Growing Thai Red Roselle Hibiscus & Mint

Thai Red Roselle and Peppermint

Roselle is a type of hibiscus that's very easy to grow in Kihei. Roselle tea is popular in Florida, Jamaica, Mexico and Thailand. Roselle is one of the main ingredients in Red Zinger tea - it's also called Red Hibiscus or Florida Cranberry.

Roselle is commercially grown in sub-tropical and tropical areas of the world. In addition to being grown for tea and beverages, the plants are used for making rope, twine, baskets and a course fabric. There are different varieties of Roselle. If you live in Kihei I recommend growing "Thai Red Roselle".

In the sub-tropics, Thai Red Roselle is moderately sensitive to increasing and decreasing daylight but it can be grown year round. Regardless of the month it's planted, it will take close to 3 months before the plant begins to flower and produce calyxes. I've planted it at different times of the year and I think the best months to plant seeds are February through April. When planted in the spring, the plants grow larger, fuller and produce good size calyxes all summer long.

The calyxes should be cut when they're a bright, shiny cranberry red and about 1.5 to 2 inches long. If left on the branches too long, they begin to dry and turn a dull, dark red but these can be harvested for the seeds. The calyxes can be used fresh cut from the branches or dried. If you're growing Roselle for tea , after the calyxes are harvested the seed capsule should be removed.

Fresh Roselle can be chopped and added to salads or ground in a food grinder and made into chutney or marmalade. Fresh or dried Roselle can be used for making tea - it has a citrus like flavor and it's a good source of vitamin C.

In Early July

At 3 months - growing in a container

I've grown Thai Red Roselle in the ground and in containers - it grows into a large bush - up to 5 ft. tall and 5 ft. wide. The plant above was grown from seed that was planted during the first week of April and is growing in a 20 gallon container. Roselle is a plant I've been able to grow successfully in the acidic Kihei soil but it does require a generous amount of compost and organic all-purpose fertilizer mixed into the soil in order to thrive.

In Early July

At 3 months - growing in the ground

Whether planted in a garden bed or planted in a container, I recommend adding a generous amount of an organic all-purpose fertilizer at least once per month. Mature plants require a significant amount of water in our hot, dry climate especially during the summer months.

The seeds that were planted in April produced an abundance of calyxes all summer long. By October there were significant changes as the plants began losing leaves and producing calyxes that were 50% smaller. These calyxes went to seed much faster than those produced during the summer.

In Late December

Looking Very Twiggy at 9 Months

In December, the plants began dying back. A 9 month growth cycle has been typical when planted in different months of the year.

In general, Thai Red Roselle is pretty hardy but it can be damaged by powdery mildew when there's a large presence of spores in the air. Sometimes the beetles (there are several including the rose beetle) eat holes in the leaves but they don't seem to bother the calyxes.

Roselle: It's Culture and Uses 

(published in 1907)

All About Roselle

Health Benefits of Roselle

The variety I grew successfully in Kihei was "Thai Red Roselle". I trialed another variety that was suppose to produce bigger plants with larger calyxes but it was evidently day length sensitive and by August hadn't produced any flowers. This variety grew very large plants, required a lot of water and became infested with white flies by late summer.

Thai Red Roselle seeds can be purchased from

Hawaii Seed Growers Network

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Recipes for Roselle

Aqua de Jamaica

Hibiscus Clove Cooler

Fermented Hibiscus & Ginger Tea

Hibiscus & Minty Watermelon Popsicles

Mulled Apple Cider with Cayenne and Hibiscus

Roselle Cheesecake

Rosella Recipes

A wonderful salt product:

Fleur de Sal con Hibiscus

And a home made version that works best with a finely ground salt:

Sea Salt with Dried Hibiscus Flowers

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm is a member of the mint family - it's easy to grow from seed in a container and can be grown all year. Like most mints, it's a perfect cut and come again plant. I normally don't let it grow tall enough to flower as I like to cut it and use it fresh to make sun tea. Lemon Balm seeds are widely available.

Arabian Mint

Arabian Mint is one of the mints I've grown from seed. It's a beautiful variety of mint and I use it when I cook Middle Eastern and Moroccan recipes. It has a spearmint flavor and it makes delicious Moroccan mint tea.

Mayan Mint

Peppermint

Orange Mint

Peppermint, Orange Mint, Chocolate Mint and Pineapple Mint can be grown from cuttings. They can also be purchased as seedling plants at local garden centers. I've not been successful at having peppermint seeds grow as true peppermint. So far, all the peppermint seeds I've trialed have grown spearmint flavored plants.

