Visitors to our farm often ask what it's like to live without seasons. Despite the moderate temperatures and minimal change in daylength here in Hawai'i, we experience seasons quite strongly, however. I have always been fascinated by the little lines you can see at the top of an eggplant near the stem- rings that mark the growth of each day. Rings that fade to uniform purple after a few days of exposure to the sun. The signs of time passing are all around, but their imprint fades into memory eventually. 

Lately, there is a subtle stillness in the mornings. The hue of the sunrises are a little more purple. There are a few pineapples left in the field but lychee seem like a distant memory. The mulberry tree is laden with fruit, much to the birds' delight. We are harvesting a few Jamaican lilikoi (Passiflora laurifolia) and planting their seeds. 

Coffee picking has begun in earnest and we are harvesting the first heads of a lettuce variety from Johnny's that is new to us, a red butterhead called 'Skyphos'. The seeds of a weedy cherry tomato that we planted from our friend Cassidy have turned into sprawling bushes, heavy with developing fruit. 

Our jackfruit tree (a grandchild of 'Berry', the variety from Australia) is ripening another round of fruits and Jill is drying some of the fruit for snacking along with mulberries and slices of Shikuwasa citrus to add to tea blend. 

The row of roselle planted in May are in early flower and we added a second wire to the trellis. My favorite bonsai that I repotted a few weeks ago is flushing with new leaves, ready for our plant sale next week. The echinacea is past full bloom and we will be harvesting seeds soon.

It feels like a good time to pause and take stock. The rapid growth of the summer is coming to a close, don't forget to savor it. 

I feel summer winding down. We have made it over the crescendo of peak growing season. As it’s my first full year here on the farm, I do not have a lot to compare for reference. But, I feel it. The mornings are a little cooler. The days are ever so shorter. The avocados are almost ripe! Here at Mountain Sol Farm, we grow several well known and some lesser known varieties. They include- Sharwill, Fujikawa, Kahaluu, Hass, San Miguel, and Greengold. I think avocados are their best served cold, cool, or at room temperature. In other words, do not cook avocados! It’s doing a disservice to this amazing fruit.

Towards the end of last year’s avocado season, I wondered what to do with so many avocado pits. We can only plant so many to use as rootstock for grafts. The chickens, who typically eat anything and everything tossed into their coop, completely ignore them. Homemade avocado oil perhaps? 
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I recently read about Amish avocado pit liniment, a folk remedy made by steeping grated avocado pits in rubbing alcohol or white vinegar. To make, take your extra avocado pits, grate into a small mason jar or similar vessel (be careful-they can be very slippery!), cover with the liquid, pop the lid on and shake vigorously 1-2 x day for about two weeks. No worries if it sits longer. The resulting strained liquid is said to create an anti-inflammatory tincture for topical use on muscle pain, joint discomfort, or spasms. I will be trying it out this avocado season! 

​To be continued. . . .

Come take a walk through our nursery as we get ready for the BIAN Plant Sale at Edith K. Stadium on September 5-6..

This week we are bringing five pounds of our organically grown young ginger to Abundant Life Natural Foods in Hilo. Young ginger is the same species as regular ginger, just harvested before the plants go dormant. You can use it in any of the applications you would use regular ginger, but it is more sweet and tender. Because it lacks the fiber and tough skin of normal ginger it is a treat to work with. Our favorite way to use young ginger is pickled, to make Gari, the ginger pickle served alongside sushi. A basic brine of 1 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1.5 teaspoons of sea salt is all you need. Stir rice vinegar and sugar and salt together in a sauce pan over low heat until sugar dissolves, and allow to cool. You can adjust the sweetness of the brine to your taste. Slice about 8 oz of peeled young ginger very thin with a knife or mandolin, cover with the brine, and refrigerate. You can start using it in a week or so and it will keep for many months. 

Once again, we will be selling plants at the Labor Day Plant Sale in Hilo! At the Edith K Stadium in Hilo, map below