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Honoring Our Past, Growing Our Future

Honoring Our Past, Growing Our Future 11 October 2018

Honoring Our Past, Growing Our Future

The year 2018 marks a special time for Hawai‘i Cooperative Extension and the Hawai‘i 4-H Program! There will be a celebration luncheon on Wednesday, November 7, in honor of two important Extension milestones, and the CTAHR ‘ohana is invited to participate in commemorating Hawai’i’s past while looking toward the future!

Documents to download

Be an AgPro!

Be an AgPro! 11 October 2018

Be an AgPro!

Registration is now open for the AgPro professional-development training on October 23 and 24 on Maui. The two-day event, with the theme of “Extending Our Reach: Technology Use in Cooperative Extension,” will offer Extension agents and specialists the latest updates relating to the use of technology in agriculture, livestock, and Extension education.

In Their Own Words

In Their Own Words 11 October 2018

In Their Own Words

Through collaboration with community partners, CTAHR Cooperative Extension was able to reach 14 Thai farmers on Kaua‘i and 10 Thai farmers on O‘ahu last week by providing bilingual workshops. Farmers noted that both workshops were very informative and that they are interested in attending additional workshops in the future.

They’re into Growing in a BIG Way!

They’re into Growing in a BIG Way! 28 September 2018

They’re into Growing in a BIG Way!

East Hawai‘i 4-H had a record year at their recent Hawai‘i County Giant Fruit & Vegetable Contest, adding six new contest records, including a 2.37-pound giant tomato, a 16.74-pound coconut, a 2.02-pound lemon, a giant 7.47-pound sweet potato, a 14.5-inch sunflower head, and, astonishingly, an 84.5-inch-long gourd!

Healthy Facts About Social Media

Healthy Facts About Social Media 28 September 2018

Healthy Facts About Social Media

In a recent Star-Advertiser column, HNFAS nutritionists Joannie Dobbs and Alan Titchenal discuss the role that social media can play in affecting and maintaining people’s health. They point out that a lot of what we read on social media about food and diet can be “biased and misleading,” especially if it’s disseminated by special interest groups with their own agendas.

Fire Fighter

Fire Fighter 20 September 2018

Fire Fighter

Clay Trauernicht (NREM) recently published an article in Civil Beat’s “Community Voices” forum entitled “Fire Is the One Hawaii Disaster We Can Avoid.” As he explains, there’s nothing people can do to prevent many of the natural disasters that have hit our state in the past few months. But one natural crisis that we can prevent is wildfire.

 

Bunch Back Against Bunchy Top

Bunch Back Against Bunchy Top 12 September 2018

Bunch Back Against Bunchy Top

Attend a Banana Macropropagation Workshop to learn how to propagate healthy, disease-free banana plants using macropropagation techniques! This field day will cover management of Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV), a demonstration of rapid BBTV detection, and propagation of clean banana plants through macropropagation.

Catch the New Wave on Catfish

Catch the New Wave on Catfish 12 September 2018

Catch the New Wave on Catfish

There’s an exciting new technique in town for catfish producers: the use of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)! Find out more at the Chinese Catfish Hatchery and Spawning Workshop, which will be held at the Waimanalo Research Station’s Aquaponics Lab on Saturday, September 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon.

Feeling Seedy?

Feeling Seedy? 12 September 2018

Feeling Seedy?

Come to the Hawai‘i Seed Fest, providing “Local Seeds for Local Needs,” on Saturday, September 22, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Waimanalo Research Station. There you can join local community conversations on the hows and whys of growing seeds specifically adapted for Hawai’i. Attendance is free, but advance registration is required.

Get Pepped Up

Get Pepped Up 12 September 2018

Get Pepped Up

Need a little spice in your life? Come to the Jalapeño Pepper Field Day at the Poamoho Research Station on Tuesday, October 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. This field day will provide field observations of 20 commercially available mild and regular-heat jalapeño pepper varieties, including gorgeous purple peppers!

 

Go Pro—AgPro!

Go Pro—AgPro! 12 September 2018

Go Pro—AgPro!

Extension agents and specialists are invited to the AgPro professional-development training on October 23 and 24 on Maui. The two-day event, with the theme of “Extending Our Reach: Technology Use in Cooperative Extension,” will offer the latest updates relating to the use of technology in architecture, livestock, and Extension education.

Healthy Eating with the Kaleiopu‘u Keiki

Healthy Eating with the Kaleiopu‘u Keiki 12 September 2018

Healthy Eating with the Kaleiopu‘u Keiki

Monica Esquivel (HNFAS) took a visit to the Kaleiopu‘u Elementary kindergarten classrooms to share information about nutrition, physical activity, and community resources for healthy eating and food. The presentation was a part of a project to help the 135 kindergarteners at Kaleiopu‘u learn about healthy food choices and exercise.

