Warm greetings all. 🙏 💚
Back in December (December 7, 2021), I posted about an experimental garden that we created up on the lava from the most recent (2018) flow (I suggest reading that original post before you read this one). This is on the property of 18-acre,off-grid, clothing-optional, food-forest, jungle intentional community, deep in the jungles of Lower Puna, on the Eastern tip of the Big Island of Hawai'i, where I've lived for close to four years (though more and more I'm feeling called to put myself out in the world, and have mostly been living in Seaview at the moment, where I am also diving into the plants and garden there, and posting here about it). I got such overwhelmingly positive responses, with quite a few requests for, and interest in, future updates. Well, the first update is today!
It's been about four and a half months since that original post, and while there has been notable growth on the several of the plants, overall development has been slower than under less extreme conditions. Several of these beds also need to be weeded a bit (soon). They still look pretty good, though, even with very minimal care.
This is the view from the deck of Sundog's open-air bamboo yurt, that he constructed up on the lava more than two years ago. I spend a good bit of time up here. The planting beds can be sean off to the left, and newly-placed bromeliads can be seen off to the right.
The sweet potatoes are doing quite well. They've grown and filled out nicely. They've done so well up on the lava, that they've been expanded to two other beds.
The pink-flowered tobacco is also doing rather well.
The squash, while not unhealthy, has been quite modest in growth, still being quite small and compact. They are flowering, but so far no fruit. A dragon-fruit cactus, which had to be moved from its original planting location, and is finally growing, can be seen on the left of the bed. Some blue floss flower can also be seen poking their pretty flowers above the bed.
The beds where I planted several cacti and succulents, really do need to be weeded soon. The Cuban organo is doing better, and some of the succulents have done really well. The cacti, overall, just don't like this much rain, even under these more well-drained conditions.
I placed several new bromeliads up on the lava, in various places, interspersed with those that have already been here, and growing smashingly well. The new ones have only been up here for a few weeks, but in time all of them will grow and fill out a great deal, making quite beautiful punctuations of color and form across the lava.
That's all for now! Thank you all for your continued appreciation and support! I am always deeply grateful! 🙏 💚