Fair Without Fair Weather

Pouring rain didn’t stop Kaua‘i islanders from pouring into the Garden Fair this year. Jointly hosted by CTAHR and the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau, the 23rd Annual Garden Fair at the Kaua‘i Community College featured a series of CTAHR garden and agriculture presentations, a wide range of community programs, and Kaua‘i Grown and Kaua‘i Made vendors, in addition to the regular weekly farmers’ market. The Kaua‘i Extension 4-H team, headed by Laura Kawamura, provided a booth that highlighted the island’s youth development program, offering a petting zoo station and activities for keiki and their guardians. Nearly 300 local and visiting families participated in the 4-H activities this year. Kaua‘i Master Gardeners (KMGs) were also well represented in the educational tent, conducting outreach and promoting this year’s featured vegetable: the tomato! KMGs gave away hundreds of tomato seeds and starts, taught proper transplanting, and distributed literature about growing tomatoes and managing tomato pests. The Kaua‘i Extension team, Emilie Kirk, Savannah Katulski, and Roshan Manandhar, gave public presentations on home garden ecology, manure use and composting, and invasive species ecology in the garden. Ted Radovich (TPSS) gave a presentation on ecology of organic compared to conventional gardens. Spirits were high despite the showers through the day, and there was positive community feedback to the Cooperative Extension team’s presence.