Question: What shall we plant in our spring garden? We want to grow and eat more healthy stuff and know that no poisons were used. We also are striving for “living soil” that you advocate. Mahalo. — Colleen Kudo

Answer: Mahalo for asking! It’s a good time to plan and prepare your soil with raked-up leaves and rich organic compost. For planting, citrus trees come to mind. We have such a wealth of choices in our Hawaiian horticultural world.

Among them are: calamansi, tangerine, King tangerines, Kona orange, jabong (pomelo), lime, Tahitian lime, Cambodian lime, Kaffir lime and lemon.

From tall to small, there are plenty of nice trees to choose from for your yard, or for a big pot on your sunny lanai.

Calamansi and jabong both “come true” from seeds. That means you can eat a big, juicy one, carefully save and plant the seeds and the fruit that ensues with time and good garden care will be just like the one you ate and enjoyed.

The other citrus trees mentioned above are hybrids and don’t come true to seed. So visit your local fruit tree nursery such as Frankie’s Nursery in Waimanalo and buy a grafted one of the variety you desire.

Because we have such diverse climates and soil types here in Hawaii, ask which variety would grow best in your particular microclimate.

Other fun options for growing fruit trees in your yard include mango, lychee, ulu (breadfruit), avocado and mulberry. If you enjoy drinking tea, consider planting mulberry, mamaki, ko‘oko‘olau and uhaloa.

You can buy seeds from your favorite garden shop or online. I prefer to support local shops such as Koolau Farmers. The staff is very akamai and you can ask them what will grow best for your site and garden conditions.

I used to get mainland varieties. I would buy them cheap online and was so excited to get that “garden gift” in the mail. But then auwe, some of the seeds didn’t even sprout, while others produced sickly plants that failed to thrive despite my best “green hands” efforts.

Another favorite thing to buy locally are seedlings and small starter plants in 3-inch or 4-inch small pots. You can find a nice selection and go home to plant a fairly “instant” garden.

This can help save time in when starting a garden and is also a way to outsmart the slippery slugs so many of us try to eradicate from our gardens. (Slugs do not tend to eat larger, tougher plants.)

If I find slugs or African snails crawling around looking for something small and tasty to devour, I use Sluggo (dog-safe slug bait) and a pair of tongs (or recycled plastic forks) to capture them. I then immerse the pests in a bucket of salt water. A good time to go on slug and snail patrol is at dusk or after a nice rain. Removing slugs and snails from our gardens is one component of a practice we call sanitation, which can help prevent pest infestations and plant diseases.

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PERFECT FOR SPRING

There are a number of vegetable and herb options that are well-suited for a spring garden.

Vegetables:

>> Chinese peas

>> String beans

>> Sweet potato, or uala

>> Ung choi

>> Mustard greens

>> Lablab beans

>> Cherry tomatoes

>> Eggplant

>> Green onion

>> Okinawan spinach

Herbs:

>> Mint

>> Mexican oregano

>> Rosemary

>> Sweet basil

>> Thai basil

>> Parsley

>> Chinese parsley

Heidi Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.