Happy New Year
So it happens again. Another year has flown by, another coffee season ends. All the best wishes to you in the coming year!
Coffee season may be over, but we're not done yet. The next step is pruning each tree by hand. The coffee tree will grow to upwards of 30 feet if we let it. Hard to pick at that height, so we keep them pruned back to about 9 feet. That means every year we go through each tree and cut off all fourth-year branches. We also trim off most of the new growth, leaving only 2 new shoots. Once we finish pruning (about May), each tree will have between 6-8 vertical branches left of staggered ages.
Right now, after a year of growth, the tree are bushy and big. After their "haircuts", they'll be slimmed down and ready to flower. Pruning the trees forces them to put their energy into reproducing (growing fruit) rather than growing wood. Somehow that's an appropriate metaphor for this New Years Eve. It's time to pull back, refocus, and prepare for the coming season.
Aloha!
Coffee season may be over, but we're not done yet. The next step is pruning each tree by hand. The coffee tree will grow to upwards of 30 feet if we let it. Hard to pick at that height, so we keep them pruned back to about 9 feet. That means every year we go through each tree and cut off all fourth-year branches. We also trim off most of the new growth, leaving only 2 new shoots. Once we finish pruning (about May), each tree will have between 6-8 vertical branches left of staggered ages.
Right now, after a year of growth, the tree are bushy and big. After their "haircuts", they'll be slimmed down and ready to flower. Pruning the trees forces them to put their energy into reproducing (growing fruit) rather than growing wood. Somehow that's an appropriate metaphor for this New Years Eve. It's time to pull back, refocus, and prepare for the coming season.
Aloha!
2 Comments:
Happy New Year, Suzanne! My family (husband and two boys) have stayed at Lions Gate twice and I was very happy to find your blog. I still have a small sacred stash of Lions Gate beans in my freezer- me, who hardly even drinks coffee- and a taste of it can take me back to those delicious breakfasts on the deck overlooking the koi. Ahhh! Hope your mom's still doing well.
Thanks! My mom is doing well. Still in remission from cancer. YAY! The koi are doing well too! Not many breakfasts lately though. We moved my 85 y.o. grandparents into the downstairs portion of the house a few months ago and closed the B&B in the interim. It's an ever-evolving scenario.
Please come by and visit us if you are ever back in Kona!
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