Fruit Trees

Fruit Trees was Originally Posted on September 19, 2010 by

I have pretty well chosen all of the fruit trees to finish out my planting. I’m at about 196 trees and have left a few spots open for now not knowing what to put there.

I may be biting off more than I can chew because I have chosen 36 different varieties to plant! About 1/2 of the trees are citrus. Like Holloween (when you buy things you would eat if left over), I made sure that I planted things *I* would eat. There are oranges (valencia and navel), grapefruit and pummelo, tangerines, lemons and limes, some spices, a breadfruit tree, some moyas (atemoya and I thought cheramoya but now I don’t see that on my list…hmm).

I added starfruit and a mango or two, tree tomato and kumquat. I tossed in some figs and a miracle fruit. Oh there is more, but you get the idea.

many of these trees need similar fertilizer and most will need pruning. I have an idea fro that.

Because there are many varieties of trees, I will make signs for each row (or group of trees). I tried to keep them all lined up, expecting to give tours at some point. Varities of fruit trees will be more interesting than just another row of coffee trees :-)

There is a group called WOOFERS (WWOOF http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOOF) a type of work exchange where people travel the world and help farmers in exchange for a place to stay and perhaps food, etc. They are not migrant workers per se, but rather peple who want to travel and are willing to work on a farm as part of their travel. Although started as people working on organic farms, actually any type of farm may suffice for many people.

I could fix up the room downstairs and add a full bath. It has a separate entrance and is quite private. I would then advertise for people who would like to stay and work some on a coffee and rfuit tree farm. I would have themdo some pruning and/or fertilizing or perhaps picking and sorting of ruit. In return they could eat some fruit and have some free Kona coffee and learn about farm life here.

Usually the farm makes an offer of what type of work they have, the number of hours expected that the workers would perfrom and then would state what accomodations and extras they offer. Some farms suggest the workers stay in a tent and eat in town, while others might ofefr a room, kitchen priviledges and th workers may share in a communal mealtime. It is all negotiable and varies as I say from farm to farm.

The farm may need specific tasks and may advertise for someone who could build a fence of is good around animals, etc. In my case, I would probably ask for people who have experience around orchards as there are fewer people who have worked on coffee farms. I would advertise for people to do the things I didn’t want to do :-) The nice thing about my farm is it is in a rural area yet there are stores nearby and lots of cultural and fun activities nearby. In fact, the Kealakekua Bay is a few miles away and is known for excellent snorkling. There are also whales passing by and often dolphin stay in the bay.

Some of the workers may be vegans or have very specific diets, while others may not. Some may want to camp out while others might prefer indoor living. There are just so many possibilities involved.

Workers like this arangement because they can travel the world, learn some skills and have a place to stay in exchange for some work. They may work a few hours a day and then spend the rest of the day surfing or whatever.

It will take at least 2 years fro the fruit trees to start to produce and some trees much longer. If I decide to get some WOOFERS, I’ll post it here first :-)