Early Pruning to Start the Year
As one year ends and a new year begins so does the cycle here on the farm. The 2019 harvest is complete which means the planning and work for upcoming harvests has to start. Proper pruning of the coffee trees is essential not only for coffee production but also the long term health of the trees. Like a vineyard, the branches where the coffee cherries grow needs to be cut back to the main trunk of the tree about every five years.
Once new growth (known as a “vertical”) begins, it takes about two years before coffee cherries emerge. Then there is about three years of production before we cut the vertical back again. Each tree trunk will have multiple verticals growing from them. The number of verticals depending on the size of the trunk. It is important to plan this out properly so that we don't end up with too small of a harvest but also that the trees don’t produce too many coffee cherries. A beautiful aspect of the coffee tree is that it will give all of it's energy to ensure the next generation of trees will go on by ensuring all of the cherries will ripen. Even if it means the tree itself will die. By pruning the trees we are doing our part to help the trees live long lives. Because of the pruning though, we know next year’s coffee harvest will be smaller than this year’s but we should have a much larger harvest in two years.
The Only Thing Constant is Change
There have been some changes happening at the farm we wanted to update everyone on too. Visitors who have been here before will notice we now have a parking lot, new signage and fencing around the almost the entire property. There is more work to be done so please excuse our appearance while we continue to make improvements on the farm.
For our online visitors, obviously the change from our old website (princessradhafarm.com) to our new HawaiianManaFarm.com site has been the big change. We intend to create content on the site with posts about crop progress, farm life and more so please be sure to check back often.
Perhaps the biggest change has been that, Yoko, who took over this farm with her late husband Page in 2006, has been joined by Shinobu and David to help with all aspects of running the farm.
As part of this new beginning, we decided to change our name. “Mana” in the native Hawaiian language means a divine power. Our name, “Hawaiian Mana Farm” refers to the magnificent natural environment here and how it is powered by the Pacific trade winds and the world’s most active volcano, Kilauea.
Everything needed for life is given to us by nature here. This is what we want to share. The pure and unaltered taste of the land. It is what the power of nature, the Mana of Hawaii created.
From all of us here, we wish everyone the best in 2020 and beyond!