Agriculture

Unusual Rains Make Changes

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Joe Kennedy

So far we’ve had two months of on-going small rains without dry periods. Amazing changes now going on along Maunaloa Highway, trees and grasses are growing like crazy! But on closer look, the older trees in people’s yards are flowering and fruiting with abundance. People that have avocados are estimating their harvest in the hundreds of pounds per tree.

Mushrooms are growing in the dead wood and even here and there beneath the grass. Insects are swarming, going through the screens and aiming for the sink and the light bulbs. We see this all the time in years when the winter rains are good, but never like this!…

Winter Blues

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Because Hawaii is located on the northern edge of the tropics, winters are much colder here than in tropical areas, and is considered sub-tropical. What does that mean for tropical plants? The word “tropical” evoke visions of hot, steamy jungles, but there are also dry, high elevation areas.

The climate in which each plant species originated from usually determines how they will respond to cold winters. Avocado originated in three different climates in and near Central America, including West Indies, Guatemala and Mexico. Mexican avocado do well in the cooler California climate, while the Guatemala and West Indies varieties do better in Hawaii.…

Diagnostics: Who Done It?

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, UH CTAHR County Extension Agent

What came first, the chicken of the egg? Figuring out what’s wrong with a sick plant or animal is both an art and a science. A system of problem solving called diagnostics is used in many industries to detect a problem in hopes of fixing the problem. An auto mechanic will try to determine what’s wrong with your car by going through a mental checklist of possible problems starting with the most basic, and possibly cheapest to correct, while moving to the more complex.

The field of diagnostics was made popular by police investigative shows such as CSI and others.…

Fruit Growers Featured Farmer

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

HTFG Molokai Chapter News Release

Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) is a statewide nonprofit organization, dedicated to tropical fruit research, education, marketing and promotion. The Molokai Chapter is made up of members that are gardeners, farmers and interested community members who meet monthly to share ideas about promoting products, skills and agricultural opportunities. Meetings are held the first Monday evening of every month. The next meeting is March 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Mahana Gardens.

This month’s featured farmer is Marshall Joy, owner of Joy Farms in Ho`olehua. Marshall is an amazing man, one of five young (“true hearted”) farmers in Molokai and the youngest beekeeper in the state attaining recognition with his award winning Hoolehua honey.…