Mala Menehune is a serial posting covering ancient hawaiian gardening tips for the modern urbane gardener.
Planting under the Kaloakukahi Moon
Night 24 falling in the third anahulu of the monthly Mahina moon cycle would be a time when ancient Hawaiians would have preferred to plant plantings with long stems, long vines or long leaves, such as the mai'a(banana), ko(hawaiian sugar cane), wauke(paper mulberry) for kapa cloth, 'ohe(bamboo) and hala(pandanus) for weaving. These plants were all important staples of Ancient Hawaiian life, and are handy garden plants in modern times.
If you are new to gardening in Hawai'i and have discovered that it's more challenging than first anticipated, here is a serial post where we cover some ancient Hawaiian Gardening ideas that can transform your mala from blah to bountiful.
Hawaiians have used the 29.5-day cycles of mahina (the moon) to determine tides and fishing conditions, and when to plant crops. Each lunar month consisted of 29 and sometimes 30 recurring nightly phases of the moon. The Hawaiian moon cycle is divided into three anahulu (10-day weeks). The first night of the cycle is the night after the new moon.
Becoming a successful gardener in Hawai'i is understanding that indigenous and naturalized plants fair much better than imported varieties. Water, light cycles, humidity, pests, elevation, soil acidity and alkalinity, as well as proximity to the ocean all play a role in where, how and what you can successfully plant in your mala or garden plot in Hawai'i.
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