Harvesting Coconuts and Bananas On The Farm

I am going to show you how we harvest coconuts and bananas on the Earther Academy Farm.

How do you get the coconuts down from a tree that is 30-40 ft tall? Have you ever harvested bananas before?

We will show you how to climb a coconut tree safely along with a few more tips on cutting the nuts open to drink the life-giving coconut water/milk contained within.

Long time friend Matthew Sattelmaier is going to show us how to climb the 35+ ft tall coconut tree with his specialized climbing gear, and then we are going to get some bananas that are ready for harvest.

Coconut Climbing Master Mateo is climbing the 40 ft Coconut Palm Tree using specialized equipment that will not damage the Tree, and is much safer than climbing the tree barefoot or using spikes that damage the tree and in time kills the tree from the holes.

The farms are located on the Big Island of Hawaii in the Hamakua coast area of the island. We have about 100 coconut trees on the farm that are about 12-15 years old.

One of the big reasons I moved to Hawaii was to be able to harvest off of our own trees such as coconut, mango, breadfruit, durian, bananas and lots of other varieties of exotic fruits such as longan, rambutan and the fruit that is our number one crop, lychee.

In the area I live, the main growing season is summer of course, but our winters are usually only 5-10 degrees cooler, so that means the growing season is all year long for many parts of Hawaii.

The farms are located in the island’s tropical zone. With annual rainfall ranging between 150 to 175 inches, the region maintains a lush, green environment that promotes growth throughout the year.

Climbing and picking the coconuts from the tree

In Africa, climbing a coconut palm barefoot poses significant risks. I know of several individuals who have fallen from such trees, resulting in severe injuries. Some have been left paralyzed, while others have ended up in the hospital with broken bones.

Lowering the coconuts carefully with a long rope. Coconut will break if you drop them from that height, so we lower them down if possible with a rope.

We planted several species of coconuts all over the farm when I bought the property back in 2012. The property had approximately 30 coconut trees on it already when I purchased it.

I love coconut trees, not solely because each one yields approximately 100 coconuts per year, but also because they are among the most beautiful trees. They serve as sacred symbols of tropical areas

When the tree is approximately 5 years old it will start producing coconuts.

What are the benefits of coconut fruit?

After all of that work, what a joy it is to cut into a fresh coconut, not only to drink the super mineralized mothers milk but to be able to also enjoy the coconut jelly inside.

I like to open the coconut from the side instead of from the end point of the coconut. Drinking fresh coconut water makes your body feel energized and hydrated. Once finished drinking the mothers milk, you then have another surprise inside – coconut meat.

Hawaii is the perfect growing ground for a variety of plants. Our farms are in the elevation of from 300 – 900 ft, in my opinion this is where most of the best growing is.

The Hamakua coast is a very special place because of the quantity of rivers every ¼ mile or so that are mostly all spring fed from the ground. The water comes from the tallest mountain in the world called Mauna Kea.

Coconuts are way Delicacy in Hawaii And other Tropical Areas and will Always put a Smile on anyone when you offer them one.

If you have not seen our other farm video on Harvesting and Processing Kaimana Lychee – that is a good one to see on what it takes us to grow, harvest and process this delicious fruit freshly flown daily to Oahu and Maui.

Most bananas have been gassed for the commercial supermarkets, so they will not ripen too fast. The taste is absolutely different when the fruit has ripened on the tree and has not been processed at all.

Once you eat fruit off the tree you may want to grow some for yourself 🙂 Nothing better than being able to grow some of your food at your homestead or what I call my Home Health Sanctuary.

Our 300 pound African Sulcata Turtle loves to eat bananas too. He lives underground and dug the tunnel/burrow himself. The tunnel runs under the ground at least 7-9 ft long and about 4-6 ft deep.

Hope you enjoy this “Harvesting Coconuts and Bananas On The Farm” Video 🙂

Dr. Robert

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