Hawaii mostly has a warm and humid tropical climate ☀️, which makes it an ideal place for year-round gardening. Yes, you heard that right, we can garden all year long! With temperatures that can range from 65 to 85°F (around 1000’ elevation), and an abundant supply of sunshine 🌞, it's possible to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year.
In addition to the warm climate, the volcanic soil on the Islands is rich in nutrients 🌋, which makes it ideal for growing crops. The island also has a diverse range of microclimates due to its varied topography and elevation ⛰️, which means that different areas of the island can have different growing seasons, which can extend the overall growing season for the island as a whole.
Some crops that can be grown on the Islands year-round include bananas 🍌, papayas 🍈, avocados 🥑, and citrus fruits 🍊. Other crops that can be grown throughout the year include vegetables like tomatoes 🍅, peppers 🌶️, lettuce 🥬, and cucumbers 🥒. In our garden we grow strawberries, potatoes, green beans, snap peas, watermelon, cantaloupe and more! We have grown and harvested snap peas in 40 days where on the mainland, the same variety took 70 days!
However, it's important to note that elevation can also impact the types of crops that can be grown. Higher elevations can have cooler temperatures and more rainfall, which can affect the growing season and types of crops that thrive 🌧️. For example, crops like coconuts, mangoes and macadamia nuts 🌰 are typically grown at lower elevations. Adequate rainfall or the availability of a good water supply is also very dependent on the location and can affect your success.
Winds on the island can also affect your crops by blowing off flowers or fruits that have not ripened. Nothing is worse than getting so close to harvest and then have a wind knock everything to the ground. This happened to us last year but thankfully the mangoes were close enough to ready and we were still able to enjoy them!
Overall, gardening in Hawaii can be a rewarding experience with a wide variety of crops that can be grown year-round.🌱. It’s amazing to us that you can start vegetables almost any time of the year and not have to worry when the first or last frost is going to be!
If you’d like more information about the crops we grow, or where to grow them, please reach out to Teena at 808-400-0643.