cheson74

I started this garden back in December and it looked like the photo below. I had 3 plots that looked the same.



My cousin knows one of the zoo keepers at Honolulu Zoo. They keep about 6 piles of zoo compost which is turned weekly. After 5-6 pickup loads of compost later, the garden was ready for planting. Zoo dung is amazing! This is the initial planting of the one plot:



6 months later, the rest looks like this:



In the one plot, I have taro growing.



Other random bananas and plants:

Lilikoi, Kale and Lemongrass



Heliconia Lobster Claw and Tapioca



Dwarf Namwah, Gingers and Plumerias



Williams Hybrid planted 3 months ago and today



Super Dwarf Cavendish planted a month ago



Yug (member on this site) donated a nice size Dwarf Brazilian pup. It was about 4.5 ft pstem height and now has about 10 feet of pstem. I placed a little bottle of Cutter Mosquito Repellent at the base of the pstem for size reference.



Luckily, there was a Samoan Mountain Apple tree, tangerine tree, mango tree and guava tree at the site. Here's the Samoan Mountain Apple tree and guava



Thanks for looking. I still have a lot of work to do before I'll be happy with the garden.

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Iunepeace

Everything looks incredible cheson74! Keep up the awesome gardening

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cheson74

Thanks! Lots of sweat but it's starting to pay off.

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Iunepeace

That's gardening for ya'. Can I ask how you apply the zoo compost to the plots, and about growing taro? I bought some roots from the store a while back but am not sure how to grow them

Thanks in advance!

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cheson74

If it's all the dung and plant matter is already composted, you just mix it in with the soil. If it's fresh and the plot is empty, you can apply it to the soil and let it sit for a month or 2 depending on how hot and how much sun the area gets. Then you can plant.

As far as planting taro, you can just plant it on it's side and nature will take it's course. They are very easy to grow as long as they get lots of water.

If you're planting for a harvest, it'll take about 6 months. You'll notice the leaves turning yellow.

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Iunepeace

Thanks for the informative reply! I got some horse manure from a stable a few weeks ago, and was a bit concerned about applying it fresh to my bananas (which I've heard can take pretty strong feeding) so I've been letting it sit all this time.

I definitely won't be here to harvest the taro since it takes that long (unless it's ready in December) but I'll get started with that; they make beautiful plants. Do you have to water it everyday?

Thanks again

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cheson74

Yes I water the taro daily. Don't let them dry out. If you live in a tropical environment, the leaves will eventually turn yellow once the plant reaches maturity but you can replant the new bulbs. You'll have plenty once you yank the taro up.

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Iunepeace

Good to know. Hopefully if I mulch them deeply I can get away with watering them less than daily. I think the Bahamas is pretty much the same tropical-wise compared to Hawaii, so they should turn yellow once they mature here too. What type of harvest bulbwise is common?

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