When planted in the ground or in a raised bed, mint is very invasive. Mint can be grown all year in Kihei but it germinates best from seed during the cooler months. Mints grow well in containers and can be grown as a cut and come again plant. I fertilize the mints with fish emulsion once a month.

Recipes for Mint:

Cucumber Lime Mint Fresca

Cucumber, Lemon & Mint Popsicle

Spring Green Smoothie

Chocolate - Mint - Green Tea Ice Cream

Roselle Sun Tea

I like to make sun tea with fresh or dried Roselle adding Lemon Balm, Orange Mint or Peppermint and fresh sliced ginger. Sometimes I add the dried peels I've save from my tangerine trees instead of ginger.

Pickleworms in Cucurbits

Large Holes in A Wilting Cucumber Vine

Pickleworms and melon fly larvae have similar characteristics and both go after the cucurbits. The melon flies stick the thin skins of the young fruit and deposit their eggs and the moths lay their eggs on the plants. I've found both types of larvae inside the fruit but the pickle worms also tunnel into the vines.

The section of cucumber vine above was wilting and when I looked closer I saw the holes where the larvae had tunneled inside.

A Pickleworm Inside the Vine

I broke this vine horizontally at the holes and tore it open vertically and found the pickleworm munching it's way down inside the vine. The small green pickleworm was about 3/4 inch long.

A Better Look at the Pickleworm

The green larvae were the most prevalent but I've found larvae that were translucent white with black spots and larvae that were reddish brown. With the exception of the coloration, the larvae had very similar characteristics.

There may be several moths responsible for these terrible pests. I've read that they have a preference for summer squash. In my garden, they seem to do the most damage to the zucchini - they actually massacre the blossoming portion of the plant.

Pickleworm Damage to a Young Squash

(A pickleworm is boring another hole in the blossom end)

Even though the squash above was covered by a paper bag, a pickleworm crawled down the vine and tunneled holes into the fruit.

Melon flies and pickleworms are a problem in Kihei predominately during the spring and summer. From April through September I put white paper lunch bags around the pollinated female cucurbits to protect the fruit. White and brown paper lunch bags are avalable at WalMart.

Bt and spinosad are recommended products to use for pickleworms in an organic garden. I haven't tried either product and I'm not convinced that Bt is truly safe.

Following is a link with additional information and product recommendations for pickleworms. http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-Show?cid=5293&utm_term=PDD

 If the pickleworms become a serious problem, parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers and zucchini can be grown under light row covers. These are F1 hybrid cucumber seeds that produce only female flowers and don't require pollination. These types of seeds are commonly grown in greenhouses. Johnny's Select Seeds offers a variety of parthenocarpic cucumber and zucchini seeds. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Mosaic Virus in Cucurbits

Mosaic Virus in a Marina di Chioggia Squash

Mosaic is a major problem in the summer months in Kihei. It's caused by aphids that feed on infected weeds. They fly around and spread the virus to other plants. If that's not bad enough,  the ever present Kihei ants, who eat the aphid honeydew, spread the virus even further.

In the summer, the surrounding areas become drier due to the higher temps, intense sun and little or no rainfall. As the weeds and wild plants dry out, aphids look for greener areas. That's why some sources on mosaic virus will recommend cutting back on the nitrogen in the summer months as a preventative.

Mosaic virus is another reason why February and March are good months to plant cucurbits. I've had the most problems with this virus during the summer months. It can spread rapidly throughout the garden and can infect tomatoes, peppers and beans.  

The classic symptoms in winter squash are the large areas of lighter green pigmentation in the leaves and leaves and fruit that are misshaped. The leaves and fruit develop normally on one side and appear stunted on the other side. If I were to let this squash grow, the right side will become twice the size of the left.

Emperuer Alexandre Cucumbers

The Fruit on the Right has Mosaic Virus

Cucumbers with mosaic virus have misshaped leaves, similar to winter squash, but the fruit develop abnormal pigmentation and dark green blisters.

It's best to pull the plants as soon as these characteristics appear. Dispose of the plants in the trash, don't put them in a compost bin. Make sure to clean any tools and wash your hands before working in your garden again. I watch the plants closely until I feel certain it's mosaic. I try not to over react, especially with the non-cucurbits, as discoloration in the leaves is normal here due to the heat.

 

In some cases, the main portion of the plant and the developing fruit are not infected, just a lateral vine. Lateral vines can usually be removed without damaging the plant. The bees can spread flower pollen from an infected vine to a female flower on a normal vine resulting in a deformed fruit. 

I leave little containers throughout my garden of sugar mixed with borate. This helps to cut back the ant population. The mixture can be left dry or mixed with water. Ants are smart so I do both as well as vary the ratio of water in the mixture.

