Maui

Sights and Scents of Maui Maui is the most visually beautiful place The air is sensual and stimulating too Exotic flowers reach out to us to touch them. Some are soft, some fragrant, others vibrant with color and strong waxy tropical stems. Delicate plumeria fall around us waiting to be plucked and placed behind an ear. Gentle breezes draw us to the sea… The waves so relaxing to the eye, the color blue a healing touch to the spirit. Proteas from South Africa and Australia thrive on the South West slopes of Haleakala between two and four thousand feet… This island makes us feel at home… We are all from places far far away settled on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by beauty. We must use every resource with care and ingenuity preparing for the…

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

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…

Photos are c/o Maui Coffee Association… 2012 first place winner of the Hawaii Coffee Association recent cupping competition was Tambra Gardens Kula Beans. See the full gallery on Posterous Greg and Susy Stille of Piliani Kope Coffee Farm in Launiupoko, Maui. Greg is President of the Maui Coffee Association and recently elected as President of the Hawaii Coffee Association. All the top growers on Maui were there in Wailea for the first Maui Coffee Festival August 4, 2012. Greg said they had a fabulous turn out and everyone had great sales. So that’s terrific. Maui Coffee Association is hoping to do events monthly involving students, chefs, pastry chefs, bringing Grown on Maui Coffees to the world.   Stayed tuned for Kaanapali Fresh August 31- September 3rd, 2012 Check out the schedule for all the farm-to-table events.     Marilyn Jansen…

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….

What a happy sight to see gorgeous flowers, sweeping vistas, blue blue ocean from grassy, green pastures high on the slopes of Haleakala. I smile when I look at this bouquet of lavender at Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. Our guests from all over the world love nature and how the beauty of the land restores the soul and spirit. Maui has such diversity that not everyone knows… We love to travel off the beaten path to the small towns and back roads of Up Country as well as the farms that are well known. It brings the country to life. We see fields of cabbage, lettuces, kale, onions, strawberries and lavender,while recollecting on the old days of Maui and what life was like growing up in the sixties. My husband Ricky is Portuguese and his ancestors arrived on…

A tour of the Lavender Farm in Kula, Maui is an agricultural adventure. In summer, as you approach the entrance, you begin to see thousands of grey mounds with purple stems bursting to the sky. Upon close observation you’ll see over 45 varieties of English, Spanish and French Lavender. Sweet English lavender has the long beautiful stems. French Lavender can be identified by the serrated leaf or French Braid like leaves. Spanish lavender has a peppery scent and buds shaped like pineapples or two bunny ears… The French varieties are most often used in culinary preparations. Lavender comes from the French word “lavage” and was used by royalty in ancient times to bathe. Hence, the lavender gives a sweet smelling scent to the bath and has many wonderful properties for the skin. It is a natural bug repellant, an antiseptic,…

As you can see, our celebration of Pies at Kula Country Farms was very popular… There were even more pies to follow these beauties. I was hoping for more pizzas and again didn’t get a chance to taste this one by @daniakatz because it’s difficult to eat that much pie! But it’s fun to see it all come together with everyone in their country spirit on Maui. There were some gorgeous two crust pies that I didn’t get close ups on, darn… it happens so fast with guests arriving… Putting out pies… Meeting, greeting, hugs, photos, talking story and all on a beautiful mountain farm overlooking the sea… look at these local strawberries from Kula Country Farms… @daniaedibleHI is responsible for putting the #MauiPie TweetUp together with Teena Monden of Kula County Farms here. I helped to tweet it and…

Philadelphia Flower Show  Big things are happening for Ag-Tourism at this very moment. Did you hear about the largest flower show in North America happening right now in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Its the Philadelphia Flower Show and the theme is Hawaii. The Maui Visitor’s Bureau arranged for over a dozen booths to share the Aloha to an expected 300,000 visitors over nine days at this huge event. Our Dania…