As you read this week’s garden column, Voltaire Moise and I are in Brazil, 100 miles north of Rio, helping to set up a tropical fruit demonstration orchard. Voltaire will also be training folks on using the fruit in exotic cuisine.
As you read this week’s garden column, Voltaire Moise and I are in Brazil, 100 miles north of Rio, helping to set up a tropical fruit demonstration orchard. Voltaire will also be training folks on using the fruit in exotic cuisine.
This is designed to show local farmers all the different tropical fruits that they can grow in the region and how to use them. Folks there are familiar with tropical fruits of their region, but the demonstration orchard will include trees from Africa, Australia, Asia, Central and North America.
The region is tropical to subtropical and conditions are similar to our islands in many ways. The big difference is that they have to deal with all kinds of wildlife that enjoy eating the farm bounty. If Toucans, macaws and monkeys weren’t enough, they also have to worry about getting a handful of some poisonous snake or insect while harvesting.
“Lucky we live Hawaii,” however we do have to worry about the expense of buying our fruits here in our island paradise.
With all the stresses on our pocketbooks, it is a good time to have your garden produce food that will save you dollars.
I recently visited a good friend in South Kona who really opened my eyes. The farm of Margarita Krimm is about as self-sustainable as it can get. She and her husband, Joe, were living green while in New Guinea before most folks even heard of the concept. When they moved to Kona in the 1980s, they continued to work their land without pesticides. They took a rocky, poor plot, and by composting, mulching and other earth-friendly practices, turned it into a rich and productive piece of paradise.
Now, many local farmers are doing the same.
When it comes to our gardens, we can grow almost anything. We have many climates, depending on elevation and whether you are on the rain-swept eastern side or the leeward part of the island. Below 2,000 feet we grow the tropicals and above we can grow the warm temperate and even cold season crops. Tropical fruits are the favorite for most, since they are varied and unusual.
Many of these fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and energy. So instead of popping vitamin pills every day, consider fruit. Those vitamin pills on your shelf, besides being pretty expensive items, are not nearly as palatable and eye appealing as fresh fruit —especially when it is grown in your own backyard.
You can purchase books on fruits of Hawaii from local garden centers and bookstores that give descriptions, nutritive value and uses of most of these fruits. Two great books you must have are from local resources. Craig Elevitch compiled and edited “Specialty Crops for the Pacific Islands.” The second one, The World of Bananas, was authored by Angela Keppler and Frank Rust. The latter, according to local tropical fruit expert Ken Love, is the best of its kind. Both are available by contacting Craig Elevitch at 324-4427.
Now let’s take a look those introduced to Hawaii from Central and South America, and the vitamins they supply. One papaya is supposed to contain 4,000 IUs (International Units) while 5,000 IUs per day are listed as adequate. Passion fruit, poha, avocados and surinam cherry are other South American fruits high in Vitamin A. Some fruits famous for their contribution of Vitamin C are guava, papaya, soursop, poha, cactus fruit and passion fruit.
One of the fruits highest in Vitamin C is the acerola, or Barbados cherry. The fruit is not a cherry but a member of the Malpighia family. The family is a fairly familiar ornamental shrub in many gardens and bears the highest known Vitamin C content fruit. As a comparison, oranges average 49 milligrams of vitamin per 100 grams of edible fruit (100 grams is about 3 1/2 ounces), while the Barbados, picked as they are turning green to red, average over 4,000 units per 100 grams!
Don’t forget the pineapple. Even though we see them commonly in the stores, it is fun to grow your own. The pineapple will produce several crops a year if you have a large number of plants; varieties like Red Spanish, Smooth Cayenne, Queen and Abakka are found in our gardens. When grown in the home garden, they tend to be much sweeter than the commercial fruit found at the supermarket.
In addition, there are dozens of lesser-known fruits, like the mountain apple relatives, that make outstanding ornamental shrubs and trees as well as fruit producers. Although the mountain apple is native to India and Malaya, jaboticaba, pitanga and Brazilian plum are also very attractive with delicious fruits. The common Surinam cherry, also in this family, has fruit that vary from tasty to terrible depending on seedlings.
Another favorite in its homeland is the sapodilla, chicle or chewing gum tree from Central America. It is an attractive shade tree that grows to about 30 feet. The dark brown fruit is about the size of an orange and tastes like a combination of brown sugar and butter. It will tolerate wet or dry conditions and will grow from sea level to 2,000 feet.
Before you plant, remember, the adaptability of a fruit tree to moisture, temperature and wind conditions will be important factors determining selection. For example, West Indian avocado would have a chance of success in warmer, lower areas, but would be a definite gamble in high, wet inland locations. By the same token, Mexican strains are desirable in the higher, cooler areas. Neither will tolerate salty and windy conditions.
In addition to adaptability to temperature conditions, there are other factors to consider in selecting fruit trees.
Fruits for home use should be selected on the basis of eating quality, rather than for their market appearance or shipping endurance. Pollination requirements must not be overlooked in selecting fruits. Solo papaya need no pollinators, but avocado varieties should be chosen with regard to assuring proper pollination.
Pest-resistance as a factor in selecting fruit trees is more important to the homeowner than to the commercial grower, because the commercial grower has equipment for pest control while the homeowner may not. The less pesticides required, the better.
Selection of fruits for the home grounds should assure a long season of available fruit by use of a series of varieties of early, mid-season and late production within the range for the species.
There are hundreds of fruits that can be grown in Hawaiian gardens. If you need help on selecting fruit trees, contact your local nursery, agricultural extension agent or garden store for assistance.