Who Let the Dogs Out?

by Glenn I. Teves, Puakala Farms Molokai

We are in the midst of the dog days of summer, and even the dogs have a difficult time with this extreme heat. Climate change is upon us with erratic weather, drought, and high temperatures. On Molokai, it’s difficult to be out in the garden or farm except in the early morning and late afternoon with this extreme weather.

The ‘dog days of summer’ is the period from July 3 to August 11 each year, when the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is present. Part of the constellation Canis Major, it rises with the sun during this period. Sirius means scorching and Canis is the Latin name or genus for the dog. Ancient peoples viewed this as a time of drought, disease, and unrest, and it’s funny how history repeats itself.

We’re in the heat of summer although the nights are starting to cool off with plants responding to this small change. The weather will change for the better as the days get shorter. Some of us may not see this yet, but the weather will get cooler especially starting with our nights. However, our weather is so diverse in Hawai'i that the weather service is hard pressed to get things right for each locale.

The autumn Equinox, September 21 signals the shorter days and longer nights. Our autumns are not as dramatic as temperate climes, but our plants and soil will respond from lower temperatures while some plants will be in their ‘zone’.

This is especially true for the leafy vegetables, including lettuces and mustards. To get a jump on the upcoming season, the time to plant is now! It will be a bit of a rough start for many of these seedlings but the season will only get better and line them up for harvest in a cool season when their taste will be excellent.

Once we get into the thick of autumn, overcast skies, shortened days, and cooler weather will slow plant growth dramatically to the point where plants seem to be sitting there doing nothing. Aside from lettuces, leafies that love this season include the Asian mustards pak choy, komatsuna, kai choy, won bok, choy sum, and kai lan. Other autumn lovers include head cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and kale.

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Another group that enjoys this season are the roots; carrots, beets, radish and daikon. All of them will thrive in this quarter of the year and even into the next season until we get hot again in May and June. And we cannot forget the legumes, beans and peas. The cooler weather is favorable for the growth of pole beans, snow and snap peas, and even garden peas, a crop I’m getting excited about. Having fresh beans can brighten up a salad, a soup, or a casserole.

Short-day bulb onions will respond by starting their vegetative journey before bulbing with the shortened days, and September is the earliest time to sow short-day onion seeds. You can plant every month until March and most will mature in 4 months. The challenge is to harvest during dry weather to minimize stem rots.

With all the challenges of the world, climatic and otherwise, a garden or farm will not only bring peace to your life, but also healthy and clean food. With the recent food-borne organisms and no clear source of some of these outbreaks, it’s important to eat locally grown vegetables, and how local can you get than from your garden or farm. Reap the harvest by putting in the effort now. If you don’t plant, you cannot harvest, clear and simple as that. Now is the time to get your fingers in the soil!

Aloha,

Glenn I. Teves, Puakala Farms Molokai