Hi everyone. I'm sure you have all heard about the earthquake in Chile and the resulting tsunami headed for Hawai'i. Sus and I woke up this morning planning to head out for another Saturday at the beach, but we immediately heard the tsunami siren echoing up the valley from Honoka'a. Kimberly came down to our cabin as we were eating breakfast to tell us about the situation.
Luckily Honoka'a is set back from the sea on a 1000 foot cliff. The farm being even higher at over 2000 feet we knew we were safe, so we headed down the mountain into cell phone range to call our families. Our friend Mike saw us on the side of the highway and offered to take us to a spot he knows where we could watch for the swell of water that was expected. We heard there would be a wall of water from 6-12 feet in height heading past the island and we wanted to see it firsthand. Being from Boston we have no natural disasters except hurricanes, and we only get a storm that warrants evacuation once or twice a decade.
The waves were supposed to hit Hilo, about 45 miles south of us, at 11:00 AM. We waited until 11:30 and didn't see anything. Maybe we missed it, or maybe we couldn't see anything from 1200 feet up. Now we're back in town at Chase and Mohamed's place, watching the news and glad that the worst waves that hit us were only 3 or 4 feet high. Some people even surfed through the morning down in Kona. In any case, we're fine and happy, but please send your prayers and energy to those in Chile who have been hit hardest. Take care.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Another beautiful day...
Hi everyone,
We just finished harvested another field of tea today. Hot sun and a cool breeze help keep the tea leaves dry enough for picking. It's a good feeling looking at a bright green flush of new tea buds and knowing they will soon be in someone's cup, warming them on a cool night. We heard 49 of the 50 states were blanketed in snow last week.
It's still hard to get used to the climate here. It does get chilly at night (like around 50 degrees, which is still cold when you live in a tent) but in terms of temperature there is little variation between summer and winter. Coming from 25 years in Boston, I'm used to below freezing in February. Here, if you plant a seed it will grow regardless of season. The trees around our cabin are putting out flowers, little splashes of red and orange waving high in the wind.
Our farm is really starting to feel like home. We now refer to our cabin as "the house" and our outhouse as "the bathroom". Our tent hasn't become "our room" but it is "bed". Still, I don't know if I could ever feel that I am more than a visitor to this tropical isle.
It seems ironic that agriculture, the thing which has allowed people for thousands of years to stay put and feel this sense of "Home", is the same thing that has made me a nomad.
We just finished harvested another field of tea today. Hot sun and a cool breeze help keep the tea leaves dry enough for picking. It's a good feeling looking at a bright green flush of new tea buds and knowing they will soon be in someone's cup, warming them on a cool night. We heard 49 of the 50 states were blanketed in snow last week.
It's still hard to get used to the climate here. It does get chilly at night (like around 50 degrees, which is still cold when you live in a tent) but in terms of temperature there is little variation between summer and winter. Coming from 25 years in Boston, I'm used to below freezing in February. Here, if you plant a seed it will grow regardless of season. The trees around our cabin are putting out flowers, little splashes of red and orange waving high in the wind.
Our farm is really starting to feel like home. We now refer to our cabin as "the house" and our outhouse as "the bathroom". Our tent hasn't become "our room" but it is "bed". Still, I don't know if I could ever feel that I am more than a visitor to this tropical isle.
It seems ironic that agriculture, the thing which has allowed people for thousands of years to stay put and feel this sense of "Home", is the same thing that has made me a nomad.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Pictures part nine
The sunshade I set up for our tent, made from a 15-foot ohia log and a big tarp.
Moving our outhouse when the hole filled up (an emergency late-night maneuver).
The neighbor's horses, Kea and Ginger.
Cookin' up something good!
Pictures part eight
We painted our shower!
Our vegetable garden
The view from Chase and Mohamed's apartment
The life of a tea field
Hello again friends, I would like to show you briefly how we we turn overgrown hillsides into productive tea fields.
First, obtrusive grasses and plants are removed and the grass is shallowly tilled to break up soil compaction and improve drainage. Tea plants are sensitive to moisture and need healthy soil that does not hold too much water.
If the slope is uneven or too steep, it needs to be leveled so water does not collect in some places and run too fast in others, washing topsoil away. To be certified organic, a farm must have a no-grow zone of 25 feet between crops and neighboring property. The sticks represent the start of the rows. These rows have been freshly composted.
