Fighting the Good Fight

In my efforts to adopt permaculture principles comes the knowledge that things must be done a certain way. For example, I can't use chemicals to boost production. I must use "organic" methods to strengthen and fertilize my plants and soils. This approach is more holistic, meaning it considers more than just the crop yield or end product. The soil quality, plant health, environment, as well as produce, are considered as a system. This is what sustainable gardening is all about.

This also means that I can't use chemicals as insecticides or herbicides. It would be very easy to spray noxious chemicals to rid our outdoor haven of all that annoy us. The bugs wouldn't bug so much, nor would the weeds. These chemicals are very effective in killing all things, the "bad" along with the "good." However, it just so happens that plants and insects evolved together (go figure). A believe it or not, a common plant defense against "bad" bugs is "good" bugs. There are a whole bunch of different kinds of beneficial bugs out there. I don't have the breadth of knowledge nor the desire to cover it all, but this will allow me to talk about one of my favorites: the praying mantis.


The praying mantis, also called mantids, are very cool looking insects. They get their common name from the way they appear to be praying while still and just before striking. Their alien-esque appearance is only matched by its otherworldly appetite for bugs. If you have ever seen one in action, you know what I'm talking about. They come in a wide range of colors, and sizes, some adorned with army-like camoflauge. They are stalkers, meaning that they will sit and wait til an unknowing bug crosses it.

While living in Taiwan, I had the opportunity to experience raising a mantis. You may not know this but mantises are related to the cockroach. They developed long, powerful forelegs, built to snatch its prey with lightning quickness and agility. I gained such pleasure watching them take out unsuspecting crickets, devouring them tail-first, eating up every last moisty gut. Mantids usually live for about3-4 months, and the ones I had were already 3 months old when I got them. Although they weren't with me long, I had the full experience of seeing how they live and interact (in a controlled terrarium).

Mantids start very small and eat aphids and such in their young days. This is why they are called upon as pest control. As they grow, they continually eat larger and larger things. Some have even been known to eat small snakes, mice and hummingbirds. One caution is that they aren't picky about what they eat. They can and will eat "good" bugs, even cannabalizing other mantises. This is why you shouldn't keep two mantises in the same container (unless of course, you want to see them battle to the death).

Mantises are good pets as they are quite interesting to watch stalk and consume prey. Most of the time, however, they spend their time moving not at all. They often just hang about, waiting for an idiot bug to get close. Much like myself. You can have them walk around on you, but they can fly.

As mentioned before, they can be part of your toolkit in battling the seemingly endless hoards of insects out to do you and your plants harm. They are welcome in my yard and I am always delighted to come across one, if I ever see them. They are ninja of the garden, sometimes hiding right in front of you. Do you and your garden's health a favor and consider matises and the host of other good fighters when dealing with little pests in your attempt to tame the wild outdoors.

Back to Maui

A view of the water not far out of Hilo.

I am back after spending a nice week with family in Hilo. It is always refreshing to spend some time in Hilo. I had much time to think, and used the time to read up on permaculture. I read a transcript of "A Permaculture's Design Manual," by Bill Mollison, the creator of the term "permaculture." Very interesting stuff if you ask me. There is a section in the "High Islands" chapter about how ancient Hawaiians were very intelligent land managers. This is invaluable information for those interesting in gardening. The ideas are much more than just growing veggies, and great for pondering broader scale resource development/management.

Not a food forest, but a beautiful forest, nonetheless. A fallen log consumed by other life.

I spent time creating a plant list, full of fruits, perennials, bushes, trees, etc. that could provide a variety and abundance in a small scale backyard garden. Finding all the pieces and then putting it together makes for quite a complex puzzule to be assembled. In doing research, you find may find even more useful plants that you never heard about. Some are not typical in your region, or not commonly used as foods. Others, you can't use, due to climate or legal restrictions. Others, for practicality sake, are simply not feasable (too big, yield not worth effort, no market, etc.), but all are worth considering.

A view of Hilo bay on a typical rainy day. A baby pineapple in my uncle's yard.

I also spent time to make a resource list of further readings. As I read, I learn that there is much more to read, and it becomes endless. You could spend all your time reading about a subject that should be hands on. Reading, however valuable and necessary, won't put food on the table.

That said, I was ready to come back and start working in the yard. I went to Kula Hardware to look around at what they had in stock. I was surprised to see all kinds of fruit trees there. Here's a incomprehensive list (to be sure, as I am interested in the food production, I only noticed those types of plants): apricots, mangoes, lemons, limes, tangerines, oranges, pears (4 cultivars on one plant), about 5 diffeent avocados, walnuts, soursops, starfruit, jaboticaba, abiu, and others. I had never even heard of some of them.

