News and Events


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How Can We Help?

How Can We Help? 19 June 2020

How Can We Help?

Human Development and Family Sciences develops a quick guide to coping

The stress from COVID-19’s impact on our health, finances, and way of life is affecting many Hawaiʻi individuals and families. So the question for Human Development and Family Sciences is, “How can we help?”

4-H Ali‘i

4-H Ali‘i 19 June 2020

4-H Ali‘i

Join the June 25th online ceremony for 4-H supporters

Since 1947, the 4-H Ahaolelo (“gathering for a meeting”) has brought together 4-H’ers from throughout Hawai‘i, as well as Canada, Guam, California, Micronesia, and Japan. As the Ahaolelo website explains, “The 4-H Ahaolelo is rich in tradition. The week of ‘coming together’ has played an important part in the development of 4-H in Hawaii. The 4-H Ahaolelo provides opportunities to make friends and exchange ideas.”

Plant Guardian

Plant Guardian 19 June 2020

Plant Guardian

Extension’s Amjad Ahmad will represent Hawai‘i for national germplasm collection

Extension agent in sustainable and organic agriculture Amjad Ahmad has been selected as the Hawai‘i representative for the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), as well as secretary for the national chapter.

Food for Grandfamilies

Food for Grandfamilies 17 June 2020

Food for Grandfamilies

Maui Extension pairs elders and food trucks for meals and education

Grandfamilies, or grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren, are especially vulnerable during COVID-19. They’re a high-risk group, often living on fixed incomes. At the same time, food truck owners, like all restaurateurs, have been hit hard by the shutdown. But on Maui, CTAHR’s Intergenerational Extension has found a way to bring the two groups together to help each other

Get It Covered

Get It Covered 17 June 2020

Get It Covered

Western SARE is conducting a cover crop survey

The newly created Western Cover Crops Council aims to promote the successful use of cover crops in diverse agricultural systems. To help improve outreach and inform cover crop incentive programs to better serve stakeholders, it’s asking farmers and ranchers to share their perspectives. Whether they plant cover crops now, planted them in the past, or never planted them, every perspective is important!

No Fire on the Farm

No Fire on the Farm 12 June 2020

No Fire on the Farm

Learn how to assess and reduce the risk of wildfire on agricultural lands

Dry season is here, and the risk of wildfire is ramping up. How can producers protect their farms? Clay Trauernicht, Extension specialist in wildfire science and management in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, is partnering with O‘ahu Cooperative Extension to offer a webinar on “Assessing and Reducing Wildfire Risk on Your Farm.”

Get Your CFAP On

Get Your CFAP On 8 June 2020

Get Your CFAP On

USDA provides financial assistance to agriculture

Growers and agricultural producers have been hit hard by COVID-19. Fortunately, a number of resources out there can help. Check this out: USDA is providing critical support to farmers and ranchers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which offers vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities that can give them the ability to absorb sales declines and increased marketing costs associated with the pandemic.

Rabbitfish in the Pacific

Rabbitfish in the Pacific 8 June 2020

Rabbitfish in the Pacific

CTSA will conduct virtual training on aquaculture methods

Want to know more about sustainably raising rabbitfish, a popular food throughout the Western Pacific region? Farmers, researchers, and stakeholders of the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture are invited to a three-day virtual training workshop on the hatchery, nursery, and grow-out protocols for farming rabbitfish.

The Roots of Farming

The Roots of Farming 5 June 2020

The Roots of Farming

Cooperative Extension offers a virtual potato production workshop

Proponents of food sustainability in the Islands are always looking for more locally grown starches…so what about potatoes? Cooperative Extension is offering a virtual potato production workshop on Wednesday, June 17, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

ADSC Is Closed to Samples

ADSC Is Closed to Samples 3 June 2020

ADSC Is Closed to Samples

Last-minute construction changes adversely affect ADSC’s ability to provide diagnostics.

The Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center apologizes for the inconvenience.

Nutrition Outreach

Nutrition Outreach 3 June 2020

Nutrition Outreach

Professor honored for obesity prevention locally and internationally

Congratulations to Jinan Banna, who has been distinguished by the American Society for Nutrition with a Nutrition Education and Behavioral Sciences Research Interest Section Mid-Career Award. This highly competitive award is presented to a mid-career investigator who demonstrates outstanding research and contributions to the field of nutrition education and/or behavior change.

More Livestock Marketing Online

More Livestock Marketing Online 1 June 2020

More Livestock Marketing Online

Learn about selling and marketing animal products using online tools and platforms

Join livestock Extension agents Savannah Katulski and Melelani Oshiro and ag finance Extension agent Shannon Sand for the remaining three parts of the Online Livestock Marketing Series: Part 2, Using Online Sales Platforms; Part 3, Marketing Using Social Media; and Part 4, General Marketing & Branding.

‘Olena Online

‘Olena Online 27 May 2020

‘Olena Online

Virtual turmeric webinar and drive-up cultivar distribution

Cooperative Extension is offering an online informational session exclusively for producers TOMORROW, Thursday, May 28. Participants will learn about research trials and innovative production practices being conducted around Hawai‘i. They’ll also take home organically grown ginger, turmeric, and other goodies.

ADSC: Closed for Remodeling

ADSC: Closed for Remodeling 22 May 2020

ADSC: Closed for Remodeling

Last day to receive samples is June 10. Komohana will continue offering HI Island service

The Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (ADSC) will be closed from Wednesday, June 10, through Monday, July 13. The ADSC, located in Sherman Laboratory, is entering a major phase of HVAC construction work. Currently the entire second floor is sealed off with a ventilation system, along with a chute and dumpster for construction debris.

