Live here a year before buying! It's sad to see so many people buy right away--or even sight unseen--and discover they hate the area they chose, or can't stand the islands (there's no accounting for taste.)

Renting a while will give you a chance to get to know the pros and cons of different areas, start to know the culture (it is REALLY different from the mainland!), and figure out microclimates. And traffic. We lived 8 different places on BI in 3 years before buying, and happily wound up in an area we didn't even think about for the first year.

The windward (East) side of each island is wetter than the lee side, often by quite a lot. The dry side is still wetter than California.

I think the biggest thing newcomers struggle with is being so far from family and friends. Look for clubs that center around your interests. They'll help you get to know the area and meet people.

Good luck!
e como mai

Thanks Steiconi, the plan is to rent for awhile. I have quite a few friends on Oahu. Maui is where we would prefer, just don't know nearly as many people. Do you have a vegetable garden? where were you before the BI?

I've noticed that a good portion of online nurseries don't ship to HI? Is that because it's so far, or because HI may also have certain botanical import restrictions?

Are there certain invasive plants that they forbid and is there a list of these?

Is this the list? So, anything not on it can be imported, especially just seeds?

Most plants are permitted into the State after inspection. However, Hawaii does not allow the following to be shipped into the State without prior arrangements for permit and/or quarantine, treatments, or certification:
- Pineapple and bromeliad plants and fruits
- Passion fruit plants and seeds
- Cruciferous root vegetables (radish, turnip, daikon, horseradish, rutabaga)
- Corn on the cob
- Citrus and pulpy fruits from Florida & Puerto Rico
- Taro and dasheen
- Coconuts
- Orchid plants require an import permit and certificate of origin.
- Plants in the grass family (including sugar cane and bamboo.
- Coffee plants and plant parts including seeds. (Green coffee beans must be fumigated and certified prior to shipment)*
- Palm plants
- Aster, chrysanthemum, hollyhock, dahlia and gladiolus plants require certification of origin or certification of treatment depending on where they are grown.*
- Pine plants and parts require certificate of origin or certificate of treatment depending on where they are grown. Cut branches are allowed during the period of Oct. 20 to Dec. 31.
- Sorghum, broomcorn and sudan grass - non-propagative parts require certificate of origin or certificate of treatment depending on where it is grown. Propagative parts (except seed) for planting require an import permit and quarantine.

Basically, is it a problem ordering different live plants or seeds from the mainland? As in how often is it not allowed (by nursery or HI) and are the shipping costs much more?

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant material

JeffeL,
we have a greenhouse, mostly for plants that don't like too much water or bugs, various places to plant "outdoors" and of course lots of fruit trees. We bought the house 6 years ago, and have planted steadily, so are starting to get fruit off the trees. We have 3 acres about 4 miles from the current lava flow. Happily, there's a valley between us and it.

I came from the SF Bay Area. Before that, I lived in Sacramento--great growing area, we used to call it "Sackatomoatoes" You'd see huge semis full of ripe tomatoes all summer long.

Blakrab,
The USDA oversees what can be shipped in and out of Hawaii. I think they have a website. I'm not very familiar with the rules, I don't ship or buy plants out of state. I do send flowers sometimes, and the rules change for those, so make sure you know the current rules.

There is a HUGE selection of plants available here. Tons of specialty plant nurseries, home growers, even rummage sales have plants. Even big box stores like Home Depot and Walmart carry locally grown exotics.

There are LOTS of invasive plants and bugs, and an awful lot of them have already found their way here. We would like to keep out as many new ones as we can. It would be great if we could get rid of the ones that have arrived: little fire ants, sensitive grass, glory bush, mosquitoes, rats, haolis... :-)

Some places (many eBay vendors, for instance) won't ship to HI or AK because it costs more and it's a nuisance for them. Some won't ship here because there seems to be some kind of eBay default that blocks us out, and they will ship if you ask them.
Other places charge ridiculous amounts to ship even the smallest item--like $50 to ship a $5, 3-ounce part for my sewing machine.

Aloha Jeff,

Land costs are lower on the Big Island, although you may have to ship it off island to a different market, depending on how much of what you grow.

The soil along the Hamakua coast is great and there's some farm lands you can lease around the Pauuilo area. Much cheaper than buying. The Hamakua lease land has irrigation, deep soil and lots of sunshine. There may also be some higher elevation parcels available directly from the County instead of through the farm group, dunno much about that, though.

There is talk about building a new big farmer's market / agricultural tourist area just outside of Honokaa next year. They would be looking for vendors, no doubt.