The field is then spread with wood chips inoculated with mushroom spores, and a solution of sugar and microorganisms is sprayed to promote mycelial growth. Mycelia will bond with the roots of the tea plants and protect them from harmful nematodes and bacteria. We have planted a catchment crop of rye, sorghum, and black mustard in order to loosen the soil and soak up extra water and nutrients.
Once the terraces are set and the soil is ready, tea cuttings are transplanted from one-gallon pots to the field, set two feet apart in rows six feet apart. Mulch is set around the plants to keep the roots warm and the topsoil in place (the mountainside in winter is cold and wet).
From this point it is a matter of keeping the plants healthy by discouraging weeds from growing too close to them and maintaining soil quality.
These plants we harvested are four years old.
And that's where your tea comes from!
First, obtrusive grasses and plants are removed and the grass is shallowly tilled to break up soil compaction and improve drainage. Tea plants are sensitive to moisture and need healthy soil that does not hold too much water.
If the slope is uneven or too steep, it needs to be leveled so water does not collect in some places and run too fast in others, washing topsoil away. To be certified organic, a farm must have a no-grow zone of 25 feet between crops and neighboring property. The sticks represent the start of the rows. These rows have been freshly composted.
The field is then spread with wood chips inoculated with mushroom spores, and a solution of sugar and microorganisms is sprayed to promote mycelial growth. Mycelia will bond with the roots of the tea plants and protect them from harmful nematodes and bacteria. We have planted a catchment crop of rye, sorghum, and black mustard in order to loosen the soil and soak up extra water and nutrients.
Once the terraces are set and the soil is ready, tea cuttings are transplanted from one-gallon pots to the field, set two feet apart in rows six feet apart. Mulch is set around the plants to keep the roots warm and the topsoil in place (the mountainside in winter is cold and wet).
From this point it is a matter of keeping the plants healthy by discouraging weeds from growing too close to them and maintaining soil quality.
These plants we harvested are four years old.
And that's where your tea comes from!
Monday, February 8, 2010
The fruit of our labors
Last week Taka brought us a tin of the tea we harvested two weeks ago, freshly roasted. The smell of it was so tantalizing, and the taste was wonderful! The next time you drink a cup of tea, think of the place it came from (usually India for black teas, other parts of Asia for green), and the workers who picked it. It tastes even better that way.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some words on natural farming
Hello, friends. You all know where we are and some of the work we're doing, but I'd like to tell you more about why we do what we do, and why we think a more natural approach to farming is important.
First, natural farming cannot be 100% natural. There is no field in nature that will grow you organized rows of rice, or carrots, or anything. To have a commercial farm is to grow and sell a commodity, which takes constant care, tending, and quality control. Without the input and encouragement of the farmer, plants organized and cared for so as to create a quality product would revert to true nature, that is, wilderness. The 'natural' part of natural farming is in the nonuse of chemicals and machines that disrupt the balance of local and global biosystems far into the future.
There is a world of bacteria, earthworms, algae, fungi, arthropods, and nematodes living on and beneath the soil, constantly breaking down nutrients and organic matter and recycling them into simple elements that are available to be reused by new and existing plants. It is a fragile system in that an overabundance of certain parts of this cycle means detriment to the others. Sometimes it can take many years to restore balance.
The use of pesticides and herbicides may control pests and unwanted plants effectively, but they are expensive to the farmer and take a toll on the health of the soil. They must be reapplied frequently, causing a buildup of certain toxins in the plants and soil that can find their way around the world in food chains we barely understand. Pesticides like DDT used on crops in the last century found its way quickly into penguins in Antarctica, where there are obviously no crops to use it on.
Herbicides can quickly eradicate certain unwanted plants, but they also destroy habitats for pest predators and deprive the soil of the nutrients contained in those 'weeds' that could otherwise be used to improve the overall health of the system. Without the added chemicals of pesticides they can exacerbate pest problems. Many insects that injure crops live in or on the plants themselves, but the predators that keep those populations in check need a place to live too. By leaving fields bare except for whatever crop is being grown, a valuable source of nutrients and a valuable means of pest control is lost.
Natural farming also shuns techniques like deep tillage that disrupt the natural layers that healthy soil has. Old crops and weeds that are buried deep in the ground cannot impart their component energy to the next crop because they need the flora and fauna that reside in the top few inches of soil to break them down. Earthworms are natural tillers and aerators of soil. The tunnels they leave help bring oxygen deeper into the earth and improve water drainage. Soil that has passed through an earthworm contains more nutrients than before. Some say earthworms excrete plant growth hormones. Breaking up their patterns of movement and the tunnels they leave is bad for the soil and for the farmer.
