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Newsletter 45 - November 2012

Aloha!

The Makahiki season is upon us once again. For most of the island it means four months of new rains, stormy winds and seas, shorter days and cooler evenings. After the hard spring and summer work of farming and fishing, traditionally this is the cycle of the year to enjoy the fruits of the harvest, to celebrate our connection to the ‘aina and ocean, to rest and replenish ourselves as the natural world replenishes itself.

What would it take for each of us to truly appreciate the emerging bounty of local food that graces our table each day? What would it take to share the fruits of our harvest in gratitude with friends, neighbors, strangers -- haves and have-nots alike? What would it take to celebrate Makahiki -- to create festival during these months in honor of Lono, the god of fertility, and to thank the local farming, ranching, and fishing communities in each of our moku?

We hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter and celebrate our relationship to nature.

Mahalo nui loa,

Craig Elevitch and Pedro Tama
for the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
http://hawaiihomegrown.net
visit us on Facebook

Breadfruit tree in South Kona.


Events

Sunday, October 28, 2012, 02:00pm, Hilo
Edible Landscaping Beautification Day

Thursday, November 01, 2012, 09:00am, North Kona
West Hawai'i Master Gardener Monthly Meeting

Friday, November 02 - Sunday, November 11, 2012, North Kona
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

Friday, November 02, 2012, 03:00pm - 05:00pm, South Kona
10th Annual Westside Seed Exchange

Saturday, November 03, 2012, 09:00am - 03:00pm, North Kona
Holualoa Village Coffee Tasting and Art Stroll

Saturday, Nov 03 to Sunday, Nov 04, 2012, 08:30am-04:30pm
2-Day Intensive Seed Basics & Production Workshop

Saturday, November 03, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Hamakua
Free Tour - Hamakua Springs Country Farm

Saturday, November 03, 2012, 09:30am - 12:00pm, Hilo
Growing Citrus in Hawai'i

Monday, November 05, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hamakua
Improving Soil Fertility & Plant Growth with Biochar

Wednesday, November 07, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, South Kona
Homestead Foods: Coffee Roasting and Brewing

Wednesday, November 07, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, South Hilo
Improving Soil Fertility & Plant Growth with Biochar

Saturday, November 10, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, South Hilo
Free Tour - John & Jacque’s Farm

Friday, Nov 09 - Saturday, Nov 10, 2012, North Kohala
Hawaii Sheep & Goat Association 2012 Workshop

Saturday, November 10, 2012, 12:00pm - 04:00pm, Kona
Fermenting Vegetables for Preservation and Health

Saturday, November 10, 2012, 01:00pm - 05:00pm, Hilo
Hilo Harvest Festival

Monday, November 12, 2012, 10:00am - 12:00pm, Ka’u
Crop Insurance Workshop with Bonnie Lind

Monday, November 12, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hamakua
Natural Farming: Simple Tips

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 03:00pm - 05:00pm, North Kona
Crop Insurance Workshop with Bonnie Lind

Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, South Hilo
Natural Farming: Simple Tips

Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, North Kona
Crop Insurance Workshop with Bonnie Lind

Saturday, November 17, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, South Hilo
Free Tour - Eric Weinert’s Farm

Monday, November 19, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hamakua
Introduction to Natural Beekeeping

Sunday, November 18, 2012, 12:00pm - 06:00pm, North Kohala
Third Annual Kohala 'Aina Festival

Monday, November 19, 2012, 07:00pm - 09:00pm, North Kona
Hawai'i Tropical Fruit Growers Meeting

Saturday, November 24, 2012, 09:00am - 03:30pm, Kona
Edible Landscaping for Backyards and Beyond

Sunday, November 25, 2012, 02:00pm - 05:00pm, Hilo
Let's Grow Hilo Beautification Day

Monday, November 26, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hamakua
Permaculture Concepts to Increase Ease & Joy

Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, South Hilo
Beekeeping & Value-Added Products

Saturday, December 01, 2012, 09:00am - 03:30pm, Kona
Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Cultivation

Saturday, December 01, 2012, 09:00am - 12:00pm, Hamakua
Free Tour - Pa’auilo Forest Farm

Monday, December 03, 2012, 05:30pm - 07:30pm, Hamakua
Tropical Fruit Production

Monday, December 10, 2012, 06:00pm - 08:00pm, Hamakua
Backyard Sustainability with Kalo

View events calendar


Reports

Build personal relationships with customers: Emmerich Grosch

Emmerich Grosch
Food engineer, Hawai‘i Product Resources, Kealakekua, South Kona

8S7B7864The soft-spoken Emmerich Grosch has nearly five decades under his belt as chef, entrepreneur, hotel food operations manager, and processor. He brings this wealth of experience to his current manufacturing/wholesale business processing macadamia nuts, coffee, and cacao from farm to market. His company produces a wide range of artisan products including flavored macnuts (honey roasted, wasabi, etc.), roasted coffees, and raw chocolate. The emphasis is on quality products, and all sales come with a 100% no-questions-asked quality guarantee.

