A followup

A followup was Originally Posted on April 6, 2005 by lavarock

The wedding went well. SOme visitors from Nawlins (New Orleans) asked for help setting up a wedding here in Kona. We held it at the Royal Kona Resort and due to heavy rain, we moved everything inside an hour or two before the ceremony. They seconds before the Justice of the Peace was to start, we noticed that the sky had opened up and the sun had come out. We quickly ran outside with the ocean as a backdrop and started. I took many photos and started the video camera. Because of the change in locations and the timing, I was able to get the video fine, but unfortunately, the audio left much to be desired. The bride and groom have the text of the ceremony and lots of special photos, so that should help. Please note that I did the photos and video as a surprise and the couple had not asked for anything like that. Still, I would ahve felt betetr if I had an external mike for the camera video…

I recently applied for a soil conservation program. One item which may be partiallt reimbursed is water catchement tanks. Their suggestion is for me to install 3 tanks for holding rainwater in the amount of 90,000 gallons! Although many of us felt this was a lot of water to hold in case of drought, others have done the math and say this is not an excessive amount of storage. Now I have to decide if I want 3 tanks of 27 feet by 7 feet tall on the property. I pay up front and after installed, the government will subsidize part of the cost. Although the tanks add to myproperty and make it more valuable, I hate to tie up $24,000 for a few months.

Next to the garage I’ve cut down the trees, killed the weeds and grass and put weed mat on the ground. This completes part 2 of my preparations for the “nursery”.

Part 1 is still in progress. I have an offer to loan me pots for my starter plants. I need to build or fabricate tables and shade them from direct sun. In these pots I’ll add soil and fertilizer to grow about 3,300 plants from seed.

There are two styles of pruning coffee trees.

The first is what you would expect; prune each tree of specific limbs. ALl of the trees remain growing and are carefully pruned. You might assume that at least 1/3 of each tree is removed; perhaps more. This is performed by someone who is very well trained in coffee trees and pruning methods.

The second style of pruning is easier to do and yields about the same results. It involves going to every third row of trees and chopping them back completely. This might be done by an untrained laborer with a chainsaw!

Although the second style sounds weird, it actually works quite well. The limbs regrow and the tree yeilds the same or possibly more coffee than if it had been pruned by standard methods. You don’t need special pruning skills, the rows can be closer together (because you always have 2 rows and a space, 2 rows and a space) and if the leaves had developed any disease they will soon be removed from the tree!

Thus if you know you are planting with the BF method (the second one), you only start by planting 2 rows to start and plant the third row the second year. I have to do a bit of research to find out why they down’t just plant row 1 the first year, row 2 the second and row 3 the third. ANyway, you can’t prune a row the first year and you also can’t cut two rows at the same time; so you have to stagger-plant them.

So anyway, my next project is to get soil int he pots and seeds in the soil. Then I have a year to get the 5 acres cleared and begin planting.

There is another decision I have to make. It involves whether i clear the 5 acres of all macadamia nut trees or leave them and plant coffee inbetween. Leaving the trees offers protection for the coffee from direct sun and helps shade them; however, it also raises the possibility of diseases that effects bot the nuts and coffee. Also, if I leave the trees, they are harder to remove later and not damage the coffee trees underneath.

Then there is the drip irrigation or mini sprayers or raised sprinkler debate. The drip lines use the least water, but must be moved as the trees grow. The mini sprinklers still do well, but cannot keep up when the trees get larger. The overhead sprinklers use more water and setup costs, and also allow more evaporation, but can work better on coffee.

Sometimes I think that the work will be easier than the decisions

I have a gathered all of my recipts and invoices and will be meeting with the tax guy on Thursday. It appears that my initial though that much of my business would be on schedule C is incorrect. ALso I need to have the guy determine the correct schedules for the items I need to depreciate.

I am staring to replace some rotted wood and paint some of the porch. I’m helping another neighbor get her own website running and a friend start a personal page. I am also helping with the next “Cream of the Crop” competition (which I won an award at last year).

Lots of projects and less free time.