In one of Michael Pollan’s recent books, he laments his inability to include coffee, chocolate, bananas and sugar in his locally sourced diet. Well, we are in luck. Locally grown in Hawaii may not include some nontropical stone fruit or red delicious apples, but coffee, chocolate, sugar and all kinds of tropical fruit, including bananas, can easily be part of our “buy local” plan.
In one of Michael Pollan’s recent books, he laments his inability to include coffee, chocolate, bananas and sugar in his locally sourced diet. Well, we are in luck. Locally grown in Hawaii may not include some nontropical stone fruit or red delicious apples, but coffee, chocolate, sugar and all kinds of tropical fruit, including bananas, can easily be part of our “buy local” plan.
Coffee and banana plants are everywhere, cacao growers are increasing in numbers and sugarcane is being revitalized on a small scale. This allows us to enjoy some tasty treats not available to localvores on the mainland.
Of these crops, sugarcane is perhaps one that only a few gardeners are currently growing and processing. Recent varietal research and access to processing equipment are changing that. Several varieties of this former plantation crop are available locally as attractive additions to gardens and farm plots. They can also provide easy access to the sweet flavoring we all seem to crave. With the help of some local equipment sellers and renters, processing small batches is now possible as well.
Carl Linnaeus classified sugarcane as Saccharum officinarum, a member of the poaceae, or grass, family. He probably derived the name from the Sanskrit word for sugar, sarkara. Today this botanical name applies to most sugarcane grown here. Many varieties and cultivars have been developed from S. officinarum, some by crosses with wild, weedy species like S. sponteaneum and S. robustum.
Sugarcane’s origin has been traced to Melanesia, probably New Guinea. Canes were taken from there to Indonesia and other parts of the South Pacific. Early Polynesian settlers brought sugar cane stalks to Hawaii with them. Once here, many different cultivars were developed. Each had a slightly different appearance and coloration in the stalks as well as the leaves, and they were also slightly different in taste. Many cultivars have been lost, but efforts are being made to gather and identify those that remain. One collection is in progress at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Captain Cook where Noa Lincoln and Peter Van Dyke have identified, installed and are tracking the growth of up to 44 different cultivars.
Many of the cultivars are important in Hawaiian mythology. In a recent article in Hawaiian Airlines’ Hana Hou magazine, Noa described the ancient fields of cane and the stories attached to many of the varieties. The article, “Sugarland” by Alan D. McNarie, can be accessed online at hanahou.com.
Cane, known in Hawaiian as ko, was traditionally planted along the kuaiwi. These piles of stones that ran like a backbone up the slopes in the Kona field system also served as planting sites for bananas and ti. Unlike the uniform colors that we associate with plantation cane, these plantings ranged in colors from deep purple to scarlet red, pink, yellow and white including some striped varieties. Each cultivar had a different name and various defining characteristics, including taste and mythical references. Laukona, for instance, has variegated leaves, a multicolored stalk and was used to break love spells. Several others have dark purple stalks and some have purple leaves. An outstanding cultivar has a dark, smoky stalk and is known as Pele’s smoke in English.
Historically, cane was grown in small plots for the use of those living near the plantings. In recent Hawaiian history, however, sugar became a huge cash crop. The first sugar mill appeared around 1850. Over the next 100 years, sugar was king in Hawaii, with nearly 400,000 immigrants, mostly from China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, arriving to work in sugar production. The plantations became an integral part of the agricultural and cultural life in Hawaii until around 1980, when global prices and local environmental concerns negatively impacted Hawaii’s industry. Despite Hawaii’s exodus from the international market, sugar remains the world’s largest crop.
Even with the abundance of plantation cane in the islands, many gardeners and small farmers continued to cultivate plots of cane to use in their cooking. Some also grew cane for windbreaks, as hedges or merely as attractive ornamentals. Today, we are seeing a revival in the interest of growing cane on a small scale in Hawaii.
Many qualities of sugarcane recommend it for use in a landscape as well as in small farm cultivation. First, it is easy to grow. A new plant can form quickly from a node on a cut portion placed in soil. The young plant will become a tall, attractive stalk with long, thin leaves in a matter of months. A grouping of several different varieties with different colored stalks and leaves can form a striking screen or hedge. Grown in full sun with adequate moisture and rich soil, the stalks can reach maturity in a year at lower elevations and in less than 24 months up slope. The best time to harvest cane for maximum sweetness is just prior to flowering.
The flowers are also attractive, however, and allowing some stalks to flower can add interest and beauty to the grouping. Sexual propagation from the seeds produced by the flower is far more difficult than vegetative reproduction but can be accomplished with care and attention.
To harvest cane, you only need to cut the stalks low to the ground. New stalks will grow after the first is removed. The stalks can be stripped and cut into sections to extract the sweet juice either by chewing individually or by processing with a cane juicer. Either way the result is a sweet juice with about half of the glycemic index rating of refined cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Although cane juicers can be expensive, several are available for farmers locally. Check thelotuscafe.com for information and a video on juicing cane. Captain Cook Trading Co. also sells juicers and can help you find one to rent. Call 322-7799 for more information.
Though growing sugarcane on large plantations brought many pests and diseases to the crop, these problems are less prevalent and often nonexistent in small plots, especially those with a variety of cultivars.
To see plants in cultivation, call the Greenwell garden for the location and a touring map of their plots. Plants, classes and more information on growing your own sugarcane are also locally available. Watch for announcements of classes or call the garden or other local nurseries to find cultivars to grace your garden so that you can enjoy cultivating a sweet Hawaiian heritage plant.
Diana Duff is a local organic farmer as well as a plant adviser and consultant.