Water-Wise Gardening and Melanesian Food Heritage
The objectives of this project are to demonstrate gravity-flow drip irrigation of tropical food crops in a backyard gardening context, and to evaluate which gardening techniques are most effective in this context.
Island Cabbage
Abelmoschus manihot
Kumala (Sweet Potato)
Ipomoea batatas
Taro
Colocasia esculenta
Irrigation Test Plot
Gravity-flow drip irrigation
Research Crops
| Scientific Name | Common names | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Colocasia esculenta | Taro; Island Taro | Ancient food. Brought to Pacific Islands on original inhabitants' voyages tens of thousands of years ago. Preferred variety: Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott |
| Xanthosoma sagittifolum | Tannia; Taro Fiji; Yautía; Malanga | From the Americas; introduced to Oceania during 19th century. Drought resistant. |
| Ipomoea batatas | Kumala; Sweet potato; | Originated in South America. Distributed across Pacific by Pacific Islanders who reached South America ca. 1000 a.d. Incorrectly called yams in the U.S. |
| Dioscorea spp. | Yam | Culturally important and cultivated for thousands of years. Common species in Melanesia include Dioscorea alata; Dioscorea bulbifera; Dioscorea esculenta; Dioscorea nummularia; Dioscorea pentaphylla; Dioscorea rotundata; Dioscorea trifida |
| Manihot esculenta | Manioc; Cassava | Increasingly used as a drought-resistant food crop. Introduced by Europeans during colonialism in 19th century. Originated in South America. |
| Abelmoschus manihot | Island Cabbage; Aibika; Bele | Ancient leafy green crop. Most important leafy green vegetable traditionally speaking. High in vitamins, minerals; moderate amount of protein. Eight times as much calcium per serving as round English cabbage! |