The ICU ward at Tripler Army Medical Center overflowed with smiles this week, thanks to a delivery of sunflowers by Extension agent Russell Galanti. Originally meant for CTAHR’s Annual Banquet, the 400+ sunflowers grown at the Urban Garden Center were donated to hospitals across O‘ahu to thank our healthcare workers for braving COVID-19.

What social programs would best serve the community? To gain a better understanding, Extension agents Marielle Hampton, Heather Greenwood, and Hallie Cristobal have put together a “Hawai‘i Needs Assessment of Intergenerational and Youth Development Programs.” The survey will gather important feedback on educational and social programs.

Two longtime members of the CTAHR ‘ohana are leaving for fresh adventures. Naomi Kanehiro, an Extension agent in Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences; and Nestor Dela Cruz, an agricultural technician at the Urban Garden Center, have dedicated their careers to CTAHR and will be missed.

As summer approaches, you might consider adding collard greens to your backyard garden. Whereas the intense heat can overwhelm many local greens that grow well during the cooler months, collards will thrive throughout the year. 

MBBE’s Fermentation Biochemistry class, and their mock company 3Rewery, have donated more than 6 liters of hand sanitizer to the volunteers at the Urban Garden Center. Four liters went to the UGC’s Fruit Hui, a dedicated group of six volunteers who continue to meet every week to maintain the tropical fruit orchard and harvest fruit—which is entirely donated to the Hawaii Foodbank.

You may be eating less salad these days. Everyone’s making fewer trips to the supermarket, and lettuce and other tender greens are easily perishable. But growing your own lettuce is a great solution—now and going forward. Lettuce is fast growing and ideal for backyard gardens.

Extension agent Russell Galanti is harvesting, trimming, washing, and bundling 400+ sunflowers he planted months ago at the O‘ahu Urban Garden Center. The bright, morale-boosting blooms will be donated to local hospitals, to thank staff members who are keeping our community safe from the pandemic. More photos and video, coming soon!

Any answer to the question “Can We Ever Eat All Local in Hawai‘i?,” the subject of a recent Honolulu Magazine article, depends significantly on CTAHR’s work in education, research, and community outreach. So it’s fitting that the article features several members of the CTAHR ‘ohana, including ag economist and assistant Extension agent Sarah Rehkamp, MS alumnus Gabe Sachter-Smith, and GoFarm Hawai‘i graduate Rob Barreca.

Kaua’i 4-H Federation created “Signs of Aloha” to show appreciation and support for the staff of the island’s three local hospitals. 4-H families hand-built and sanded the signs, and then 4-H participants designed and painted a theme for each aloha board to honor the heroic medical personnel working on the front lines.

Whether you’re a fuzzy neophyte or gnarled veteran of the backyard garden, we should never lose our fascination with the seed germination process. It is magical how such little things, buried in darkness, will quickly emerge from the surface, full of life and independence. If you’re growing vegetables for the very first time, it’s helpful to understand how plants propagate.

Fighting plant pests is just one of the many ways Nick Yamauchi, Dylan Cunningham, Matt Miyahira, Andrea Kawabata, Elizabeth Whitney, Yoshiaki Higashide, Justin Yeh, and other CTAHR faculty and staff on Hawai‘i Island are working diligently to keep grant-funded projects moving forward, while maintaining social distancing and other precautions.

Tilling the soil before you plant can be difficult, especially if the land is rocky or paved over. But don’t let that stop you from growing vegetables! Soil-less agriculture is an alternative that requires less physical effort and uses less space. Two good examples are hydroponics and aquaponics. But which one better suits you? That depends on your preference for dealing with soluble fertilizer or live fish.

If you’re starting a home garden, make sure you add beans! Beans improve soil fertility, which helps crop diversity and sustainability in Hawai‘i. They’re highly nutritious—rich in protein, fiber, and the good carbohydrates. And beans don’t require much water or fertilizer, yet they’re fast-growing and produce heavy yields, especially if you’ve picked the right location.

Wagyu, a Japanese breed of cattle, produces high-quality meat prized by chefs the world over. Unfortunately for steak lovers, Wagyu are also known for having poor reproductive rates. But Kyle Caires is on a mission to change that. He just took the next step forward in his long-term quest to improve the reproductive technologies of cattle with his latest paper.

Microgreens are edible vegetables in miniature form. Because of their fast growth, they’re a concentrated source of nutrients, packed with beneficial enzymes. Microgreens are simple to grow on your own and indoors—you can have a year-round source of veggies right on your kitchen counter!

CTAHR Extension and the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council are partnering on a series of informal virtual talks with local cattle producers about the impact of COVID-19 on their livestock operations. The goal of the Livestock Producers Pau Hana is to foster communication, increase collaboration, and strengthen the Hawai‘i livestock industry as farmers and ranchers endure and emerge from the economic crisis.

CTAHR’s Extension agents are helping those in need on the Valley Isle. After harvesting 60 ‘ulu and seven bunches of bananas from an Extension planting on Maui, Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite of the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences donated the entire harvest to the Maui Food Bank, even driving the truckload there herself.

Coffee berry borers don’t practice social distancing! In fact, these invasive pests are massing in the coffee cherries of local growers all over the state. That’s why CTAHR’s coffee berry borer researchers and the Coffee Berry Borer Area-wide Program are hosting virtual talk-story sessions to provide help and information to coffee producers.

Creating a raised bed over your existing surface is a great gardening solution. In comparison with in-ground planting and pots, raised beds can be the best of both worlds.