KOKE‘E — The annual plum harvest begins this Saturday, July 4, in Koke‘e State Park.
KOKE‘E — The annual plum harvest begins this Saturday, July 4, in Koke‘e State Park.
Permits to harvest will be available starting that day at the park’s headquarters.
Free harvest permits must be completed there and then returned to the headquarters’ drop-box after harvesting. Plum-picking is permitted between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. in designated areas.
While plum season is a cultural staple on Kaua‘i, the stone fruits are not native to the island. The Hawaiian Journal of History notes plums were brought to Kaua‘i in the 1930s and planted on lands that later became Koke‘e State Park.
Each person can take up to five pounds of plums each day for personal consumption. Other conditions are specified on the plum-harvesting permit. A short pole with a net will make harvesting easier.
For years, including this one, the crop has been on the decline due to weather, over-harvesting and damage to trees. Optimum harvesting hasn’t happened since the 1950s, and in 2014, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks personnel said Kaua‘i hadn’t seen a good crop in more than five years.
Plum-pickers are reminded to help prevent forest fires and pick up their litter.
