Waena III

So what are the risks of waena farming, or the downsides? Few, really, especially in an uncorrupted ecosystem. A previous cleared area, especially one cleared and neglected, will require a great deal of time and effort to weed and remove invasives and grasses, but within the forest itself simply removing the false staghorn, by mulching and controlled burning historically--and immediate planting with taro or u'ala one will get good results. Since the forest encourages small patches in multiple zonal habitats, the likelyhood of pest infestation or weed introduction is limited simply by isolation. In a day with new bugs and viruses all the time not having all one's eggs in one basket is pretty sensible!

For weed control I use the u'ala sweet potatoe (piko) as a perpetual cover crop. Bare ground will rapidly become infested with something, so one may as well infest it with sweet potatoes! The sweet potato at least in my area seems to be of very little interest to many insects, and seems to work well as a border barrier as well protecting more vulnerable produce. The single biggest mistake one can make is to open a garden plot without any immediate usage. It will rapidly become infested and the work involved will be radically increased. If you're foolish enough to clear and let the guava get going, you're going to be duly rewarded for your neglect.