Pictured above is Brian Otani from Brian Otani Farms in Kula. He has in his hand some beautiful colored carrots just pulled out from the garden. This was the first farm stop this morning. We first stopped at VIP, Valley Isle Produce, and had a tour of the facilities. Paula, Brians sister, then took us on a five farm tour. In addition to carrots, there's kale, broccolli, beans, beets, and hopefully some potatoes in the future.
Today was a really surprising and great day. Besides meeting the farmers personally and getting onto the farms, I realized how much Maui has in terms of vegetables. I was asking for the basics: onion, carrots celery, broccolli, cauliflower, zuchini, and yellow squash. However, besides cauliflower, (I heard they grow celery but didnt see it), they had it all ---- and a lot more.
Pictured above is Waipoli Farms and their hydroponics here. We get our watercress and baby romaine for Amasia and we get the kula baby romaine for King St from here. Technology, computers, and science are at work here, and immaculately so. I have an appreciation for this, as I have been on many farms and have seen the successful ones and the not so successful ones. Today, farmers need to know a lot more than before to stay in business, grow, and thrive. This operation is a successful one and will be for a long time. Wonderful lettuces.
This is Chauncey Monden. Here at Kula Country Farms they grow Kula strawberries, pumpkins, kabocha, japanese and korean daikon, asparagus, kula corn, squash, and then some.
Here at Culinary Herbs Farm, you can find sorrel, laurel leaves, kaffir , surinam cherries, mulberries, savory, lemongrass, garlic chives, beets, chard, achiote, loquat, kumquats, pomegranates, lilikoi, avocado, fennel, chervil, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, allspice, dill, thai basil, cilantro, and then some.