The Greenhouse...
Built with all cedar construction the 48 foot by 96 foot greenhouse has Filon roofing and screen and Filon siding.
(Note: Photo (at left) taken at an earlier time when in production.)
Greenhouse is used mostly for shop/storage at present and needs some cleaning out. Note: Greenhouse screen was replaced in January 2007.
Solar Electric Power System...
Main House Power is collected from 8 64 watt Uni-Solar Panels on the roof of the house
, then goes thru a Trace C40 40 amp 3 stage charge controller and on to the battery bank (Currently 4- L16 6 volt batteries- good enough for 1 or 2 people, more batteries should be added for more people.) In the house there is a Trace C40 DVM remote display that shows current, watts & voltage and amp hours. 110 AC current is delivered to the house by a 2,500 watt Trace SW 2512 Inverter/Charger.
A 10KW single cylinder China diesel generator (in cinderblock house) provides
extra power for doing laundry and battery charging in cloudy weather. Fuel is stored in a 400+ gallon steel tank. See photo at right.
When generator is running the inverter is "bypassed" while batteries are charged. To prevent damage to computer & office equipment during charging, a 600 watt Trace 612 inverter supplies constant power to outlets in the office. A Remote On/Off switch for the office inverter is located in the Master Bedroom.
There are some 12DC lights and outlets in the house, in case of inverter failure.
About our agricultural practices...
We prefer to grow as naturally and organically as possible. To that end we do not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides. That is the easy part! Weed control in Hawaii is another situation entirely. We have sheep that graze some orchard areas and use mowing and weedeater to cut what they don't eat. We also cut and pull weeds as we can find the time and or manpower to do so. But, alas, we are forced to periodically spray Round-up on weeds we either can't mow or otherwise get to, such as driveway margins, fence lines and under trees. When we do spray, we use one half dose of Roundup and add humic acid that compensates naturally for the weaker solution by increasing plant uptake. The humic acid in the soil then helps the tree crops uptake minerals.
We love our sheep...
At the present time we have thinned our flock down to adult six sheep and three ewe lambs. They are all hair sheep of the Saint Croix and Barbados varieties. The flock can double every six months. As it grows too large we sell them off and occasionally butcher one for eating.
Pictured in photo at right are the adults (Left to right): (Front Row) Isabel, Holly B, (middle) Harmony, (rear) Joseph, Hot Chocolate and Heidi.
In Hawaii worms are a constant problem. We keep them worm free by putting food grade diatomaceous earth in a treat of whole corn 
and soybeans which we give them every day or two.
Our "upper field" is divided with cross fencing into four half acre paddocks so the sheep can be rotated for grazing.
Newest Arrival: February 2008- Holly's baby girl.
Chickens and Ducks...
Currently we have a flock of 20 chickens of about a half dozen breeds, brown or colored egg layers. They have free range of
the citrus orchard. Their eggs are excellent and any we don't eat the health food store pays $3. a dozen for. We do not use anti-biotics, but put H2o2 in their water to prevent disease. The ducks share the same area and also have a 40 x 50 foot pond to swim on.
Water Supply...
The Farm has three water tanks. The two shown at right total 20,000 gals. and are fed from the 4,600 sf green house roof & the 800 sf tank roof.
When full the over-flow goes to the pond (above). The tank at left holds 8,000 gals. & is fed by the house roof. Rainfall averages 50 to 60 inches, evenly spread throughout the year. So, an irrigation system is not needed for the established orchards.
Due to the ongoing volcanic eruption, the rainfall at The Farm is acidic. This is great for plants and showering, but to stay healthy a body needs alkaline water for drinking. Our drinking water filtration System provides for this. After going through a screen filter, a sediment filter, a carbon filter and a UV light (to remove pathogens) the water runs through a MacClean Alkalizing Up-flo tank (see photo above left), where it passes through a medium of alkaline minerals, picking up the minerals missing from the rainwater. The drinking water ph thus changes from an acidic 4 to an alkaline 8 or 9.
Macadamia Nut Orchard...
The property includes a 2 1/2 acre mature producing macadamia nut orchard with approximately 230 trees... (In addition to the 20 mac nut trees located elsewhere on the farm.)
It also has a large building pad for an additional dwelling and shop/barn...
There is also a 1.2 acre partially developed private campground with 13 campsites, all mowable and park like...
This area also has a shed that could be used as a camp office. (Driveway through campground shown at left.)
Surrounding this "campground" area are approximately 5 additional acres of untouched native ohia-fern forest.
copyright 2008 - Hawaiian Country, Ltd.