Blog — Hawaiian style

Mālama:  nvt. To take care of, tend, attend, care for, preserve, protect, beware, save, maintain; to keep or observe, as a taboo; to conduct, as a service; to serve, honor, as God; care, preservation, support, fidelity, loyalty; custodian, caretaker, keeper. [https://wehewehe.org]  "Before"  "After" two cleaning visits.  Once the vines were cleared one could see its "feet."  The person who planted this puhala made a little rock "wall" around the base. There was probably more space between the puhala keiki and the rocks at that time. I do this when I plant things in my yard to create a protective boundary...

These pictures were taken over the past weeks and during my visits at Māʻona Community Garden.   I almost always forget to take "before" pictures.  The picture (above left) is an "after" picture but one would never know we actually thinned the puhala. The above right picture is the underside and one can see the stubs of branches we cut from the trunk.  It had been so tightly packed with branches that very little ventilation was causing the leaves to rot before truly drying.  The picture below is some but not all of the green waste. With devastating invasive species such as...

Tahitian lauhala is really nice to work with.  The lau is long and pliable.  Unfortunately, the way they process it, makes it susceptible and attractive to bugs.  In Hawai'i, we generally harvest lau that is naturally dried on the tree.  The dried out "dead leaves" are not as attractive to bugs, but they will eat it if there's nothing else for them to feed on. I do not know the exact type or name of the bugs - they look like little beetles but I've also seen termites eat lauhala too. It's heartbreaking to find insect damaged lauhala as I...

I was back at Māʻona Community Garden this morning.  Chantal was working her chainsaw taking down a puhala that had grown out of its pot and was putting pressure on a retaining wall.  She said "hey, look at this!" and I just had to take pictures. The underside of the ulehala (aerial root) that splayed out to smaller roots. Right side up view.A flattened plastic planter pot that Chantal found under the splayed root. It was amazing that the ulehala (aerial root) came down, hit the plastic pot and flattened it. When the ulehala couldn't grow through the plastic to reach the ground, it...

I was helping Chantal at Māʻona Community Garden last week. We pruned a bushy puhala. I forgot to take a "before" picture.  While all the branches and leaves we cut were put aside to compost, it seemed like a waste to let it all go without trying to make something of it.  I saved some green lau, which I will write about it in another post, and four ulehala (aerial roots) pictured above.  When making papale, we weave in a string at the beginning of the brim to hold its shape and fit.  When I first started making papale I...