The plot of land is no bigger than 400 square feet, tucked behind the Oregon Food Bank on an acre of land known as Unity Farms. Despite its modest size, this garden has yielded over 300 pounds of leaves from its crop of kalo — the Hawaiian name for the taro plant — this year.
On a cold morning in late September, dozens of volunteers with the Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona Hawaiian Civic Club sliced the stems of the tropical root vegetables, harvesting their arrow-shaped leaves to be consumed. This was a special barbecue and potluck celebration before the kalo would enter hibernation for the winter.
Growing kalo in this garden — or māla as it’s called in Hawaiian — began as an experiment five years ago. People weren’t sure if kalo could grow in the Pacific Northwest…