July roundup

The Climate Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicated conditions are favorable for another El Nino cycle (which occurs every 3 to 5 years) and ongoing drought conditions. The Maui Department of Water Supply has recently declared a drought watch where residents and businesses are asked to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 5 percent. A drought warning would require a mandatory cut of 10 percent.

PESTS/DISEASE
Fortunately there is not much to report on this front- we have tuned in to the local population of insects and have learned to control them with expert timing of mild interventions that encourage beneficial (predatory) insects and discourage the pests. Or, if the pests are too much of a problem, we don’t grow anything they like. Lucky for us, the dry conditions inhibit our main issue: mold and mildew.

OTHER CHALLENGES
Keeping up with all the landscaping, especially during the summer. The amount of labor required doing this doubles during summer months.

The dry conditions are challenging to young seed beds.

SUCCESSES
Production is on a roll and at an all time high.

We have been very resourceful with an imperfect irrigation system during these trying (dry) times.

The home lawn mowers cant handle the farm terroir- its too rough on them. The $20 yard sale mower leaks oil and has poor compression; the red mower’s blade flew off and is going to the shop, leaving only the yellow one which is taking a beating.