Maui Blog - Georgina M. Hunter R(S): Sugar cane fields in bloom - Maui in December

I love it when the sugar cane fields bloom with their big fluffy plumes.  This usually happens in December on Maui each year.  When the sun hits a field of these flowers, it's a truly beautiful site.  Here's a few pictures that don't do the sight justice.  I have just stopped and snapped a few quick pictures in this past week.  I would really like to take the time to get some great shots, but these will have to suffice for now.  That grass is about 10 feet tall before it flowers, so you can imagine how tall those plumes are.

Sugar cane is grown on only 2 of the Hawaiian islands any more... Maui and Kauai.  In times gone by sugar was big business, with many sugar mills on most of the islands, and cane fields covering much of the landscape.  Spreckelsville is an area named after the San Francisco sugar baron - Claus Spreckels in the 1800's.  Here on Maui the cane fields are still a major component of the agricultural scene, especially on the north shore, in the Paia area.  The crop grows for about 18 months, with newer species taking less time to reach maturity.  The old fashioned practice of burning the fields before harvest is still practiced here.  This creates a rather unpleasant situation if you happen to be downwind when they do their "burn".  The smoke can be really thick, and the sky gets dark, with a huge mushroom cloud of smoke and ash rising in the warm air.  I guess it's a small price to pay for the rest of year when the green fields are so beautiful.

We get rain and rainbows every day during the rainy season, but it's usually in the early mornings or late afternoons, with passing showers.  The climate is so ideal for growing things, that crops like this do very well here, all year round.  Sugar and pineapples are traditionally the 2 big crops grown in Hawaii, which is still very much an agricultural economy.  Other important crops are:

• Macadamia nuts
• Papayas
• Tropical flowers
• Maui Onions
• Organic Beef

Thanks for dropping in to see some of the Maui north shore sights.  Come back again.

Aloha - The Hunter