The time is right to start growing some of your own food. Prices keep going up, while the freshness and nutritional value of imported fruit and veggies is less than ideal. Several local organizations are getting on the bandwagon to help.
The Kona County Farm Bureau, Kamehameha Schools, local nurseries and the University of Hawaii are all working toward the common goal of food security for Hawaii as we attempt to decrease our dependence on off-island produce. Growing our own helps the local economy, as growers can profit from selling what they can’t eat.
The West Hawaii branch of UH’s Hawaii Community College is joining the effort by offering classes on several aspects of sustainable food production and ways to increase the value and enhance the healthful properties of what you grow.
Next Saturday, Zach Mermel will offer a chance for those wanting to explore how to grow perennial edibles easily and sustainably. Mermel will teach ways to transform a lanai, lawn, fence or farm into an abundant oasis of edible plants.
He will begin by presenting the many reasons to consider landscaping with edibles and the personal and ecological advantages growing edibles can offer.
He will help participants define their goals and analyze sites and possibilities while teaching ways to plan an edible landscape. He’ll share his educational background in sustainable landscape planning and design to help participants design a new landscape or make changes to an existing one.
Mermel will review the dos and don’ts of edible landscaping in Hawaii and teach some soil basics. Healthy soil is the key to gardening success, so Mermel will outline five low-tech, home-scale methods for improving soil health. Sheet mulching and double-digging techniques will be among those covered in the class.
Once you have your goals defined, plans made and soil improved, you are ready to plant. Included in this comprehensive course is a complete and descriptive list of several dozen edible plants.
Included in the list are yacon, turmeric and a variety of edible greens, including tropical spinaches and hibiscus plants. Several fruit and root crops are also on the list. Through collaboration with a local nursery, many of these plants will be displayed for consideration in creating an edible landscape plan.
Mermel’s six-hour class will be held in two three-hour sessions starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Instruction will last until noon; after lunch, the second session lasts until 3:30 p.m. The class will include hands-on activities, presentations, formal instruction and handouts.
The price for the class is $79. Hawaii Community College’s Office of Continuing Education is working to supply tuition assistance opportunities for small-business owners and their employees. The funding will be available to businesses with Hawaii GE tax ID numbers who have an interest in agriculture and in increasing local food production. The tuition assistance program requires that applicants register at least two weeks prior to the class start date. To apply for tuition assistance for future classes, inquire at the OCET office and request the link to the funding application form to apply.
This class is one of a series that OCET is planning for West Hawaii. If you have interests that you would like to see offered as part of the series or you want more information on this or other classes, call OCET at 934-2700. Advanced registration is required for all OCET classes. Register in advance to ensure the class will be offered and you will have a space.
The deadline for this edible landscaping class is Monday.
Tropical
gardening helpline
Walter asks: My orange tree produced oranges that were sour this year. I have heard that fertilizing with K-Mag can help sweeten the fruit. Is that true?
Answer: Anecdotal advice on ways to sweeten citrus fruit abounds on the Internet. A few things are worth mentioning here.
Citrus trees prefer hot weather and full-sun exposure. These factors are important to sugar development in the fruit. Some say getting a cool spell just prior to harvest can help sweeten the fruit, but full sun and hot weather are the best remedies for sour fruit.
Adequate nutrition is important to fruit quality. That said, applying K-Mag certainly won’t hurt and might help. This fertilizer supplies potassium, as well as the micronutrients magnesium and sulfur. Potassium is known to have an impact on fruit quality, size, flavor and color and its addition could well be a factor in improving the flavor of your oranges.
Magnesium deficiency is common in citrus orchards and can cause leaf drop in stressful situations. A proper balance of magnesium is important for long-term health and productivity of citrus trees. A healthy tree is more liable to produce tasty fruit, so it seems a valuable nutrient to add.
A sulfur deficiency can also cause health problems in citrus trees. When in proper balance with nitrogen, additional sulfur can prevent stunted growth and other health problems.
Given this information, I see no harm in applying K-Mag, even if it does not completely solve your flavor issue.
Applications of soda ash, sodium carbonate, Epsom salts, magnesium sulfate and sulfate of potash, or potassium sulfate, have also been posited as helpful in sweetening citrus fruit. These products also offer valuable nutritional support and could help your fruit’s flavor. Check online for recipes for the correct applications of these nutrients.
If you really want to get accurate on the contents of your soil and how that matches the needs of your citrus trees, you might want to do a soil test to see what is lacking in your soil and check the pH.
In any case, it is probably best to carefully choose a nutritional plan for next year’s crop and keep a record of your applications and the results. Let us know what works best for you.
Email plant questions to konamg@ctahr.hawaii.edu for answers by certified master gardeners. Some questions will be chosen for inclusion in this column.
Diana Duff is a local organic farmer, plant adviser and consultant.