My results are a bit different from yours, could be 'cause I'm on windward side, at 1500 foot elevation; I've had great luck with Hawaiian Chilies outdoors in the ground, same plants going strong for 3 years; jalapenos and other haoli chilies have produced well for a season or two. String beans do great in the ground here, too, and I've got eggplant and strawberries that have lasted 2 or 3 years.

Cukes, tomatoes, zukes--there I'm in total agreement with you! We grow them in the greenhouse with fresh soil/mulch each season, but that's not enough anymore, we'll have to switch to containers.

I've completely given up on snow peas, spinach, broccoli, but swiss chard, cabbage, kale do great.

herbs mostly need to be grown under cover so they don't drown--we get 170" rain a year, you may have different results.

Who else has results to share?
Lee

I rent, so most everything I grow is in containers. I use whatever I can find for containers, but mainly those big Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs. They seem like mini garden beds to me, and the plants definitely seem to do better in those than in pots. I start them off with the cheapest potting soil available (usually Super Soil) and then fertilize every so often with an organic fertilizer.

I'm still learning what I can and can not grow easily here in Hawaii, and in this area specifically.

Ok, so the big successes: Kale does great, and I love it! Chard does very well, but sometimes gets diseased to the point that I have to take it out. Lettuce used to bolt very quickly, until I started growing the UH "Anuenue" lettuce, which is more bolt-resistant. I also have 3 large bushes of UH Waimanalo Eggplants (each in their own Rubbermaid tub) and they produce so many eggplants I'm actually getting a little tired of them. I'm also growing yardlong beans, which are popular in hot, humid Asian countries. These do great; fast growing and heavy producers of delicious, tender green beans. Radishes never fail, but I'm not really a huge fan. They're healthy, so I do grow them occasionally. I've also gotten a lot of nice fruit off of a volunteer cherry tomato bush. Other things that are growing like weeds; basil, mint, fennel, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, and green onions.

I am also trying some other things, but the plants are just getting started, so I don't know how they'll actually produce. I'm growing 2 different kinds of Asian cucumbers from Evergreen Seeds (they have so many seeds for different Asian plants that I'm thinking would be better adapted to out climate than seeds bred for North American climates). Also trying some different kinds of Asian melons, also from Evergreen Seeds. I'll have to see how they hold up against fruit flies too, or if I'm going to have to bag them while they grow. I'm trying 2 different kinds of sweet potatoes; the typical Hawaiian purple sweet potato, and also a white-fleshed one that my sister gave me. The vines are thriving like crazy, but it's not time yet to dig and see if there are any tubers. I know the leaves are edible, but I don't care for them too much. But, if I ever get hungry enough, I'm glad they're out there as an option. I'm also growing long squash and kabocha squash. I did get one long squash from my older vine (totally delicious and ridiculously huge) but for the most part the flowers don't get pollinated and I'm too lazy to climb up the tree where it's growing and do it by hand. I planted 2 more long squash vines though, so hopefully with more vines there'll be a lot more pollinating going on. Also trying UH seed program cherry tomatoes and UH bell peppers, and a few Asian eggplant varieties from Evergreen Seeds. All are doing well so far, but are not old enough to produce.

Things that didn't work well for me AT ALL: beets (never got very big, but the tinies were tasty; I'm going to keep trying with these, because I do love beets), standard bush pole beans, dill (i think it just got too hot for it; i'll try again in the winter), and spinach was a total joke. Though I do know of a farm on the Big Island that actually grows spinach organically in volume, so it can definitely be done.

Sorry, I wrote a whole book here, I think! This is why I don't post on forums; get me started about my garden, and I have no idea how to be concise :)

I also have a bunch more growing in this raised bed filled with red clay soil that came with my house. They've been there about 2 1/2 months, so in a month or so it'll be time to dig those out and see how they did in the clay. Supposedly clay is not the best for these, but I had the slips needing a home, and that bed just sitting there empty... we'll see.