What Eats Spinach in Hawaii, and When
In Hawaii’s lowland gardens, spinach faces aphids, beet armyworm, Chinese rose beetle, leafminers, mites, and whiteflies, the sap-suckers and…
Gardening in Hawaii
Everything we have worked out for Hawaii: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Honolulu, the last spring freeze falls around no freeze occurs in inhabited areas and the first fall freeze falls around no freeze occurs in inhabited areas, USDA zones 9a-13a, 9,934 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Hawaii: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
What Eats Onion in Hawaii, and When
University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension documents eight pests that show up on onion-family crops across the islands, but only six of them actually feed on…
What Eats Corn in Hawaii, and When
In lowland Hawaii, the calendar that decides when a pest shows up isn’t built on frost dates, because there aren’t any.
What Eats Pumpkin in Hawaii, and When
University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension documents eight insect pests on garden crops statewide, but only some of them are actually recorded as pumpkin…
What Eats Potato in Hawaii, and When
University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension documents eight pests on vegetable crops in the islands, but only some of them actually feed on potato.
What Eats Parsnip in Hawaii, and When
Only a short list of insects, aphids, whiteflies, and leafminers among them, actually attacks parsnip foliage in Hawaii’s frost-free gardens.
What Eats Carrot in Hawaii, and When
The University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension documents eight pests on garden and truck crops statewide, and six of them show up on carrot foliage at some…
What Eats Beet in Hawaii, and When
Only six of the eight pests the University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension documents for garden crops in the islands actually feed on beet.
What Eats Asparagus in Hawaii, and When
Eight species show up in University of Hawaii CTAHR Extension’s pest lists for garden vegetables statewide, and five of them have real business on an…
First and Last Frost Dates in Hawaii
There is no frost date for Hawaii because there is no frost season here, not in any yard, farm, or urban lot where people actually garden.