A Pepper Plant Infested with Aphids and Mosaic Virus

The aphid population escalates during the summer months. I've found them to be difficult to control. The best beneficial insect for aphids is the lady bug but I rarely find them in my garden. I've tried many different OMRI garden sprays and so far none have made any significant difference.

Growing Onions in Kihei

White Bermuda and Texas Early Grano

In Kihei, bulbing onions are a cool season crop - their germination and growth are negatively affected by the heat. With the exception of White Bermuda, I plant bulbing onion seeds from November through January. White Bermuda is the most heat tolerant onion I've grown and I've planted seeds as early as October.

Short day onion seeds are recommended for Hawaii. I didn't have success with bulbing onions until I grew seeds that were short day. Not all onion seeds note the day length on the package or in the catalog. If you're not trialing seeds, I recommend planting only the seeds that are noted as short day.

Texas Early Grano  is one of the varieties that's grown in Kula for sweet Maui onions. White Bermuda is the super-star of all of the onions I've grown. It's just as sweet and delicious as a sweet Maui onion. Unfortunately, untreated White Bermuda seed is not always available online.

Red Creole

Violet de Galmi, Texas Early Grano,

White Bermuda and Red Burgundy

Red onions need our coolest weather to grow to a normal size. Some red onions are less heat tolerant than others - my best results have been with Red Creole and Red Burgundy.

Red Creole seeds are available from 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Sustainable Seed Company.

Most of the bulbing onions I've grown could be stored at room temperature for several months.

Pompei

 Pompei is a cipollini onion - they're small, flat and great for shish kebob 

but they weren't a storage onion.

White Bermuda

At 3 months

Onions take 4 to 5 months to grow from seed to maturity. They need full sun, daily water and twice monthly applications of fish emulsion or a monthly application of an organic all-purpose fertilizer. They grow well in containers with a soil depth of at least 7 inches.

Seedlings growing in half gallon size milk cartons.

I start onions in seedling pots rather than plant the seeds directly in the soil. I use a generous amount of seed and transplant the seedlings at 1 month. 

Prior to transplanting, I amend the soil with green sand and an organic all-purpose fertilizer. Container grown onions are seldom bothered by insects or moth larvae. The Kihei winter climate is hard on the green portion of the onions but as long as the bulbs are developing all is well.

Onion and leek seeds don't remain viable for very long, even when stored in the refrigerator. For best results, purchase fresh seeds prior to planting in the fall.

Sustainable Seed Company has a large selection of short day onion seeds.

According to their website, these onions are short day:

 Red Creole, Red Burgundy, Vidalia, Yellow Granex, Yellow Burmuda, White Bermuda, Crystal White Wax, Red Granex, Early Grano, Texas Grano, Torpedo Red

A CTAHR fact sheet on growing onions in Hawaii:

Onions - Bulb and Green Bunching

Maui Onions - a video

Citrus Pickled Onions

How to Slice Onions

Growing Cucumbers in Kihei

Japanese Climbing

Cucumbers will grow all year in the Kihei climate.

And, it's easy to get them to grow up a 6 foot trellis.

Marketmore

Japanese Climbing is the earliest cucumber I've grown and Marketmore is almost always a straight and picture perfect cucumber. Marketmore is promoted as being disease resistant but I haven't found it to be any more disease resistant than any of the others.

Suyo

The cucumber that was the most productive in the late fall and early winter months was Suyo, an Asian variety. The vines grew a good deal longer than regular salad cucumbers and seemed to be less sensitive to the diminishing daylight.

I've trailed a number of other Asian/Japanese cucumbers but it was too hot to grow them in Kihei, even during our cooler months. I plant Suyo exclusively from October through December as they've never failed to grow and produce beautiful fruit during the late fall and early winter.

Empereur Alexandre

Not all cucumber seeds will grow year round. Some varieties are much more sensitive to increasing and decreasing daylight. Empereur Alexandre seeds germinated but wouldn't grow during the late fall but grew prolifically when seeds were planted in the winter and early spring.

Cucumbers are very susceptible to the ever present powdery mildew in the air here. Even the varieties I've grown that were noted as resistant were affected.

Suyo

Melon fruit flies and pickleworms are a problem predominately during the spring and summer months. The melon flies don't bother the cucumbers as often as the melons and squash. I put white paper lunch bags around the pollinated females to protect the fruit. Wilted vines or leaves could be evidence of pickleworm activity as pickleworm larvae will tunnel into the vines as well as the fruit. For more information, see my post on Pickleworms.

