Maui

First at Ho’okipa On through Pineapple country to the Lavender Farm for Tea and scones. This lovely unique geranium … And the beautiful Mercedes of AKLMaui   Then Ulupalakua, Maui’s Winery, and lunch at Kula Country Farms…   Another gorgeous, ever changing day, from bright sunshine with big puffy clouds to big grey clouds and impending rain. Love Maui.   ~ Marilyn   808 283-9131 808 280-1621   Marilyn Jansen Lopes http://Mauicountryfarmtours.com

This weekend was the Ka’anapali Fresh “a culinary experience” an event featuring the Chefs, Farmers, creative Mixologists, with music performances Saturday by Makana and Spyro Gyro and Sunday by Third Eye Blind. My weekend began at the Westin Villas where we checked in for two nights and prepared for our Ag-Tour of Kaanapali Coffee Estate in the morning. Here’s my husband Ricky with Akina Tours Bus driver, Herman, who did a wonderful job transporting our group of nearly fifty passengers. Shelley Kekuna (above with me) is the executive director of Kaanapali Resorts. Shelley created this event along with her superb event planner Toni Rojas of Sterling Performance Company. That’s James “Kimo” Falconer on the right. It was great to meet Kimo and learn more about the coffee farm he revived and how we’re making history on Maui in Kaanapali with…

The famed Maui Mokka, Red Catuai (Cat-Y-ee), and Yellow Caturra We’ll be sampling these coffee cherries on the farm tour at K`aanapali Fresh “A Culinary Experience” Saturday September 1, 9 AM- 12PM I’ll be giving the history of coffee from its origin in Ethiopia and migration to Yemen where it was first cultivated over a thousand years ago. Do you know how coffee was discovered?   That’s Jeff Ferguson above pictured next to a coffee harvester. It’s amazing how the rods spin among the coffee branches to shake the cherries loose where they fall into a hopper and an elevator takes them to the top to be transported by trailer to the mill. It’s an amazing story of betrayal, love and legends that have been made about whole crops being destroyed and a single plant creating the future plants of…

Getting ready to share Kaanapali’s Agricultural Beauty at #KFreshMaui on Saturday, September 1, 2012 9-Noon We’re hosting the Farm tour for 50 people, mostly media persons who have come to write about the Ka’anapali Fresh Culinary Event. James “Kimo” Falconer is responsible for resurrecting the farm and establishing the brand “MauiGrown Coffee” in 2003. He’ll be on the farm to meet everyone on the tour. Can’t wait to get Into the field and see the coffee trees ripe for harvest. We’ll be sampling coffee cherries in the Maui Mokka section of the Kaanapali Coffee Estates. Maui Mokka is gaining world wide recognition. These are coffees packaged and ready to ship at the MauiGrown Coffee Company Store in Lahaina by the famous Old Pioneer Mill Smokestack. There are four types of coffee grown on the 500 acre coffee estate. Red Catuai,…

Some of my favorite flowers to grow are cosmos, hollyhocks and zinnias. It’s amazing the different types of flowers that can be grown on Maui. Of course we have thousands of orchid varieties in Hawaii, but old fashioned favorites can thrive here too. I love my hollyhocks and they do fine Up-Country on Maui. Zinnias love it too. Kula residents will tell you how nasturtiums and cosmos thrive… And of course the amazing Proteas which are native to South Africa and Australia took to the slopes of Hakeakala between two thousand and four thousand foot elevations on the south west facing slopes. Lavender is the big surprise and wonderful addition to our island as it is sustainable and suitable to the dry land of Kula, Maui.

Some days we just can’t stop admiring the flowers on Maui… Big Pink Hibiscus Mandevilla vine at Ali’i Kula Lavender Dahlias Dahlias Dahlias Love dahlias… These were on a private farm we visited. There are many dahlias planted at Kula Country Farms throughout the herb and vegetable beds. If you love flowers we can plan a special tour specifically related to flowers like lavender, proteas, orchids, tuber rose, tropical flowers and Native Plants of Hawaii… Flowers, maui breezes and country farms Calm me… Call me anytime to talk about a personalized tour for you. ~ Marilyn 808 283-9131 808 280-1621 Marilyn Jansen Lopes http://Mauicountryfarmtours.com

The first Maui Coffee Festival will take place this Saturday at The Shops at Wailea. The Maui Coffee Association together with the Maui County Farm Bureau have been planning this event for months. Greg Stille, president of the Maui Coffee Association and president of the Hawaii Coffee Association says there will be tents near the…

As a self-taught gardener I learned by experience that any soil can be improved. The secret is to amend… amend… amend… I learned that early from reading Organic Gardening magazines in 1978. I also learned that it was possible to garden without poisons or fertilizers. When someone tells me they have clay soil, sandy soil or rocky soil, I can tell you that I’ve seen it all. I’m not a Master Gardener but I know how to plant and to be a good gardener you must start with the soil. No matter what type of dirt I’ve encountered, by adding compost, mixing potting soils or top soils to the existing soil helped me achieve a rich loamy medium in which to plant. My compost piles have always been created by digging a hole one foot deep and three feet wide….

In Hawaii there’s perfect weather year round and the seasons are subtle but we do have changes in our climate. There’s rain and drought. Hawaiians planted uala (sweet potatoes) and dry land taro root in Kula (dry land). Protea and lavender tolerate dry land well making them sustainable. Native plants survived without human intervention for thousands of years. The worst thing we can do is over water them. My orchids thrive in Maui Uplands where the climate is semi-wet semi-dry. We’re right in the middle where the land changes from green, to dry in Pukalani. It’s perfect because I have lush vegetation and it’s not too wet. We do water periodically but most of my plants I deep water once a week. I feed my orchids every few months. My cattalayas… My Bibb lettuce crop was harvested in June, now…

One of our largest group tours was this private tour with fifteen passengers who arrived on Maui via Carnival Cruise. You never know what to expect so you have to be ready for anything. Two of the guests were slightly handicapped. One gentleman had fallen on his face during rough waters on the cruise ship. Another lady had swollen legs due to her medical condition so at the Lavender Farm they were kind enough to transport these two via the gator to our luncheon area down off the lower walking tour trail. This was no problem for us. Rick loves taking care of elderly folks and I’m an RN with 16 years experience. Though I’m only practicing once a year now doing Flu shot clinics, my background is in Emergency Room and family practice. My last position was at Hana…