 

A Century of Extension Excellence

A Century of Extension Excellence 6 September 2018

A Century of Extension Excellence

CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension will be celebrating its 90th year with UH, along with its 4-H program’s 100-year anniversary. A celebration luncheon will be held on November 7 at the Ala Moana Hotel’s Hibiscus Ballroom, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Don't miss it!
 

Documents to download

How Risky Is Your Food?

How Risky Is Your Food? 6 September 2018

How Risky Is Your Food?

Junior Extension agent Kylie Wong Tavares has been awarded a Roy A. Goff Memorial Endowment Fund scholarship of $750 in support of her coursework on “Quantifying Food Risk” and “Foodborne Disease Epidemiology,” funding that will allow her to better serve her clientele.
 

Composting Helps Water Quality

Composting Helps Water Quality 6 September 2018

Composting Helps Water Quality

Extension agent Glen Fukumoto (HNFAS) recently returned from the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, where he was doing work on water quality and piggery systems as part of his MultiState Extension project with the college’s Pacific Island land-grant partners. 

Get Your Spray On

Get Your Spray On 30 August 2018

Get Your Spray On

A Small-Scale Pesticide Application Demonstration is being held at the Poamoho Research Station on Saturday, September 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. This field day will cover small-scale pesticide-application equipment, sprayer calibration techniques, selecting the right application equipment for the job, and much more.

Go the Course

Go the Course 30 August 2018

Go the Course

Cooperative Extension will be offering a Pesticide Reduced-Risk Education Short Course on O‘ahu on October 16–17. This in-depth two-day short course will educate participants about handling pesticides, including herbicides, in ways that will reduce risks to people and our environment.

Reproductive Success from Hawai‘i to Brazil!

Reproductive Success from Hawai‘i to Brazil! 30 August 2018

Reproductive Success from Hawai‘i to Brazil!

Kyle Caires (HNFAS) gave two presentations on his collaboratory research at the XXIVth Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Embryo Technology in Florianopolis, Brazil, on improving reproductive success in Wagyu or ‘Japanese Black’ cattle and characterizing the microbiota of the vaginal tract of sheep.

Where the Pigs Are

Where the Pigs Are 30 August 2018

Where the Pigs Are

Swine specialist Halina Zaleski (HNFAS) is quoted in an article about the resurgence of Hawai‘i’s pork industry published in Honolulu Civil Beat. She explains that pork is a critical part of many cultures in Hawai‘i—not just any pork, but the whole pig, which makes it unique in terms of livestock production and opens a critical space for local producers.

Make Way for Macadamia

Make Way for Macadamia 30 August 2018

Make Way for Macadamia

Mark Wright (PEPS) was interviewed for a Civil Beat article on efforts to control the macadamia felted coccid, a pest of macadamia that can suck the trees dry of sap, killing them. Mark is one of the state’s foremost researchers on the coccid and says that the insect is taking its toll on the industry.

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16 April 2020

Edible Flowers? Yes!

Home-grown herbs and flowers can add freshness, color, and flavor to your table

Edible Flowers? Yes!

Some of the most perishable types of produce are herbs and edible flowers, so getting them fresh means frequent trips to the grocery store. With stay-at-home orders, why not grow your own?

Growing an herb and edible flower garden at home is rewarding in many ways. It requires little effort and inputs. The sense of accomplishment I get from picking my own fresh herbs from my 2-foot by 5-foot herb garden bed is well worth the hour per week of attention I put into maintaining the plants.

Herb and edible flower gardens come in many shapes and sizes. Creating a containerized garden is as easy as finding an appropriate pot, some soil, and a water source.

Plastic planters designed for planting are best, but almost any container can be used. Make sure it wasn’t treated with chemicals to prevent decay and isn’t made of leachable chemicals that are bad for plants and people.

Containers must drain easily and not allow standing water. They must be large enough to allow the herbs’ roots to grow for long periods of time. The larger the container, the longer the plant can grow without becoming root bound, and ultimately, the less often you will have to water.

I don’t recommend using soil from an existing garden or landscape. These soils often don’t have good characteristics, such as drainage, for containers. For best results, I either use potting soil or mix garden soil with potting soil or cinder.

The fastest way to start an herb and edible flower garden at home is to purchase starter plants from your local nursery. Herbs can be grown from seed, but they usually require about three extra weeks before harvest, compared to starter plants.

What herbs and edible flowers are easiest to grow in Hawai‘i?

My favorites include cilantro, green onions, mints, and Hawaiian chili peppers. If you like basil, Thai basil is an excellent choice because it grows well in tropical climates compared to the more common European basils. The same is true for Hawaiian chili peppers compared to other pepper varieties.

Edible flowers are a beautiful and tasty option for companion planting in herb gardens. Nasturtium is an edible flower that’s easy to grow in just about any home garden. It can produce over 70 flowers a week—food for the stomach and soul! Marigolds are another edible flower, and they can repel nematodes and other insect pests.

So if you’ve got some time on your hands and are stuck at home, here’s something new you can try: plant an herb and edible flower garden!

Russell Galanti, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources