What's new

I Love Kava Friday Welcoming the weekend.

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
My 'awa mahakea is over a year old now...growing in southern california. In this year it's had just about every pest, disease and problem possible. It's lost more leaves than it's ever had growing at one time, it's growth is definitely stunted relative to an equally aged plant in the tropics. It's still alive though...so we'll see if it can last til maturity.

@Alia Can you post a picture of a 1.5 year old kava grown in hawai'i for comparison? ::kavaleaf::
IMG_0041.jpeg
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
My 'awa mahakea is over a year old now...growing in southern california. In this year it's had just about every pest, disease and problem possible. It's lost more leaves than it's ever had growing at one time, it's growth is definitely stunted relative to an equally aged plant in the tropics. It's still alive though...so we'll see if it can last til maturity.

@Alia Can you post a picture of a 1.5 year old kava grown in hawai'i for comparison? ::kavaleaf::
View attachment 10046
So lets just say this little planty of yours gets to a moderate size at 4 years old, and you were 2-3 days away from getting your next shipment of dry kava does it end up in the bottom of your blender or will you not have the heart to provide it is proper resting place in your belly?
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
So lets just say this little planty of yours gets to a moderate size at 4 years old, and you were 2-3 days away from getting your next shipment of dry kava does it end up in the bottom of your blender or will you not have the heart to provide it is proper resting place in your belly?
If one of my other little sprouts survives along alongside this one, I’ll drink it and regrow the cuttings. I suspect it will either be a weak grog from the stunted growth or it could be strong from having to deal drastic temperature fluctuations. But I may be the first or one of the first people to ever drink fresh California grown ‘awa. ::KavaChug::
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
If one of my other little sprouts survives along alongside this one, I’ll drink it and regrow the cuttings. I suspect it will either be a weak grog from the stunted growth or it could be strong from having to deal drastic temperature fluctuations. But I may be the first or one of the first people to ever drink fresh California grown ‘awa. ::KavaChug::
If you end up drinking it, I'll for sure make a special banner for your user that reflects you are the first.
 

JohnMichael

Kava Synchronized
If one of my other little sprouts survives along alongside this one, I’ll drink it and regrow the cuttings. I suspect it will either be a weak grog from the stunted growth or it could be strong from having to deal drastic temperature fluctuations. But I may be the first or one of the first people to ever drink fresh California grown ‘awa. ::KavaChug::
You tempt me to try my little backyard on Sanibel Island as a growing zone. We get occasionally cool weather, but not as cold as southern CA. In the three winter months, maybe two or three days a month with a high of 65*, low of 55*.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
You tempt me to try my little backyard on Sanibel Island as a growing zone. We get occasionally cool weather, but not as cold as southern CA. In the three winter months, maybe two or three days a month with a high of 65*, low of 55*.
If I could, let me tempt you a bit further. Just the confirmation of kava growing in the continental US would, I believe, be the fuel for an entirely new industry of kava cultivation.
 

Alia

'Awa Grower/Collector
My 'awa mahakea is over a year old now...growing in southern california. In this year it's had just about every pest, disease and problem possible. It's lost more leaves than it's ever had growing at one time, it's growth is definitely stunted relative to an equally aged plant in the tropics. It's still alive though...so we'll see if it can last til maturity.

@Alia Can you post a picture of a 1.5 year old kava grown in hawai'i for comparison? ::kavaleaf::
View attachment 10046
These are about 9 months...that's 2 1/2 from cutting to field ready plant and 6 to 7 months in ground.
 

Attachments

kavakarma

Kava Enthusiast
Kava friday! Trying Isa for the first time - Paupa New Guinea from RoH. Wish me luck. I'm very excited to find a "piney" flavor . Bula!
 

HeadHodge

Bula To Eternity
Those had to have been plants in Hawai'i...if kava is growing that well in the Pacific Northwest I will be enraged...and then happy afterwards. ::kavaleaf::
kava plants are like little pampered pussy plants. they have had it so good for so long its a wonder they still survive.

Its time to give kava some 'tough' lovin and get them to man up and grow up where they actually have to work to earn a living in places like the great Pacific Northwest.

It may take awhile, but I believe there is a good chance for this to happen.

For a good case study on how to do this lets look at the history of the great long horn cattle from the wild west times where they were forced to adapt from their sunny warm homes of Mexico to the extreme short seasons and cold winters of Oregon Wyoming and Montana.

Survivor of the Past - Bright Promise for the Future
by Dr. Stewart H. Fowler, PhD

Cattlemen caught in a devastating cost-price squeeze are now taking a serious second look at the old Texas Longhorn. Doubly stunned by the inflation of all cost factors and the recession of cattle prices, cattlemen are actively seeking new "profit genes" for their beef herds. The quest has broadened to an international search for "new" genes that might boost productivity and profits. In this process, many have tended to overlook a promising gene source close to home. I refer to the Texas Longhorn.

