Neem trees (center) growing within a Kona coffee orchard for shade, insecticidal properties, timber, and medicine.

It’s great that so many people are jumping on the homegrown food bandwagon. There is nothing more delicious and healthful than your own fresh fruit and vegetables grown with love without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.

But for me, homegrown also means making my own medicines from plants in my garden, from the wild and from friends’ yards. And also using locally sourced materials -- like neem -- to improve soil fertility and food production. Recently I was brought into a discussion about a number of neem trees growing on the Hamakua Coast. The property owner had wanted to tear out his 70 or so trees in favor of fruit such as lychee and longan. Although I wasn’t directly involved in convincing him of their value, I am very happy that this valuable resource is now being preserved.

Everyone is welcome to chip in and help. Pastor Mary's daughter picks some tomatoes for an afternoon snack.

In the tiny little town of Kekaha, far on the west end of the island of Kaua‘i, a visionary preacher, church congregation and small group of dedicated gardeners have banded together to start the Kekaha Community Garden. While one intention is to create a place where locals can grow fresh, healthy, affordable food, the underlying philosophy is really to grow a stronger more connected community. The setting is quite informal (you might wonder, what could be formal in a garden -- but gardens and landscapes like homes, churches and public buildings have their own sense of place, and spoken or unspoken rules of order). In Kekaha Garden there is a sense that all are welcome. On Sunday evening when we entered the gate I was instantly greeted by a very large well-mannered dog and a few children gathering tomatoes and exploring the bounty.

Tane and Maureen Datta tend their certified organic micro-greens.

Several times a week I get asked the question: “What should I grow?”

There are so many ways to answer. Some answers are trite but true, like ”Grow what you like to eat and what you can”. Other answers include a quick list of wanted plants: basil, beans, peaches, potatoes and on and on. Some of these could be grown here in Hawai‘i, depending on your elevation, rainfall, soil, etc., and others….well, not so easily.

Usually, I answer with a set of questions, the first and most important being, “Why?” There is no wrong answer, but the more deeply and honestly this question is answered, the better the choice of crops will be. People often have several reasons for growing plants, sometimes at cross purposes to each other. For example, a person may want to buy a farm, put in a large garden to become self sufficient, improve their health and make $2000/month land or mortgage payments. The self-sufficiency and health crops may have a very different agroeconomic profile than the profit-making crops. For self-sufficiency, the crop value may be measured in meals per hour and reliability of the harvest. Crops that fit this bill include bananas, breadfruit, coconut, squash and yams. These crops provide high food value for low care or time allotment. They may sell, but not at a high dollar per hour value.

Ohia Fields Farm packed CSA bag with newsletter.

Ohia Fields Farm is unusual in that it is located in two separate locations. The current home site and animal husbandry part of the operation is located on 4.5 acres of pasture above Honoka’a in Ahualoa, with beautiful views of Mauna Kea. The crop part of the farm is roughly 15 miles southeast on about 3/4 acres of their eventual home site farm. This consists of 22 forested acres up in the O’okala mauka area of Hamakua.  Both properties share approximately the same 2500 foot elevation.

Miliana and Jeff Johnson started by raising sheep and chickens for about 5 years. Miliana had gained previous animal husbandry experience while working at another farm, and it is only in the last year and half that they have raised vegetables and decided to operate the farm as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) business.

Although not organic, Miliana and Jeff do practice sustainable growing methods and do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Soil samples are sent periodically to be analyzed and the soil is amended when needed using organic supplements such as K-mag, gypsum, OMRI Sulfate of Potash, dolomite and phosphate as well as composted chicken, horse and cow manure as well as their own composted waste from the fields.