Late, So Late
I have to admit, I am a procrastinator. I hear my friends laughing now. OK, OK, I will stop being so humble. I more than that, I am a world-class procrastinator.
The inimitable Bob Smith, one of the true experts on Kona coffee, once said that May 1 is the absolute drop-dead date to complete pruning in a coffee field. Well, guess what this procrastinator is doing dawn-to-dusk till April 31. Yeah, pruning.
Luckily, half the work is done. My parents' 5-acres (the original Lions Gate Farm) is just about done. My 5 acres.... not so close.
Each tree has to be trimmed by hand every year. Pruning the trees forces them to put their energy into reproducing (growing fruit) rather than growing wood. At least a quarter of the tree is cut off every year. The process is arduous when you have 5000 trees. Especially this year. Because last year was a bumper-crop yield, this year's yield will be much smaller as the trees recover from the heavy output. So I'm taking advantage of this downcycle to radically cut back my field and get it into better shape. That means stumping a good number of trees and uprooting others entirely.
When I purchased my acreage two years ago, it had been in the Yoshizaki family for 70-odd years. Mr. Yoshizaki-san the elder had been a sugar cane farmer before acquiring a plot of scrub guava and weeds on Middle Kei'i Road. Through hard labor, he cleared and planted the land. It passed through the family until 2003, when the son, Toshio-san passed away and the sisters decided it was time to retire.
The farm had suffered some neglect in the last few years. I have many "volunteer" coffee trees springing up between the heritage 50+ year-old trees, causing an overcompetition for nutrients. Vines still snake their way throughout the field, despite two years of efforts to remove them all. And I must admit, that whoever pruned in this field last year (ahem, me), was far too slack in chopping back the trees. So I have an overgrowth of old branches and not enough new.
Pruning is a skill that takes mental preparation and a slash-and-cut disposition. Show mercy, and your trees will suffer. Last year, I was too merciful. It paid off in a high yield, but the effect is a boomerang for this year. But I planned it that way, knowing the field needed major work. Better to do that work in a downcycle.
Not to fear, dear Kona addicts. Despite the slash-and-cut on my trees, there'll still be plenny'o Lions Gate coffee for your morning cup.
And friends...if you don't hear much from me this month, it's because I was procrastinating last month. Y'all know what that means. Time for this farmgirl to work!
The inimitable Bob Smith, one of the true experts on Kona coffee, once said that May 1 is the absolute drop-dead date to complete pruning in a coffee field. Well, guess what this procrastinator is doing dawn-to-dusk till April 31. Yeah, pruning.
Luckily, half the work is done. My parents' 5-acres (the original Lions Gate Farm) is just about done. My 5 acres.... not so close.
Each tree has to be trimmed by hand every year. Pruning the trees forces them to put their energy into reproducing (growing fruit) rather than growing wood. At least a quarter of the tree is cut off every year. The process is arduous when you have 5000 trees. Especially this year. Because last year was a bumper-crop yield, this year's yield will be much smaller as the trees recover from the heavy output. So I'm taking advantage of this downcycle to radically cut back my field and get it into better shape. That means stumping a good number of trees and uprooting others entirely.
When I purchased my acreage two years ago, it had been in the Yoshizaki family for 70-odd years. Mr. Yoshizaki-san the elder had been a sugar cane farmer before acquiring a plot of scrub guava and weeds on Middle Kei'i Road. Through hard labor, he cleared and planted the land. It passed through the family until 2003, when the son, Toshio-san passed away and the sisters decided it was time to retire.
The farm had suffered some neglect in the last few years. I have many "volunteer" coffee trees springing up between the heritage 50+ year-old trees, causing an overcompetition for nutrients. Vines still snake their way throughout the field, despite two years of efforts to remove them all. And I must admit, that whoever pruned in this field last year (ahem, me), was far too slack in chopping back the trees. So I have an overgrowth of old branches and not enough new.
Pruning is a skill that takes mental preparation and a slash-and-cut disposition. Show mercy, and your trees will suffer. Last year, I was too merciful. It paid off in a high yield, but the effect is a boomerang for this year. But I planned it that way, knowing the field needed major work. Better to do that work in a downcycle.
Not to fear, dear Kona addicts. Despite the slash-and-cut on my trees, there'll still be plenny'o Lions Gate coffee for your morning cup.
And friends...if you don't hear much from me this month, it's because I was procrastinating last month. Y'all know what that means. Time for this farmgirl to work!
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