This nursery has been my best source for all kinds of stuff. I suggest that if you live on Maui, you check them out. They have a good variety of native and exotic plants, organic supplies, seeds, etc. You will be surprised everytime you go there. They're really knowledgeable too.

Update:

We'll start with the bad news. The tomatoes that I had initially planted about a month ago have perished. The seedlings were attacked by some bug in the night. Some onion and shallot seedlings have also gone to dust. Bell peppers never got above ground, same with chamomile. But now I know not to start seeds directly in the ground. I will have a staging period in small pots or on a table-like seeding bed, then transplant when healthy and vigorous enough to fend for itself. Ugh, that was painful. Okay, that's over. Now for the good news.

Top left to rt: just purchased blueberry bush (about a month ago); blue berry bush today; peas w/ stick trellis;
Bottom left to rt: revived kalo; compost pile;

All other things are doing well. The peas are nice and healthy, although slightly bullet riddled. The taro, which seemed to have a bleak outlook, is now doing well. It is vibrant green, with many small keiki (small offshoots). I think adding mulch, nitrogen, and more water, helped that baby along. The blueberry bush is bangin'. Lots of new growth, fresh and full of color. Same with the lime tree. Until a while ago, it seemed to be stagnant. But with pruning and extra water, it now has aromatic new leaves. And hopefully fruit soon. Got a compost pile goin, sheet mulch is still goin well. And I am excited to announce a new addition today... I now have worms. This is another weapon in my arsenal against pest and disease. Not to mention the decrease in waste that must leave our house. Paper and food scraps no longer go to the landfill, they can stay with us.

Lastly, after a rigorous application and interview process, I was deemed worthy to take part in the CTAHR Master Gardener program here on Maui. I am ecstatic and associate self-worth to being accepted. We will learn a variety of subjects related to gardening, and after "graduation" from the 13-week course, will be a master gardener. You, too, may become a master gardener, but only if you're cool
A site that I find very useful for my particular location is the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) of the Univ. of Hawaii. They have useful information for Hawaii related plants, climates, research, questions, and problems.

Pictures to come soon.

Water: The Fabric of Our Lives

Courtesy of researchnews.osu.edu/archive/nanocrptpix.htm.

Well I guess it's not technically a fabric, but water is essential to our existence on this (or any other) planet. We often forget how important clean water actually is. Second only to air, water is the most critical element to our lives. Our very fabric is sewn with threads of water.
In western societies, and more increasingly around the world, water is made to seem so common and abundant that no thought is put into conservation. It's like saving air -- why would you? Most people don't know that the amount of potable water on Earth is a mere 1%. Of all the millions and billions of gallons of water moving, floating, falling, rushing, flowing and freezing, only %1 is usable by people. In almost any action related to our body, water is consumed. Taking a shower, drinking, eating, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, peeing, sleeping...

Water is made to seem so abundant, that we piss and crap in drinking water. Imagine that! Are we that arrogant? "I'm so rich, I'm gonna take a shit here in this bowl of water." I don't know where this idea came from , but it seems very backward to me. Yet it is so ingrained into our culture (myself included), that I feel awkward mentioning this fact to others. They may think I'm strange for entertaining such an outlandish concept.

With the green movement however, along with the all too common quotes and trivia spouted about CO2, comes an awareness of our other environmental mistreatments, water being one of them. Integrated designs for reusing or reclaiming used water (greywater or blackwater) for other uses. Living machines are alternatives to typical sewage treatment systems. This is a biological method of cleansing water. Instead of using chemicals and inorganic methods to clean water, you use living organisms such as bacteria, plants, and fish, to filter water to varying quality levels. This in turn, allows us to use the water again, giving us a 100% increase in our resource use. We can water the lawn, feed our plants, or redirect the water to be used in toilets, or depending on quality, drink, cook or shower with. This is called closing the resource loop, a fundamental concept of permaculture.

Water is so important, but we treat it like shit.

We should think of water more as a life-sustaining element, rather than a means of transporting our turds. Let us use less water or reuse the water we consume. A perfect opportunity for another challenge.


Challenge #2: Measure your shower. Then shorten it.

1. Measure your flow rate. Get a bucket, preferably with volume lines, and a watch. Turn on your water to the flow you usually use, simultaneously starting your watch. Time for 1 minute. Measure how much water is in your bucket. This will give you your gallons (liters)/minute. Let's say you measure a rate of 4gallons/min.

2. Time the duration of shower. Then multiply your shower (in minutes) by the gallons. This will give you your total water usage and duration of your shower. In our example, your shower ends up being 10 minutes.

Your total water usage will be (4gal x 10min) 40gal. for a 10min. shower.

3. See if you can reduce your water usage by 25% or more. That would turn the above 10min shower into a 7min 30sec. shower.

You would save 10gal. of water. A drop in the bucket you might say. But if everyone does a little, together we can do a lot.