permaculture

["Elijah Smith" <elijah@hilobay.com>]

We've been eyeing some land in Hawaii that's currently 15 acres of solid,
chemically grown, monocropped papaya.  It's cheap, has an incredible
location, and is surrounded by tall windbreaks and some avocados, coconuts,
etc.  It's mostly surrounded by more papaya fields.  The current leasors are
described as "conscious, but chemical users" and indeed, though they
obviously spray some of the field, they mow a good deal of the grass in
between the rows.

They've got the lease for another year and a half, which might give us time
to start a bunch of trees, etc.  Our question is - how long before it's
"safe" to move in and live on that land?  One guy told us 3 years, which
seems excessive - is it?  How about eating food off the land - wait longer
for that?  And do any of you have any pointers to information about
accelerating the remediation process (beyond nitrogen fixers and dynamic
accumulators) in this sort of situation?

Any comments or pointers to information would be appreciated... Thanks much
in advance!

 Elijah