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The Poi Dog Factory

The Poi Dog Factory 6 January 2021

The Poi Dog Factory

Cattle-breeding technologies are positioning Mealani as an industry leader

I received my BS and MS in Animal Sciences from CTAHR and went to work for the college, but after a long career, I’ve hung up my spurs and retired.

Before I say Aloha! and Mahalo!, I want to tell you about a special cattle-breeding project by Extension at Mealani Research Station.

AgCurious Kicks Off

AgCurious Kicks Off 6 January 2021

AgCurious Kicks Off

GoFarm will start a new cohort Jan. 14 in Hilo

Know someone or some family that might be looking to improve their farming production and agribusiness skills? CTAHR’s highly successful GoFarm program will kick off 2021 with a new cohort at its Alae site in Hilo. Please forward and share with your networks.

Immediate Benefits

Immediate Benefits 21 December 2020

Immediate Benefits

Taro trials also feed a hungry community

What hasn’t changed during this pandemic is the need for research trials. What HAS changed is the community’s greater need for food donations.

 

Saving Seed

Saving Seed 15 December 2020

Saving Seed

Glenn Teves and Jay Bost join "The Conversation" on HPR

Hawai’i Public Radio’s “The Conversation” series recently hosted two special guests: Glenn Teves of Molokai Extension and Jay Bost of GoFarm.

The Conversation’s Community Growers Urge Residents To Plant Seeds “really resonated with our audience” and “received positive feedback during and after the show!” notes HPR.

Mushroom Trip

Mushroom Trip 15 December 2020

Mushroom Trip

Extension’s hands-on school program stokes excitement and interest

What is a mushroom? Is it a fruit, or is it vegetable? Is it even a plant? During this pandemic, it’s more important than ever to create hands-on “classroom” activities that students can do from home. Look no further than Extension educators, who’ve been able to deliver on CTAHR’s Land Grant obligations by helping Oʻahu students cultivate oyster mushrooms.

Invasive Pests, Part III

Invasive Pests, Part III 23 November 2020

Invasive Pests, Part III

Extension hosts another mini-conference December 15

With the main objective to bring stakeholders together, in the same forum, to discuss and share current issues, concerns, and updates on the status and research in Hawaiʻi, CTAHR Extension will host the third Invasive Pests Mini-Conference via Zoom: December 15, 1:00 p.m.

Giant Smiles, Part II

Giant Smiles, Part II 16 November 2020

Giant Smiles, Part II

4-H contest gets keiki excited about agriculture

“The opportunity to grow ‘giants’ with my children is a blessing,” says Wendi Sasaki. “We were able to spend quality time together, learning and growing.’”

The parent participant is referring to a contest of giant fruits and vegetables, brought to Big Island families by the Hawai'i County 4-H program.

I Owe Uncle Sam What?!

I Owe Uncle Sam What?! 9 November 2020

I Owe Uncle Sam What?!

Learn to navigate Ag taxes with GoFarm Hawaiʻi’s free seminars

If doing taxes is a piece of cake for you, then stop reading now. But for the rest of us who cringe at the thought of preparing our own Agribusiness General Excise taxes, Schedule F and other forms of sole proprietorship or partnership, help is on the way.

Mahalo, Volunteers!

Mahalo, Volunteers! 2 November 2020

Mahalo, Volunteers!

Urban Garden Center hosts the 2020 Volunteer Appreciation Day

Forty-eight cars and trucks took their turns, driving thru the grounds of the Urban Garden Center for a well-deserved chance to vote on their favorite Halloween decoration, and receive tools generously donated by City Mill, as well as other tokens of mahalo! from the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, UH Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center, UH Bookstore, and CTAHR.

Coffee Leaf Rust

Coffee Leaf Rust 2 November 2020

Coffee Leaf Rust

Pest confirmed on Maui and tentatively on Hawai`i Island

Coffee leaf rust (CLR) has been confirmed by the U.S Dept. of Agriculture from coffee plant samples collected on Maui last week. In response, the Hawai`i Dept. of Agriculture (HDOA) began statewide surveys and has detected suspect plants on Hawai`i Island.

ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest

ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest 2 November 2020

ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest

Celebrating one of Hawaiʻi’s most beloved plants

“The most abundant tree in Hawaii’s native forest is the ‘ōhi‘a lehua, a tree critical to providing the water we drink, keeping our ocean reefs clean, and to the native Hawaiian culture,” says Ambyr U. Mokiao-Lee, Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) Statewide Outreach Coordinator. “For these reasons and more, ‘ōhi‘a will be celebrated in a week-long virtual event called ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest.

Extension Growth

Extension Growth 2 November 2020

Extension Growth

The Hawaiʻi chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi is recruiting members

Ever wonder what Extension is up to – across the pond? Want a mechanism to share experiences, ideas, what works and what didn’t, with fellow professionals on the Mainland? Then consider joining Alpha Omega, the Hawaiʻi chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi.

MacNut Pest Management

MacNut Pest Management 13 October 2020

MacNut Pest Management

A new study on the felted coccid can help growers manage loss from pests

Some years ago, an Australian native insect called the “macadamia felted coccid” found its way to Hawaiʻi, causing leaf and branch die back, flower drop and sometimes, tree death among Macadamia trees. Relatively recently, the invasive pest insect became widespread on the Big Island – and of course, this has led to reduced crop yields.

Hawaiiscape Green

Hawaiiscape Green 6 October 2020

Hawaiiscape Green

Extension teams up with LICH to help small and minority-owned businesses

Please join Extension agents Russell Galanti and Hannah Lutgen on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 3:00 p.m., as they present the first in a planned series of webinars on the local green industry. The first webinar will look at small and minority-owned businesses in the green industry and programs that will improve their economic situation and help them recover from COVID-related economic effects.

Piggeries in Puna

Piggeries in Puna 29 September 2020

Piggeries in Puna

A new deep-litter design may help jump-start family farms

Lower Puna has felt the stinging triple punch of hurricane, lava, and now, pandemic. Enter Mike DuPonte and a new deep-litter piggery.

Beyond Beginners

Beyond Beginners 15 September 2020

Beyond Beginners

GoFarm Hawaiʻi consults on business plans, grant writing, and a whole lot more.

Financial analysis, marketing support, business plan production, grant writing – perhaps not what you’d expect from a beginner farmer training program.

But as Janel Yamamoto explains in a recent article, GoFarm Hawaiʻi offers services for those already working in the agricultural industry.

One Busy Man

One Busy Man 9 September 2020

One Busy Man

Extension agent is helping livestock producers, near and far

What’s one way to help ranchers stay in business during a pandemic? Kyle Caires might give you three answers. Last week, the Extension agent was a guest of Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, as the mayor announced Feed My Sheep, a new CARES Act-funded partnership with local ranchers to provide ground beef to people in need.

RU AgCurious?

RU AgCurious? 19 August 2020

RU AgCurious?

GoFarm Hawaiʻi Windward kicks off another farmer training

If commercial farming is a key to economic diversification in our island state, why not start with Hawaiʻi’s premier beginning farmer training? The free webinar is the first step for anyone interested in GoFarm’s highly successful program.

Giant Smiles

Giant Smiles 19 August 2020

Giant Smiles

4-H contest gets keiki excited about agriculture

For eight years and running, Hawaiʻi County 4-H has found a special way to bring out big smiles from its smallest members: a contest of giant fruits and vegetables.

Congrats, Zhiqiang Cheng!

Congrats, Zhiqiang Cheng! 27 July 2020

Congrats, Zhiqiang Cheng!

Turfgrass and landscape pest expert wins arboricultural award

Golf courses, resorts, and homeowner lawns across the Islands rely on Hawai‘i sunshine, good irrigation, and the expert guidance of Zhiqiang Cheng of the Dept. of Plant & Environmental Protection Sciences.

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17 April 2020

Put Your Garden to Bed

Raised-bed gardening gives you more options

Put Your Garden to Bed

What if your back yard has an ideal spot for growing vegetables—open space, sunlight, protection from excessive winds, and a source of water—but the soil isnʻt ideal, or maybe the ground is covered by concrete or another hardscape?

Creating a raised bed over the surface is a great solution. In comparison with in-ground planting and pots, beds can be the best of both worlds. You can fill the bed with the specific soil of your choice, which might have better consistency and fewer weeds than the existing soil in your back yard. The high walls help deter outside grasses from creeping in. Some people even build their beds higher up on legs so they don’t have to bend or squat.

Materials

The options for constructing a raised bed are limited only by your imagination. Think outside the box! Find and reuse items around your yard. Iʻve used banana stumps, which aren’t very long lasting, but have an attractive tropical look—and finding a use for extra banana stems is a good way to practice sustainability.

You can also purchase boards, bricks, and many other materials. Personally, I find it easiest to use 2”x6” borate-treated lumber, which can be cut to the desired length at the store. Many people make 4’ wide beds, but I like 3’ because it's easier for me to reach the middle. If you have access from only one side, you might consider making them only 2’ wide.

The deeper your bed, the better, so the roots can have space. For most vegetables, 6” clearance over existing soil or 12” on top of concrete or hardscape is adequate. You’ll need more depth for daikon, carrots, gobo, and other vegetables with long roots.

A note on safety: Borate-treated lumber is considered safe for use in the garden. But please be careful of older materials, which may have been treated with chromium, arsenic, creosote, lead paint, or other toxic contaminants. Or you could go with untreated lumber, which will still last for some time but may host termites.

Irrigation

Raised beds may require less frequent watering than containerized plants, since there’s more soil volume. They also provide a structure where you can conveniently set up a simple irrigation system.

You can use an irrigation timer to reduce the amount of time you spend watering. An easy way is to add a hose-end timer connected to your hose bib, then with compression fittings connect to ½” flexible black plastic tubing. You then add spray or drip emitters, or drip tubing off the ½” line, with ¼” tubing to connect them all. As I write this, City Mill has all of those necessary supplies. A timer is especially helpful as we get into summer, since some plants (such as kale) might like a twice-daily watering to deal with the heat.

Soil

For raised beds, I prefer a mixture of clay topsoil and compost. Both are local products. Some gardeners have a prejudice against using clay, but it has excellent moisture- and nutrient-retaining qualities. Compost helps to improve drainage, aeration, and the physical qualities of the soil, while also improving its biological and chemical properties.

Topsoil and locally-produced compost can be purchased in bags from a garden shop. If you want greater quantities at excellent prices, try going directly to producers such as Hawaiian Earth Recycling or Island Topsoil. Look for a garden blend, which may be roughly 40% topsoil and 60% compost. This mix is ready to plant in. Over the months, the soil blend will shrink as the compost decomposes, so youʻll periodically need to dig in more compost (I like to do this before new plantings).

Of course, you could fill the raised bed entirely with potting mix instead, but I feel that if you’re going to use that many cubic yards’ worth, it’s more sustainable to use locally sourced clay topsoil and compost.

To add nutrients, I prefer to add a bag of composted chicken manure, up to 5% of the raised bed’s total volume. If you don’t want to deal with manure, simply add your preferred fertilizer, and you’re ready to plant.

Protecting our environment

When growing over a hardscape, make sure the drainage is directed straight toward your yard’s existing soil and landscape plants, rather than off your property and into the storm drain. Water leaching from your soil will carry plant nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which pollute streams and the ocean by encouraging algae growth.

Happy gardening! I’m sure you’ll have some successes and failures, but learn from them and don’t give up.

Kalani Matsumura, Cooperative Extension Service and Master Gardener Program, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources