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MONSTER kava plant - 15 years old! Harvesting with Chris Allen on Big Island

Steve

Ozia - KavaKava Candy
Kava Vendor
Aloha Kava Forums!

Had the pleasure of hanging out with Chris Allen (@Gourmet Hawaiian Kava ) while he harvested this MONSTER kava plant that is 15 years old. The older, the bigger, the better...like a fine wine :) Very rare and if you have a chance, try to grab some of this super limited kava straight from the farm.


Interview:
Chris Allen IG: @gourmet_hawaiian_kava/ gourmethawaiiankava.com
Steve George IG: @kavacandy Facebook: OziaOriginals stresscandies.com

Cheat sheet to skip ahead:
Start - strategy for pulling it up
5:20 Ramadel Kava from Pompei - 15 YEARS OLD!!!
6:40 - One hour 15 minutes in.... Digging it up
10:03 -Two hours 15 minutes in...washing, lateral roots (waka), stump (lawena)
13:00 - how to get this LIMITED and RARE Kava (15 year old Hawaiian grown kava called Ramadel from Pompei)
CHECK OUT >>> gourmethawaiiankava.com (I am sure he will post something on IG too when its ready :)
 

Zaphod

Kava Lover
Just and FYI for everyone saying they want some...If I remember correctly an average kava plant once fully dried only produces ~5-8lbs of medium grind. Maybe this monster produces double, or even triple that. Either way it still wouldn't be a lot.
 

Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

Kava Expert
Kava Vendor
Hey, @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava great video. Did you plant this yourself 15 years ago or is this something you found in Hawaii? Why is there only one plant? Do you plan to take cuttings and continue to grow more?
This plant was planted by a good friend of mine Ed Johnston. There are other kava plants, I will post a picture of the one we harvested in the center along with some around the general area, there is a lot more all over out of view of the camera. Yes I always keep the stalks to make more baby kava plants to make more adult kava plants to harvest more kava to drink and sell more kava. :D
If I get 100 pounds from this kava plant after cleaning then I will have about 20 pounds of dry powder.
Here is the picture. Aloha.

Chris
DSC_1585 (2).jpg
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
Was the process of harvesting a 15 year old kava plant significantly different from harvesting, say, a 5 year old plant? I'd be worried I'd be digging through lateral roots trying to figure out how far around I started digging dirt.
 

The Kap'n

The Groggy Kaptain (40g)
KavaForums Founder
Was the process of harvesting a 15 year old kava plant significantly different from harvesting, say, a 5 year old plant? I'd be worried I'd be digging through lateral roots trying to figure out how far around I started digging dirt.
Excellent question. I would also like to know how one knows the length of the lateral roots running horizontally. Maybe it's just something you learn as you grow kava, but I'm interested to hear an kava growing expert chime in.
 

Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

Kava Expert
Kava Vendor
Excellent question. I would also like to know how one knows the length of the lateral roots running horizontally. Maybe it's just something you learn as you grow kava, but I'm interested to hear an kava growing expert chime in.
Most kava plants will have lateral roots at least as long as the tallest stalk, sometimes longer. So if the kava is 10 feet tall then you can expect some laterals going 10 feet out from the kava plant. Aloha.

Chris
 

Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

Kava Expert
Kava Vendor
Was the process of harvesting a 15 year old kava plant significantly different from harvesting, say, a 5 year old plant? I'd be worried I'd be digging through lateral roots trying to figure out how far around I started digging dirt.
The only real difference is that it takes a lot more work to harvest. A lot of digging and then some more digging. The way the roots grow is straight forward and the roots are easy to get at, after going so deep the roots will stop so there is no point in digging deeper. I really thought that this one would have less lateral growing roots but it actually had a lot. Aloha.

Chris
 

fait

Position 5 Hard Support
Thanks for the enlightenment @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava . I've done some very amateur gardening and I've learned some plants grow their roots down, others grow them out and not so far down. Most of my peppers I've grown have been in pots, so I haven't had a nice outdoor spot to let them spread their roots to the extent that they would go naturally, but I know they like shooting them farther down. It must be some kind of strategy to optimize water availability.
 
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