Helping Hands

Helping Hands 22 May 2020

Helping Hands

4-H sews a thousand-plus masks

“Hands” is one of the four “H’s” of 4-H, and O‘ahu 4-H youth and volunteers have been putting their hands to good use in this time of high need! Over the past month, they’ve sewn more than 1,000 masks and donated them to health care workers, military personnel, postal workers, Extension agents and staff, houseless individuals, and more!

Congratulations to the “Screenhouses” Team

Congratulations to the “Screenhouses” Team 14 May 2020

Congratulations to the “Screenhouses” Team

Winners of the 2020 Dean’s Award for Extension

Normally celebrated at the CTAHR Annual Banquet, this year’s Dean’s Award recipients will be honored here, on your laptops and tablets, and with their names carved into the plaques that adorn Gilmore Hall. Prize monies will also be distributed, per the usual means. The 2020 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Extension goes to Koon-Hui Wang, Jari Sugano, Jensen Uyeda, Kylie Tavares, Theodore Radovich, Joshua Silva, and Amjad Ahmad.

Help Fund Koa Haole Research

Help Fund Koa Haole Research 14 May 2020

Help Fund Koa Haole Research

Your survey input may lead to new forage varieties

Leucaena is a versatile, adaptable, nitrogen-fixing tree widely grown in the tropics as cattle forage. It’s high in protein, and cattle eat it readily. But most people in Hawai‘i know it as the weedy shrub koa haole, covered in rattling brown pods full of seeds. Over the decades, CTAHR has developed a few seedless, and therefore sterile, hybrids of Leucaena that won’t become weedy.

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 13 May 2020

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

USDA webinar (TOMORROW morning!) will guide the direct payment process

The USDA Farm Service Agency will soon begin accepting applications for its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). This program will provide direct payments to farmers and ranchers to offset losses resulting from price volatility and market supply-chain reductions from COVID-19. More details about CFAP direct payments will be announced soon.

Direct-to-Consumer Livestock Sales

Direct-to-Consumer Livestock Sales 12 May 2020

Direct-to-Consumer Livestock Sales

Learn how to e-market your animal products online

Know about livestock, but not about social media? If you’re interested in diversifying your business by marketing meat and other animal products direct-to-consumer, then RSVP for a new “Online Livestock Marketing Webinar Series,” starting Tuesday, May 19, at 6:00 p.m.

Go Ahead, Brighten My Day

Go Ahead, Brighten My Day 11 May 2020

Go Ahead, Brighten My Day

CTAHR donates 400+ sunflowers to local hospitals

Happy hues of orange and yellow radiate in the sunshine as Russell Galanti prepares to harvest his latest crop. The Extension agent in ornamental crops has a big afternoon ahead. The sunʻs glare will soon ease into a soft, warm glow, making it less harsh on freshly cut sunflowers. That’s Russell’s cue to begin cutting, trimming, washing, and bundling the 400+ stalks he has tended to lovingly at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center.

 

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6 April 2020

Selecting a Garden Site

The rewards are definitely worth the effort

Selecting a Garden Site

Hawai‘i has an array of soils and climates, with no one-size-fits-all answer for selecting a garden site. In many parts of our islands, what you see is what you’ve got to work with. You might live on a lava field or dry plain—but it’s all good. In fact, some areas with thin lava soil are the richest areas. Drier areas are usually richer than wetter areas, though you’ll need more water.

The first consideration, in fact, is access to water, especially in a fairly dry area. It should also be free from large rocks and tree stumps, with good sun exposure, not be shaded by large trees or structures.

Southern Exposure

Each side of your house has different wind, sun, temperature, and growing hours. The southern side will have the most intense sun, the north and east will be the windiest, and the north will be the coldest, with the least amount of sun. The west will have the most wind protection, but may have fewer growing hours due to shading from your house. The southwest is often the best area to locate a garden; good southern exposure takes advantage of the spring sun.

Wind

Protection from the wind can be a luxury in Hawai‘i. But rather than reject a windy site, you could plant a windbreak: sorghum-sudan grass, pearl millet, or vetiver grass. Sorghum-sudan is the fastest growing—it can provide a six-foot-high wind barrier only 40 days from seed. When the grasses get too long, you just trim them back and cut into mulch.

Pots

Planting in pots allows you to move them around until you find the ideal spot. Pots are good for growing micro-greens; mature leafy vegetables like kale, collards, or bok choy; and compact or dwarf fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and eggplant. Cut-and-come-again crops like lettuce, arugula, mizuna, and many herbs are also great because you don’t have to plant each time, just maintain and eat again over a long period, even months.

Now Is the Time

The Spring Equinox was March 21, and days are getting longer, up to 13½ hours on June 21, the Summer Solstice. This is the ideal season for gardening in Hawai‘i, when plants will respond positively to day length and spring rains. Seeds will spring forth or even burst out. Some crops will adapt to your location and thrive, while others may struggle. This comes with experience as you grow more gardens.

So stake your claim to a good piece of earth and start with something small you can manage. The more time you spend growing your own food, feeling renewed by our beautiful surroundings, and spending time with your family, the more you’ll appreciate your new garden.

Good luck, and stay safe out there!

Glenn I. Teves, Cooperative Extension Service, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resource