Kalo Trench, Not Loʻi

I don't really have a loʻi, just a trench that gets water when the washing machine drains. Though I did find out today that the pipe also carries water from the laundry sink in the garage; I had planned to turn the water on in the laundry sink a couple times a week during the summer when we have very little rain. But then I discovered the water from the shower in the garage also drains out to the trench through that same pipe! So the kalo will get watered every evening when I take a shower. Now I have to refine the elevation of the trench so water easily flows along the entire length of the trench. On the plus side, having an intermittently watered trench & not a loʻi means I am not creating another place for mosquitos to breed!

Before I discovered both the laundry sink & the garage shower drain to the kalo trench, I had thought about asking Chris to hook up the rain gutter I want him to install over the new stairs to the washing machine drain pipe so that rain from that section of roof would also water the kalo. I am on the fence about it now. On the one hand, knowing that my nightly shower will provide water is encouraging; on the other hand, if I am not on-island during the summer, there might not be any water for a week or 2 in the dry season. Although the Bun Long kalo survived for over 20 years without additional water or human intervention, they were very small & struggling to survive when I found them. If I have the rain gutter hooked up it will give the kalo a better chance at thriving when no one is living at the house.

Another thing I now need to do is put up a sign by the laundry sink to stop anyone from dumping chemicals down that drain since it will go directly to the kalo & may kill them. And if it doesn't kill them, the chemicals might be taken up by the plants & make them inedible. I also have to check my bath products in the garage shower & have only biodegradable, environmentally friendly products to be used in there. I already use an environmentally friendly laundry detergent since I knew years ago that the water drained out to the lawn area.

I placed some rocks right at the outflow of the drain pipe. Over the next couple of weeks, after Fred is done with that portion of cat fence, I will be planting mondo grass starts along the pipe so Emily won't have to mow over the top of it. I will also plant mondo grass between the pipe & the cat fence to keep weeds out. I have a hydrangea start I also want to put between the trench & the cat fence; Aunty Maile uses their flowers for making lei pāpale.

Potted hydrangea plant growing through the weeds.

Besides Bun Long, I also have the native kalo variety Moi. I need to do more research to see whether one prefers more water than the other; then plant that one closer to the end of the drain pipe. If they do equally well with drier conditions, then its a toss up which end of the trench they should go on. 

Moi (L) and Bun Long.

I will definitely be planting the native sedge ʻahuʻawa near the end of the drain pipe on the house-side of the trench. It will help mark the point where the pipe enters the trench.

Cyperus javanicus

The remains of the chip pile at the end of the trench needs to be spread out along the rock wall. From December through April the ʻolena is usually dormant; during this period I will be moving some of the 'olena that currently sticks out in to the lawn back over by the fence. I'm trying to make it easier for Emily to mow my lawn.

While working in the yard today, I found some interesting looking mushrooms growing where the old macadamia nut stump was. They appear to be the Elegant Stinkhorn which grows on Hawaiʻi Island. I did not smell anything, but I also did not get down close enough to it to see if it had a smell. You know, ʻcause "stink" horn might be a clue.

Mutinus elegans

It also looks like some pōpolo are growing on the other side of the fence in the pasture. I feel like they used to be more common when I was a kid. But maybe it is because I have not been around untended places where they like to grow as often as I was when I was a kid. They certainly seem to be all over the pasture now that the cattle are not up in this section of the pasture. (The last portion along the roadside is still unfenced.)

Solanum americanum

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Terry & Roy! A me ka Hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana e all who participated in the Honolulu Marathon today! My friend Becky & her son Ian ran it & finished in 6:55:10. The Bronco Dude & The Most Excellent Cook walked it & finished in 8:07:59.  

Ian & Becky at the finish line. (Photo by Boyd)