Today I planted another koa’ia tree. This year I must have planted well over 200 trees on 2.6 acres (1ha.) and people ask me, “Are you running out of space yet?”
Well… Most of it is tightly planted by now but we still have 1/2 an acre of relatively unplanted areas too.
The next question is… what am I doing here? Trees in the young forest will grow in succession and in layers. The pioneers will outcompete others, some will die from a pest or a disease, some will have shorter lifespans. They decay and become food for the ecosystem. Out of the 200 trees I planted this year 4 didn’t make it already. As time goes on we may decide to remove trees or replace them with something else to fill another niche. As each tree matures they form relationships with their surroundings. They provide shade, protection, nutrients, habitat for other plants and creatures so that they can thrive. When there is biodiversity the complexity of the ecology increases.
The end goal is a healthy forest that can maintain itself more or less with a wide selection of seasonal tropical fruits to harvest. The chocolate will be the added bonus at that point.
Originally posted on 2021-12-06, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.