The fertilizers most farmers use, even natural ones, can cause problems too. Most plants that use them will become dependent on them, making further growth without constant influx of chemicals difficult. Fertilizer also settles over time to create a layer underneath the soil that acts as a barrier. Nutrients from below cannot move up, and plant roots cannot break down through them. Natural farming attempts to avoid these problems by avoiding fertilizer altogether.
The farming we do on the tea farm is even more dependent on soil quality than the kind done for annual crops. Tea plants are delicate and fickle. The soil they live in must drain well, as accumulation of too much water in the roots will stunt growth and cause rot. This is why tea is traditionally grown on hillsides. Modern tea farms on flat surfaces have extensive irrigation systems and miles of pipes underground just to drain the water which naturally flows downhill on terraced farms. Tea plants also take many years to mature before they produce marketable product, so their growth from seed or cutting must be carefully monitored.
Everything we do on the farm is designed to give new and existing tea plants the healthiest soil conditions. To do so without use of fertilizers and other chemicals is a challenge, but one worth taking. I see my computer time is almost up for the day. More to come on tea and natural farming...
First, natural farming cannot be 100% natural. There is no field in nature that will grow you organized rows of rice, or carrots, or anything. To have a commercial farm is to grow and sell a commodity, which takes constant care, tending, and quality control. Without the input and encouragement of the farmer, plants organized and cared for so as to create a quality product would revert to true nature, that is, wilderness. The 'natural' part of natural farming is in the nonuse of chemicals and machines that disrupt the balance of local and global biosystems far into the future.
There is a world of bacteria, earthworms, algae, fungi, arthropods, and nematodes living on and beneath the soil, constantly breaking down nutrients and organic matter and recycling them into simple elements that are available to be reused by new and existing plants. It is a fragile system in that an overabundance of certain parts of this cycle means detriment to the others. Sometimes it can take many years to restore balance.
The use of pesticides and herbicides may control pests and unwanted plants effectively, but they are expensive to the farmer and take a toll on the health of the soil. They must be reapplied frequently, causing a buildup of certain toxins in the plants and soil that can find their way around the world in food chains we barely understand. Pesticides like DDT used on crops in the last century found its way quickly into penguins in Antarctica, where there are obviously no crops to use it on.
Herbicides can quickly eradicate certain unwanted plants, but they also destroy habitats for pest predators and deprive the soil of the nutrients contained in those 'weeds' that could otherwise be used to improve the overall health of the system. Without the added chemicals of pesticides they can exacerbate pest problems. Many insects that injure crops live in or on the plants themselves, but the predators that keep those populations in check need a place to live too. By leaving fields bare except for whatever crop is being grown, a valuable source of nutrients and a valuable means of pest control is lost.
Natural farming also shuns techniques like deep tillage that disrupt the natural layers that healthy soil has. Old crops and weeds that are buried deep in the ground cannot impart their component energy to the next crop because they need the flora and fauna that reside in the top few inches of soil to break them down. Earthworms are natural tillers and aerators of soil. The tunnels they leave help bring oxygen deeper into the earth and improve water drainage. Soil that has passed through an earthworm contains more nutrients than before. Some say earthworms excrete plant growth hormones. Breaking up their patterns of movement and the tunnels they leave is bad for the soil and for the farmer.
The fertilizers most farmers use, even natural ones, can cause problems too. Most plants that use them will become dependent on them, making further growth without constant influx of chemicals difficult. Fertilizer also settles over time to create a layer underneath the soil that acts as a barrier. Nutrients from below cannot move up, and plant roots cannot break down through them. Natural farming attempts to avoid these problems by avoiding fertilizer altogether.
The farming we do on the tea farm is even more dependent on soil quality than the kind done for annual crops. Tea plants are delicate and fickle. The soil they live in must drain well, as accumulation of too much water in the roots will stunt growth and cause rot. This is why tea is traditionally grown on hillsides. Modern tea farms on flat surfaces have extensive irrigation systems and miles of pipes underground just to drain the water which naturally flows downhill on terraced farms. Tea plants also take many years to mature before they produce marketable product, so their growth from seed or cutting must be carefully monitored.
Everything we do on the farm is designed to give new and existing tea plants the healthiest soil conditions. To do so without use of fertilizers and other chemicals is a challenge, but one worth taking. I see my computer time is almost up for the day. More to come on tea and natural farming...
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