First Ulu (breadfruit) tree

To the right is our low budget water catchment system and our first delivery of organic manure. The first trees and plants are finding new homes. Included in the first round of planting was; ulu (breadfruit) with uala (sweet red potato). Other trees and plants added nearby were; Rollinia deliciosa, figs, mulberry, mamey apple, mentholatum, cassava (tapioca) and lemongrass.

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Jeffrey looks over at the first 'ulu, the breadfruit tree, Artocarpus altilis, that he planted on Monday. Ulu is a particularly good selection to choose when thinking of survival. Ulu is one of the highest yielding food plants known. A single plant can produce up to 800 or more fruits per season. There are many delicious ways to prepare breadfruit. Breadfruit is an important source of carbohydrates, protein and minerals. If you had only one tree to plant this would be a good choice. In ancient times, a child was given a tree at birth, and it was believed this would keep that child fed for life. Here is a fun link to Hawaiian myth and legend about the 'ulu tree http://www2.hawaii.edu/~neprice/hawaii/plants/myths.html . At the foot of the ulu tree sweet potatoe vines were placed to root in and help nourish the young tree.

Starting with Sickles

The first purchase for Fieldhouse Farm was two sickles for use by the permaculture masters, Jeffrey and Danielle who will begin the first steps of creating the farm by cutting back the tall grasses to clear the land and to create soil from the grasses. One of the most interesting things about this project is that we are growing on a young forest with little to no soil. This is where the expertise of permaculture comes in and where it really gets interesting (stay tuned for the creative ways in which a lava rock field becomes rich fertile ground. Also learn why we love weeds) The next purchase will be a large two wheeled wheelbarrow (yellow of course). The initial use will be to collect lava rocks with which we can build our planting beds.

September 27, 2009 Fieldhouse Farm started

On September 27, 2009 Elizabeth Fenton Lochner submitted Fieldhouse Farm to be founded as an Hawaiian business on the Big Island in Puna, HI. The Farm is located in Fern Forest on Kokokahi Street. The vision for the Farm will be to provide an example of sustainable living and healing with whole foods and plants. In the future the farm will be open for health and spiritual retreats on a donation basis. We will also sell our produce at local Farmers Markets.