Mountain apple is one of many fruits that are closely related to strawberry guava.

Letter to Hawai’i Homegrown Food Network

I was dismayed to read the article “Understanding Biological Control” in the Oct. 26th issue of the Big Island Weekly. It mentioned that the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) entomologists have studied this control method for over 15 years and that they “know with certainty that it will slow the growth and spread of strawberry guava and that it will not feed on similar species such as ohia and guava.”

Guava belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which includes the genera Psidium, Myrciaria, Syzygium, and Eugenia. You might know them better as jaboticaba, mountain apple, wax jambu, water apple, rose apple, surinam cherry, grumichama (Brazil cherry) and a host of other edible fruit of great economic benefit to growers across our island and state.

The Keaukaha-Pana’ewa Farmers Market is located on Railroad Ave. across from Home Depot in Hilo.

The newest farmers market on our island is the Keaukaha-Pana’ewa Farmers Market. It opened its doors on September 10, 2011 on one acre off Railroad Avenue across from Home Depot in Hilo. The market is open every Saturday from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. From a starting number of 13 vendors, the market already houses 31 vendors leaving only 8 booth spots available. 

The Keaukaha-Pana’ewa Farmers Association’s mission statement and aim is “To support, motivate and educate Keaukaha-Pana’ewa agricultural lessees to establish a viable, sustainable farm community, preserve Hawaiian culture, achieve self sufficiency, strengthen pono management and respect for the ‘aina.” In keeping with the mission statement, the market is open to Hawaiian farmers and producers who lease Hawaiian Homelands, and to other entrepreneurs. The range of products runs from locally grown produce, baked goods, poi, fish, plants, value added food products and a few ready-to-eat food vendors.

A Need for Commitment to Local Farmers and a Call to End Deceptive Advertising

This third annual report covers the amount of local produce versus imported produce in West Hawaii Today weekly foods ads. It covers from Aug. 2010 through Aug. 2011 [editor’s note: see the 2009 Report and the 2010 Report ]. Stores are visited regularly in order to compare with the actual advertising and gauge the relative amounts of local and imported produce in the store. We also monitor in-store displays and labeling of local produce as well as country-of-origin labeling.

A couple of conclusions became evident during the course of this year’s data accumulation. On the up side is a continuing trend showing increases in local produce promotion. On the down side is a disturbing continuation, if not growth, of deceptive advertising.

Is there anything more cheerful than a sunflower?

A year travels by quickly and it has been almost one year to the day marking my first visit to the Kilauea Community Garden. I was led here by curiosity–a desire to learn more about this new revolution in community gardening taking place on the island of Kaua‘i. At the heart of it is sustainability and a strong commitment to growing more local food using environmentally conscious methods and techniques. This garden, under the careful hands of the community, is yielding plants that are enormous specimens of their type, whether they are filled with fruit, flowers or seeds.

Dr. Diane Ragone speaks about the role breadfruit plays in Pacific food systems.

Breadfruit Festival 2011--Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu, held September 24, 2011 at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona, was by all accounts a great success.The following photo essay gives highlights of the festival.