cane from a friend and will be planting some. Its a old fashioned soft type that is great for chewing or juice. Very pretty colors too.

Achiote Fruit and Flower

Achiote bush is blooming now.

We've used the seed to make rubs for cooking meats.

This year we're going to try some other recipes.

New Growth on Vanilla Orchid cuttings

I've been propagating vanilla and placing them throughout orchards. The vines are finally showing some new growth with branches and aerial roots at the nodes

Pitaya Flower Progress

Follow up photo of the progress of the Yellow Pitaya.

Last photo was in July 29th blog

Drought in Hawaii

A little less than two inches of rain for July spells drought for this area. We have been lucky to have had some rain but trees and crops don't flourish without irrigation.

Durian in Flower

One of our oldest Durian is flowering. This tree survived Hurricane Iniki and grew back from the roots. Its had a few fruit over the years but unfortunately its low stature makes it vulnerable to the depredations of wild pigs, so none have fully matured. Its been shade out that last few years so I've cleared out around it to let in more sun giving it a good growth flush. I hope this year some fruit will be able to mature.

Pitaya Buds

Yellow Pitaya is putting out buds

Heavy Starfruit/Carambola Bloom

It looks like its going to be a big crop of Starfruit this year. Heavy blossoms on trees. Drought conditions in some parts of the island though so hopefully fruit will set.

Tamarind Tree in Bloom

The Tamarind in the front orchard area is really coming into its own with lots of new growth, fruit and flowers. For tropical trees in this area Cal-pril or Dolo-pril really make a difference in nutrient uptake and the results are dramatic, struggling trees show vigor and new growth as they are able to take in nutrients with the addition of soil amendments.

On the non organic side Tri-Super Phosphate is also a good boost for struggling trees

Mystery Fruit / Wax Jambu

A customer brought a fruit in yesterday for identification. I recognized it as a Jambu, which is a close relative of the Mountain Apple. It was a pretty, solid white variety and I'll be propagating some seeds.

Cacao Flowers and Fruit

Pitayas for Sale

I just picked first batch of my pitaya for sale this year. Had to have Cindy use a net to catch them as they fell from branches where cacti had rambled. I've got to get more established on proper pole supports!

Exotic Fruit Sign

This old sign is about to be retired.

Vanilla Orchids/ Pods

Vanilla Orchid Vines that had been running wild and uncared for bloomed this year in a few places. With Ken Bernard and Robert Wolaver's help we managed to pollinate some flowers. I'm hoping to propagate more vines this year and give them a little more tlc. The flower /pod above is growing in a Mamey tree in the main orchard. The photo was taken 3 months apart to show the time frame of pod development.

I like to think that since both their point of origin is Mexico they may have some symbiotic bond? The shade from the Mamey does let a lot of light in so maybe as with the Pitaya it is good for a overstory / understory cultivation regime

Thunbergia Mysorensis

This vine has always been a favorite with visitors. Here it is growing in a Mamey tree. I'm propagating it now for using in an arbor out by the fruit stand.

I got it originally from Kartuz Greenhouses, a great resource for tropical vines .

Banana Poster

Ken Love has a great banana poster available on his hawaiifruit.net web site . Check it out . It has some great varieties.

Ice Cream Bananas

This banana does well here in Kilauea and is also a favorite with mainland growers as it is cold tolerant. Follow the link to check out the "banana wiki" site

Guanabana / Soursop

Looks like its going to be a good year for soursop this year.

We're going to have to find some recipes to use the mass of fruit that comes ripe over 3 or 4 weeks.

Narcissistic Brazilian Cardinal

This Cardinal has been hanging out in our parking lot for the last few months. He looks for and finds his reflection in the cars that park. Every day he is hopping round on the hoods of cars pecking at his windshield reflection.

Chameleon on Jakfruit

Jacaranda @ Princeville Library

We're Back in Business

We opened May 24th after some frantic reconstruction of the demo'd deck.

We hope to make improvements all through summer.

Its been a good lychee season.