More Punaculture - Planting on my land

[John Schinnerer <John-Schinnerer@data-dimensions.com>]

Aloha,

Back to the ongoing story...what I planted, why and how...

My intent was to start by planting first the plants that would take the
longest to establish themselves and start bearing and/or that I wanted to
get in place early on for various other reasons.  In my somewhat random
process of acquiring plant material, I also ended up with stuff that didn't
fit that parameter.  This was not a problem...but there were some things I
didn't get started that I would have liked to.

I didn't start serious planting until I had only about 2 1/2 weeks left on
the land.  This was due to a drought that had started a couple weeks before
I arrived and continued for another six weeks or so.  I was waiting for
typical rainfall patterns to return before planting so my plantings would
have a fair chance of taking hold rather than dying for lack of water.  I
didn't acquire plants during this drought period either, because I didn't
have any good place to stash them while waiting.  I had a few things I was
given, found or got at the farmer's market and a couple of bamboos from
Quindembo Bamboo Nursery ( http://www.bamboonursery.com/ ).  These I kept at
my friend's place where I was staying, since I had no water infrastructure
on my land.  Unfortunately he had few good places to keep plants-in-waiting
and tons of nasty invasives which were seeding all over the place, including
into my waiting plants' pots and grow-bags... :-p

I put down a coconut grove a la Mollison early on (10-12 trees in a roughly
7 meter circle) - coconuts will just sit there and wait out a little drought
like that.  Most were sprouting under friends' trees; a couple I found along
the roadside; a couple others were from a friend's friend's place and
purportedly a Samoan dwarf variety (though I am dubious - probably just
regular Hawaiian coconuts - time will tell!).

I got ti plant stalk cuttings from several different people, and some of
these went in early along the north border in the more open area of the
property.  These provided rapid gratification by budding within about a week
- my first successful plantings!  Ti are often used as property markers, and
when seen "in the wild" indicate previous human presence in the area - they
are strictly a human cultivar.

As mentioned previously, most of my land has at least some humus from layers
of root mass and decomposing ferns, 'ohia or mango leaves, grass, etc..  It
does not have any significant soil depth, however, so planting consisted of
creating depth where necessary using a black cinder and soil mix (varying
proportions, depending on what was being planted) with a bit of humus from
the site mixed in.  Plantings were mulched with green and dry plant material
from the site - usually from within a few feet of the planting spot.  Some
plantings were placed in cracks in the lava where possible (the most
beautiful big 'ohia trees on the land are growing out of the biggest and
deepest cracks...), filled around with cinder/soil mix and mulched.

The actual planting of any given item was not that labor-intensive (with one
exception, detailed later).  What really took time was the "prolonged and
thoughtful observation," deciding what would go where.  Imagining how big a
tree would be in ten or twenty or thirty years, trying to visualize its
likely shape, shade pattern, interaction with surrounding trees and later
plantings, shade and sun needs and so on is quite a task.  There are a lot
of experiments in this area of my designing!

Most of what I planted would be visited at most several times a week, but
given how small the area I'm working with is, some of it is quite close to
potential dwelling sites, the driveway, etc..  I did put some seldom-visited
plants at greater distances, but plant location was only partially
determined by visitation frequency.  Nothing is very far away on an acre...
:-)  Available space, terrain, sun/shade and other considerations were at
least as big of factors.

In doing this part of the work, I noticed that a large portion of the design
examples in (for example, but not limited to) the designer's manual seem to
assume a blank slate - put these here in this pattern, then interplant with
this and/or this in alternating sections, etc. etc.  It might be easier to
implement a lot of "example" designs on cleared land.  In my situation I
look for how to modify and/or integrate them with my existing forest and
partially open spaces.

So what did I plant?  In no particular order, with brief
sources/descriptions/parameters (all planted in a mound of cinder/soil mix
mulched as above except where noted):

Coconut - (friends, roadside) - grove as described above, plus a few near
the south side of the land, a pair flanking the entrance and one on the side
of the driveway.  No need for much planting medium with these, as they fall
off trees and sprout just lying there on the ground.

'Awa - (starts from a friend) - two plants, several yards apart, in a more
open area within 'ohia forest.

Banana - one Cuban Red (3), one Chinese Dwarf (from a friend's clump) and
two Apple Banana (from a local farmer's market vendor's clump), at various
locations outside of the eventual coconut grove, between it and 'ohia forest
edges, and where they have space to become banana clumps and/or circles as
they put out shoots.