Read more...

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Home Grown Hawai'i Store with owner Michael Scott

HomeGrownHawaii-FrontwindowIt is encouraging to see the different ways individuals are taking on the challenge to make locally grown and produced food available in their own districts of the island.

About six or seven months ago, Michael Scott of Ocean View, a member of the e-mail Yahoo group Big Island Self Sufficiency (BISS), in which I am also quite involved, mentioned that he and his wife, Melanie Baca, were working on plans to open a location next to their own Aloha Dreams computer business to sell produce and other fresh goods in Ocean View.

After doing research, obtaining permits and procuring the use of a commercial kitchen, Home Grown Hawai’i opened its doors on Saturday, September 1st with a Grand Gala featuring music, an owner hosted barbecue and displaying produce and product from 12 different sources. Local vegetables, greens, herbs, fruit, coffee, eggs, homemade breads and other baked goods, jellies, jams, preserves, raw local honey, butter and feta cheese are just some of the items that can be found in the store.

Read more...


Breadfruit Festival Goes Bananas 2012 slideshow

Breadfruit Festival Goes Bananas took place on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona and was attended by 1,900 people. The event celebrates the cultural and culinary aspects of breadfruit and banana, both of which were nutritionally important food staples and played a major role in the cultural, material and spiritual life of ancient Hawaiians.

BreadfruitFestival2012slideshowClick here to see the Breadfruit Festival Goes Bananas 2012 slideshow.


Sheet mulch

IMG 0013CElevitchSheet mulch being placed over kikuyu grass to expand a vegetable garden.Mulch is a layer of decaying organic matter on the ground. Mulch occurs naturally in forests; it is a nutrient rich, moisture absorbent bed of decaying forest leaves, twigs and branches, teeming with fungal, microbial and insect life. Natural mulch stores the nutrients contained in organic matter and slowly makes these nutrients available to plants. Mulch also protects soil from desiccation by the sun and wind, as well as from the erosive effects of rain and run-off.

Mulch forms a necessary link in nutrient cycling vital for our soils. When mulch is absent for whatever reason, the living soil is robbed of its natural nutrient stores, becomes leached and often desiccates. Natural terrestrial environments without a litter layer are usually deserts. Non-desert plants grown in bare soil require constant fertilization, nutrient additions, and water, not to mention the work required to keep the soil bare.

Read more...

 


Announcements

The LITTLE FIRE ANT (Wasmannia auropunctata) has been found on a (mauka) Captain Cook Coffee Farm. Please join entomologist, Rob Curtiss, ant specialist, Cas Vanderwoude, and other farmers on Oct. 30, 2012 at the Kona Cooperative Extension Service Conference Room from 3-5 PM.

There will be an over view on Little Fire Ant and then questions will be taken following the presentation. Seating is limited (75), so please be prompt. If you are unable to make the Coffee Talk (hosted by KCFA, CTAHR and HDOA), please come down to the Makapueo Pavilion on Nov. 10. Rob and I will be there with some LFA information. In working with Cas, Rob and HDOA, future LFA workshops will be held. Dates and times will be announced.

Andrea Kawabata, UH CTAHR Assistant Extension Agent for Coffee and Orchard Crops
322-4894

Hamakua North Hilo Agricultural Cooperative has
 affordable farm land available for lease.

Lot sizes from 5 to 20 acres
$150 per acre/per year+$300 admin fee
Irrigation water available
Long term lease expires 2033
No residential use allowed

Must meet Department of Agriculture qualifications.

For further information contact: 

Hamakua N. Hilo Ag Coop - Lori Beach
(808) 775-1107  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it."
www.hamakuaagcoop.org

Here is a flyer for the film series we're having on the first three Fridays in November on three North Shore farms. We have wonderful guest speakers and the food is complimentary. Come early for a farm tour and children's activities.

Other announcements


Farmers' Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Visit our comprehensive directory of Hawai'i Island farmers' markets and Community Supported Agricuture.

Web Resources

This month's web site listings

Other web resources

Supporting Organizations


Sponsors

Hawai'i People's Fund and the Hawai'i Community Foundation

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Founding sponsors

Hawai'i County Resource Center, a program of the County of Hawai'i Department of Research and Development. Hawaii Agricultural Development Program in partnership with the Big Island RC&D Council.

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Agroforestry Net

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This newsletter is published by:

Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network
PO Box 5
Holualoa, Hawaii  96725  USA
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: http://hawaiihomegrown.net

 

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