Katrina

a parthenocarpic cucumber

If the melon fly larvae and pickleworms become a serious problem parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers can be grown under a light row cover. They're F1 hybrid cucumber seeds that produce only female flowers and don't require pollination. These types of cucumbers are seedless and are commonly grown in greenhouses. I also recommend these seeds if you don't have any bees or bees that that will pollinate cucumber flowers.

 Diva and Katrina are the only parthenocarpic seeds I've grown - they produce smooth, dark green fruit. These seeds are available from Johnny's Selected Seeds. Johnny's has a variety of parthenocarpic cucumber seeds available. I've also found Diva seeds on etsy and ebay.

Parisian Pickling

Cornichon is French for gherkin, a miniature cucumber that's used to make a small pickle that's very popular in France. The Parisian Pickling are the smallest cucumber I've grown and they can be used for this type of pickle.

The cucumbers in the photo are around 4 inches long but they can be cut from the vines when they're smaller. When harvested at 4 inches or less, they're seedless and crunchy and they make great pickles.

I plant cucumber seeds in regular or self-watering 15 inch containers. I amend the potting soil with n organic or natural all purpose fertilizer and add additional fertilizer twice per month. When the vines begin to grow the need for water increases significantly. In the summer, if you use self-watering containers, it's a good idea to check the reservoir twice per day.

Unfortunately, self-watering containers are an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes. To control this activity, I block the reservoir opening with a rolled up/compressed plastic bag.

Cucumbers are delicious when juiced. Sometimes I juice them with other vegetables like celery, carrots and tomatoes when I have an abundance of these vegetables in my garden. And of course they make wonderful pickles. 

A Quick Pickling Recipe
Daphne's Dill Pickles

Dr. Ben Kim's Cucumber Kim Chi
Fermented Pickles - Bread & Butter Pickles
French Cornichons

Most of these seeds, with the exception of Diva and Katrina, are available from

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange. Sometimes Baker Creek has parthenocarpic cucumber seeds - search "greenhouse cucumbers" on their site.

Etsy is also good source for reasonably priced heirloom seeds.

How to Store Cucumbers

Growing Eggplant in Kihei

Black Beauty

Eggplant, like tomatoes and peppers, will grow all year in most areas of Hawaii. In Kihei, the plants produce their best fruit in the winter and early spring when the nights are cooler and the daytime temps are in the 80's.

When planted in the ground or in a raise bed, depending on the variety, eggplant seedlings can grow to be a 3 ft x 3 ft bush. The plants can be pruned back periodically and will regrow. Sometimes the plant will produce for 2 to 3 years.

Rosa Bianca

I've been trialing heirloom eggplant seeds for the last 2 years and growing them in large self-watering containers that I purchased at WalMart. Rosa Bianca and Black Beauty are perfect for making Eggplant Parmigiana. Most globe type eggplants I've grown couldn't tolerate the summer heat - they grow best during the cooler months.

I've trialed two varieties of long eggplant - Ping Tung and Violetta Lunga. Ping Tung is an Asian eggplant that doesn't do well in Kihei during the warmer months. Violetta is an early Italian variety and it was one of the more heat tolerant varieties I've grown.

Aswad

a more heat tolerant globe eggplant

I plant the eggplant seedlings in an organic and natural potting soil amended with organic blood meal, organic bone meal, organic egg shells, green sand and an organic all-purpose fertilizer. The plants need daily water and generous monthly applications of an all-purpose fertilizer.

Eggplant can be planted anytime of the year. I prefer to start seeds in the winter months - they take 4 to 5 months until the first fruits.

Blossom Ends of Eggplants Grown in the Summer

Ping Tung (center) - Violetta Lunga (right)

In the hotter months of the year, the rose beetles do significant damage to the eggplant leaves but they don't damage the flowers or fruit. The hot summer sun can cause the fruit to yellow or the developing fruit to emerge from the calyx with dry, leathery blossom ends.

Examples of this can be seen in the eggplants In the above photo. This isn't what's referred to as blossom end rot. The eggplants are still usable as the dry areas can be peeled or trimmed from the fruits. So far, I haven't had any fruit damaged by larvae, worms or any other pest.

How to Graft an Eggplant
Very useful information provided by Kuma Aina Farms on the Big Island.

A Guide to 10 Types of Eggplant and How to Cook With Them

Seeds for Violetta Lunga are available at Seeds From Italy. Black Beauty, Ping Tung and Rosa Bianca seeds are widely available.

When most American's think of eggplant they think of eggplant parmigiana. In Italy, eggplant is used extensively in antipastos and even in desserts.

Melanzane sott'olio (an antipasto)
Jamie Oliver's Eggplants Pickled in Olive Oil
Thai Eggplant Salad
Melanzane al Cioccolato (a chocolate dessert)