An almost forgotten reservoir of unique genetic material, the Longhorn is literally an old source of new genes! In fact, the Texas Longhorn may prove to be a real "genetic gold-mine" in the future of our beef industry.

Foundation stock
What is so unique about the Texas Longhorn? What makes it different from the multitude of other breeds now available in North America? Simply this: The Texas Longhorn was fashioned entirely by nature right here in North America. Stemming from ancestors that were the first cattle to set foot on American soil almost 500 years ago, it became the sound end product of "survival of the fittest". Shaped by a combination of natural selection and adaptation to the environment, the Texas Longhorn is the only cattle breed in America which - without aid from man - is truly adapted to America. In his book The Longhorns, J. Frank Dobie states this situation well: "Had they been registered and regulated, restrained and provided for by man, they would not have been what they were."




Hardy, aggressive, and adaptable, the Texas Longhorns were well suited to the rigors of life on the ranges of the southwestern United States. They survived as a primitive animal on the most primitive of ranges and became the foundation stock of that region's great cattle industry.

With the destruction of the buffalo following the Civil War, the Longhorns were rushed in to occupy the Great Plains, a vast empire of grass vacated by the buffalo. Cattlemen brought their breeding herds north to run on the rich grazing lands of western Nebraska, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana. Thus, the Great Plains became stocked largely with these "bovine citizens" from the Southwest. And, the Texas Longhorns adapted well to their expanding world. They had reached their historical heyday, dominating the beef scene of North America like no other cattle breed has done since. However, the romantic Longhorn era came to an end when their range was fenced in and plowed under and imported cattle with quick maturing characteristics were brought in to "improve" beef qualities. Intensive crossbreeding had nearly erased the true typical Longhorn by 1900.
 

sɥɐʞɐs

Avg. Dosage: 8 Tbsp. (58g)
Review Maestro
kava plants are like little pampered pussy plants. they have had it so good for so long its a wonder they still survive.

Its time to give kava some 'tough' lovin and get them to man up and grow up where they actually have to work to earn a living in places like the great Pacific Northwest.

It may take awhile, but I believe there is a good chance for this to happen.

For a good case study on how to do this lets look at the history of the great long horn cattle from the wild west times where they were forced to adapt from their sunny warm homes of Mexico to the extreme short seasons and cold winters of Oregon Wyoming and Montana.

Survivor of the Past - Bright Promise for the Future
by Dr. Stewart H. Fowler, PhD

Cattlemen caught in a devastating cost-price squeeze are now taking a serious second look at the old Texas Longhorn. Doubly stunned by the inflation of all cost factors and the recession of cattle prices, cattlemen are actively seeking new "profit genes" for their beef herds. The quest has broadened to an international search for "new" genes that might boost productivity and profits. In this process, many have tended to overlook a promising gene source close to home. I refer to the Texas Longhorn.

An almost forgotten reservoir of unique genetic material, the Longhorn is literally an old source of new genes! In fact, the Texas Longhorn may prove to be a real "genetic gold-mine" in the future of our beef industry.

Foundation stock
What is so unique about the Texas Longhorn? What makes it different from the multitude of other breeds now available in North America? Simply this: The Texas Longhorn was fashioned entirely by nature right here in North America. Stemming from ancestors that were the first cattle to set foot on American soil almost 500 years ago, it became the sound end product of "survival of the fittest". Shaped by a combination of natural selection and adaptation to the environment, the Texas Longhorn is the only cattle breed in America which - without aid from man - is truly adapted to America. In his book The Longhorns, J. Frank Dobie states this situation well: "Had they been registered and regulated, restrained and provided for by man, they would not have been what they were."




Hardy, aggressive, and adaptable, the Texas Longhorns were well suited to the rigors of life on the ranges of the southwestern United States. They survived as a primitive animal on the most primitive of ranges and became the foundation stock of that region's great cattle industry.

With the destruction of the buffalo following the Civil War, the Longhorns were rushed in to occupy the Great Plains, a vast empire of grass vacated by the buffalo. Cattlemen brought their breeding herds north to run on the rich grazing lands of western Nebraska, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Montana. Thus, the Great Plains became stocked largely with these "bovine citizens" from the Southwest. And, the Texas Longhorns adapted well to their expanding world. They had reached their historical heyday, dominating the beef scene of North America like no other cattle breed has done since. However, the romantic Longhorn era came to an end when their range was fenced in and plowed under and imported cattle with quick maturing characteristics were brought in to "improve" beef qualities. Intensive crossbreeding had nearly erased the true typical Longhorn by 1900.
I definitely would like to run a big experiment and try to grow several different cultivars in California and look for ones that are blatantly more resilient...and continue cloning only the ones that are the most hearty. — So far, my 1.5 yr old plant is the only survivor from my first batch of many others...so perhaps the fact that this one survived is a sign that it is slightly more genetically suited for survival here.

I’m really diggin’ Samson 666
FF516784-C357-41EA-B902-3D0637C4C201.jpeg
 
Top