Have you seen all the recent newspaper articles and scientific studies about how eating at least one serving of greens a day promotes and protects your mental acuity? There are so many fabulous greens we can grow in our gardens here in Hawaii. If you grow your own, you can keep them pesticide-free, and you know they are fresh because you picked them yourself.
As my Aunty Viola used to say, “Start the water boiling and then go outside and pick the corn, Heidi Girl!”
Some of the plants that grow well for us are: mamaki, haoi (Jamaica vervain) and kookoolau (all used for medicinal tea); marungay, Okinawan spinach, uala (sweet potato) leaves, kalo (taro), basil, lettuce, kale, mulberries, lablab beans, oregano, mint, rosemary, parsley, green onions, Chinese peas, string beans, ginger, olena (turmeric), mustard cabbage, popolo (black nightshade), chives, comfrey, gotu kola (Asiatic pennywort), and red and green shiso.
Most of these are happier grown in the ground in full sun but some can do well in pots, too, on your sunny apartment lanai or yard. Even if you are renting, ask your landlord if you can design and grow a nice garden of greens.
Raised garden beds are a great way to grow your greens, pick them easily and suppress pests. These can be made from wood, bricks or recycled plastic lumber. Trex, the recycled wood, is fairly costly at the outset but lasts well in our climate.
Applying for a garden plot under the city’s Community Recreational Gardening Program is another option if you don’t have land of your own. The waitlists can be long but worth the effort. I like to check them out and talk story with the gardeners and get inspired. Community gardeners grow some very interesting plants and are usually happy to share plants, knowledge and even recipes.
I was recently at the Makiki one, and even the plantings around the plots — lots of various flowers in purples and lavenders — were inspiring and one was a new plant I’d never seen. (I’m calling it “Purple Zurple” for now.)
Or how about adopting the garden of an older neighbor? Help them plant and maintain it and feed everyone healthy greens. Many older folks have homes and gardens but struggle with upkeep and projects. Young folks may have the energy and strength but don’t own their own land.
My epic young neighbor Shawn Nagao was admiring my garden, asking what the various plants were, when he asked me, “Besides all these native Hawaiian plants, Heidi, do you have stuff to eat in your garden?”
I started thinking about what I was growing in my very small space and made a mental list. Inspired by him, I started to grow more things to eat and make tea with, and for medicinal use.
As my hanai tutu garden mentor, May Moir, frequently said — especially when I offered her new plants for her garden — “Dear, everything in my garden must earn its keep, be useful and even better if the plant has multiple uses!”
Start simple and slow, and grow from there. A super shortcut I like is to buy starter plants in 4-inch pots and repot them into a larger pot or into the ground. I recently bought some kale starters and gave them to friends as Christmas and New Year’s gifts.
You can also buy seeds and grow them, but that takes longer and requires more skill and luck. You also need to protect the tiny seedlings from slugs and snails. I just bought some red and green shiso seeds to grow and share as gifts.
Get more information on Honolulu’s Community Recreational Gardening Program at honolulu.gov/parks/hbg/community-gardens.html.
Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.