Bamboo - one Guadua Bi-color and one T. Siamensis (Monastery bamboo), both
from Quindembo bamboo nursery.  The only *really* protracted labor was
creating and filling the planter area for the guadua, which will eventually
be a big timber bamboo that can cover 1000 sq. ft. for a clump.  I used
cut-up cecropia trunks to build a 4' - 5' diameter planting area which I
then filled (1 1/2 - 2 ft deep) with cinder/soil mix with site humus mixed
in in layers.  I picked a spot where the guadua would have room to expand
over time without using up open space better used for more frequently
visited plantings.  It is about 2/3 of the way back, towards the north
side...resulting in a long haul for the large amount of cinder/soil mix
needed to fill the planter!  As the clump expands, I will expand the
planting area in the directions of available space.  The Siamensis was
planted in a similar manner but on a considerably smaller scale, and it is
located much closer to the soil and cinder piles.

Fig - Brown Turkey - (3) - in an open area towards the rear of the property,
near the big bamboo but on the other side of a high spot that forms the one
non-moveable side of the guadua planter.  This was the only thing I planted
that showed much sign of "transplant shock" - leaves went limp, some curled
and browned/yellowed/mildewed on the edges after a day or so - I removed
those and it did perk up somewhat after a few days...

Macadamia nut - (1) - near the front north corner, placed to eventually
over-grow and shade out an invasive bush between it and the road.

Breadfruit - (1) - two varieties (#4 and #9) grafted on one tree - one bears
most in summer, the other in winter, so it's a year-round food source.  One
half put out a big fresh new leaf within a week of being planted... :-)

Avocado - (1) - two varieties (yamagata and dande) grafted on one tree, one
summer-bearing and the other winter-bearing, as with the breadfruit.  Also
two sprouting pits from beneath a friend's huge old tree - no telling what
kind of avocado they will produce until they do.  Potential for grafting
once they're established.

Malabar Chestnut - (2) - three of these - not actually of the chestnut
family but they do produce an edible nut; supposedly pretty easygoing and
hardy in my area.

Paradise nut - (2) - in the same family as Brazil nut, but reportedly a
better eating nut and more self-harvesting (brazil nut pods have to be
busted open, but paradise nut pods have a lid that falls off as they
approach maturity... :-)

Green tea - (3) - yeah, green tea - cut some of the liko (new growth), dry
in sun or pan, put in boiling water - make green tea!  Somehow I never
thought of this, but there it was as I was being shown around the nursery
and I just couldn't resist - I can grow green tea right there on my land?
How fun!

Ti - (friends) - some planted along unforested borders, some planted along
entrance/driveway areas.  Probably several varieties, including the Hawaiian
big-leafed one.

Anthuriums, "wild" - (friend - growing in forested areas around the house
where I used to live, actually) - planted in various places near potential
dwelling sites, entrance/driveway, forest understory.  Some were going to
seed so I scattered seeds as well.

Aloe Vera - (friend, farmer's market) - planted in cracks in various places
near potential dwelling sites and along driveway.

Plumeria (friends, roadside) - entrance/driveway, and later I may add some
near dwelling(s).  One I know is the spectacular golden yellow with
purple/scarlet blossom (the roadside cutting); the others I don't know yet
because my friends didn't know either.  They all smell great...

Kukui - (got at a native plants workshop by Jill Wagner of Ho-Ti nursery,
http://www.ho-tinursery.com/ ) - planted near 'ohia forest edge and placed
to eventually cover and shade out the biggest of the invasive rock-rose
bushes (practically a tree) on my land.

Sugar cane - (friend) - a couple reddish-purple old Hawaiian variety stalks,
not the green-yellow commercial one.  Planted by sticking partway into
cracks, filled/covered with soil/cinder mix and mulched.  Didn't realize
until after I planted the whole stalks that I had plenty to cut into pieces
to start more clumps.  Maybe next time... 

Papaya - (seeds) - a couple of particularly good sunred papayas from the
farmer's market had their seeds scattered here and there.  If nothing comes
of them, I'll start some in pots or more carefully prepared spots on the
property next time.

If I've forgotten anything, I can't remember what it is... ;-)

for more info on some of the plants mentioned above check the Canoe Plants
of ancient Hawai'i site at:

http://www.hawaii-nation.org/canoe/

Of the plants listed there, I have planted the following thus far:  'awa, ki
(ti), ko (sugar cane), kukui, mai'a (banana), niu (coconut), 'ohe (bamboo)
and ulu (breadfruit). 

Nurseries:
(1)  Birds & Buds, David Frenz, Hilo (waikea-uka)
(2)  Fruit Lover's Nursery, Oscar Jaitt, Puna (just over the pali, off the
Pahoa-Kalapana highway)
(3)  Royal Palm Enterprises, Sean, Kurtistown (Hawaiian Acres subdivision)


John Schinnerer