Mountain apples were one of the first crops brought by the Polynesians when they first arrived in Hawaii. It grows very well in many parts of the islands and produces prolifically. If it was good enough for them to bring over on the canoes, then these...
Sometimes it seems like the typical image of “living off-grid” is depicted as a self-sufficient homestead, that produces its own power, and raises its own food, and the people living there are either retired or making a living from that off grid...
Feral pigs are running rampant around the Hawaiian islands these days. You see them on the side of the road, in backyards and sometimes even inside your living room! They dig through your garden and sometimes even threaten to attack. ...
Starfruit is one of my favorite fruit trees to grow because it is one of the fastest growing tropical fruit trees. In approximately 30 months (or less, if you’re lucky!) you can be harvesting starfruit from a tree you grew from a seed. It’s easy to...
Folks living off grid should definitely be collecting rainwater. Even if you live in dry climates, harvesting rainwater should be done. Rainwater can be used for a multitude of things: the garden, livestock, flushing the toilet, and more. However, untreated and...
When you think of growing food in Hawaii, many people imagine pineapples, papayas, and mangoes. However, Hawaii can support a huge variety of crops because of its many microclimates. In a few of those microclimates, you can find cool-season crops such as...
If you live in Hawaii, then you’ve probably seen the evergreen bushes with white blossoms, and you’ve likely seen these tiny ‘pumpkin shaped’ sweet-and-sour tasting fruits. These small red fruits go by many names: Pitanga, Pumpkin Cherries,...
There was a time when using a generator with a washing machine was nearly out of the question, simply because older model washing machines pulled so much wattage that it wasn’t really worth it. But, nowadays, washing machines are much more efficient and are...
Homesteadin’ in the Tropics, huh? But what if you want to grow something that isn’t a tropical fruit or vegetable? What if you just want a salad with lettuce from your own backyard? There’s good news – you can grow lettuce in...
If you like the taste of fresh, juicy lychee fruit, you should probably be growing a tree of your own. The good news is, it’s pretty easy to grow a lychee tree from seed. The bad news is it takes a long time for these trees to grow and bear fruit. Air layering...
