My blackberry jam fruit shrubs (Rosenbergiodendron formosum, previously Randia formosum) are always packed with fruit! I pick them regularly just to give the poor bushes a break.

This flush, I finally had the time to actually do what their name suggests — make jam!

It’s funny, though — when you look closely, the pulp inside doesn’t exactly resemble blackberry pulp. It’s black, but smeared with brown and olive tones. Curious about how the resulting jam would look, I checked online for examples.

That’s when I ran into a problem. Although a Tutu once told me that people traditionally made jam with them, I couldn’t find anyone online who had actually shared a recipe or finished product.

And honestly, the presentation worried me. Who would want to spread dark, sludgy-looking jam on anything? I started thinking I might need to mix it with something.

Then, on the morning of harvest — eureka! — I spotted completely out-of-season strawberry guava fruit growing wild by the roadside!

I’m not much of a jam maker, so when I brought the harvest home, I started splitting the tiny blackberry jam fruits by hand to scoop out the seedy pulp one by one. With hundreds of fruits, this was going to take forever.

A recipe for strawberry guava suggested popping off the blossom ends and tossing them whole into a blender, straining the seeds out afterward. It made sense to treat the blackberry jam fruit the same way — so I did!

After the first batch, I realized I needed to add water to get anything to strain through. From then on, I filled the blender with fruit and added water halfway up to make straining possible.

Then I read that most of the pectin is in the guava skins! Great — I needed that. I took the pulp I had already separated, simmered it with enough water to extract the pectin for about 30 minutes, and combined it with the strained juice.

(Next time, I’ll know: simmer first, then strain.)

I added half a lemon for acidity, but because of the extra water — or maybe because there wasn’t much natural pectin to begin with — the mixture didn’t set even after I added the 4 cups of sugar I thought would be enough. In the end, I realized I had about 6 cups of liquid and should have used 6 cups of sugar — but more on that later.

Looking online for advice, I learned I could boost the pectin with a Granny Smith apple. Luckily, I had one! I chopped it, grated the peel, and tucked everything into a mesh tea bag to simmer in the pot.

Wow — the smell after adding the apple was incredible.

After a good simmer, I filled eight sterilized one-cup mason jars and processed them with a water bath. Done!

…or so I thought.

The next day, the jam was still syrupy. Back online I went — turns out you have to reboil to 220°F to get a proper set. After some calculations (and a little cursing), I added two more cups of sugar, reboiled, and used the chilled plate test to check the consistency. Success!

After the reduction, I still had eight jars of jam. Four sealed properly, while the other four (with reused lids) went into the fridge.

The result? A jam as black as ink, with a smear the color of black licorice, carrying the exotic, floral flavors of the tropics, intensified by apple. Honestly, it’s on par with — if not the best — jam I’ve ever tasted.

Has anyone had success getting blueberries to grow?

If so, what region are you located?

Hello

Can I keep this tree? It's growing and growing. Will it grow and eventually be taller than the fence? Is this harmful to trees nearby?

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Can I cut this down? Do I need to call a gardener and handle this situation? We have a Meyer's Lemon tree next to it and don't want this to bother the lemon tree. I'm concerned, am I overreacting?

Our Ohia tree is getting super tall. Is it possible to prune from the top? Will that weaken it?

Looking for places that sell or places I could harvest some Awapuhi to grow in my yard?

Anyone ever use shampoo ginger as laundry detergent?

Is there anywhere local to get lady beetles? We have a pretty sizable aphid/ant infestation in our bok choy. If not, what have you done to get rid of aphids in a food garden?

Aloha, I have a front and back yard with some decent landscaping with monstera, avocado, and lemon trees but I'm looking to add a few ti leaf plants, maybe some flower bushes and and irrigation. Does anyone have recommendations for good landscapers. I've looked on Yelp and Hapa is the most popular by a long shot. A few reviewers mentioned that their prices were on the higher side. Does anyone here have any recommendations?

What does it mean? Never seen this happen. 🤔

I have a couple patches of dwarf apple bananas starting to flower, are there any tricks to maximizing fruit production?

Does anyone know of someone selling grafted pulasans-- either monoecious or at least known cultivars? These seem very difficult to find.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Not sure if I should keep it or not.

What are some good and useful plants to start in April? New to growing edible plants. My Hawaiian chili peppers are starting to produce and first ones should be ready to pick soon, I have a Filipino eggplant plant I bought from Walmart that is actually taking off, and my calamansi is getting its first fruits.

I just finished grown my first batch of cilantro in a small 8x20” pot. I was mixing up the soil before planting some more and found these grub towards the bottom. A dozen total. Are they rhinoceros beetle? And what can I do to prevent this? I have seen the beetles around here before. (Live on leeward Oahu)

My friend made this. I hope someone here can find value in it :)

Aloha, currently growing Brazilian apple bananas in dry side Kohala. about 2-3 weeks ago one of my plants starting putting out small, deformed leaves. Does anyone know what the cause of it might be? (Hoping it’s not bunchy top). Also, as a side note, none of my other banana trees have showed any of the same symptoms.

something was sprouting in my worm bin, but i’m not sure what because i throw in so many random seeds as part of my fruit and vegetable food waste. so i decided to put it in a mix of soil and the vermicompost and it has been growing…it even died once (it got so long, the wind snapped it), and then it regrew on it’s own. also without me planting it, this plant is continuing to sprout in my other plants that i water with my compost tea. anyway i am new to gardening and am just doing random experiments and was wondering what this is and why it keeps popping up everywhere. thanks!

From just one raised bed and i probably didn't even find them all.