UHMG header
Issue No. 3
March | April| May 2013
Spring 2013 Master Gardener Newsletter
In This Issue
NEWS from around the STATE
For the Birds...
For the Bees...
Rain Gardens
Video Resources for UHMGs
Quick Links
 
Spring in Hawai'i

 

Just in time for spring, this issue features articles about birds and bees, rain gardens for water quality, and examples of Hawai'i Master Gardeners helping our communities to cope with pest outbreaks across the state.    


Welcome to all 2013 UH MG Training Classes! Each year as we start our classes we feel a resurgence of energy and vibrancy in our volunteer programs. Thank you for being a part of such an important program in your communities. Please subscribe to this newsletter to keep in touch with MGs across the State!

 

What are Master Gardeners across the Nation doing? Join them on Facebook! 

http://www.facebook.com/extensionmastergardener

 

Visit them on the Extension Master Gardener website or join the Blog to talk to other MGs! 

http://blogs.extension.org/mastergardener/emg/about/


NEWS from around the STATE

NEWS FROM KAUA'I
Mokihana, Melicope anisata
Mokihana
Melicope anisata

 

Last Saturday, the Kauaʻi Master Gardeners joined together at the Kauaʻi Agricultural Research Center to share food, exchange ideas, and talk story.  It was a wonderful afternoon filled with good company, great conversation, and delicious food!   

 

Read the full article here.

 
NEWS FROM O'AHU 
Growing the School Garden Movement in Hawaiʻi
by Leah Rothbaum, Assistant Coordinator, Statewide MG Program
 
'Ilima, Sida fallax
Ilima
Sida fallax 

On O'ahu, we see more and more schools establishing school gardens in our local communities. To respond and support this trend, O'ahu MGs have led intensive weekend courses, "School Garden Basics Workshop for Educators" developed in cooperation with the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation. The workshops include 6 PowerPoint presentations created entirely by MGs. They are geared at school garden volunteers and Hawai'i educators, ranging from pre-school through high school teachers, interested in incorporating lessons from the garden into their curriculum. The workshop modules explore topics such as basic botany, planting a garden, soils and composting, native Hawaiian plants & the environment, and IPM.  

NEWS FROM MAUI COUNTY
 
Lokelani Rose
Rosa chinensis

Fireweed Biological Control Release Program in Maui County

Fireweed, Senecio madagasceriensis, has invaded approximately a half-million acres of productive pasture on Maui and the Big Island. Maui Master Gardeners are participating in a fireweed biological control release program in Maui County.  Read the full article here.   

 

Maui Master Gardeners Visit the Maui Farm

The Maui Farm provides farm-based, family-centered programs that teach essential life skills for self-sufficient living. Maui Master Gardener Trainees met at The Maui Farm for a tour, discussion and volunteer work project.  

NEWS FROM WEST HAWAI'I 
Helping Home Gardeners Meet the Challenge of the Coffee Berry Borer
by Celeste Makrevis, West Hawaiʻi Master Gardener
Ohia, Metrosideros polymorpha
Ohia
Metrosideros polymorpha

West Hawaiʻi Master Gardeners are actively working to help gardeners meet the challenge of Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) damage in their home gardens. The group is presenting a consistent message for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) activities based on our current scientific data in collaboration with CTAHR Assistant Extension Agent for Coffee and Orchard Crops Andrea Kawabawa, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association, Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture, Synergistic Hawaiʻi Agriculture Council and Tom Greenwell. CBB is a relatively new pest in West Hawaiʻi that has not only a major financial impact on the area, but also a very real impact on home gardeners growing coffee.   

For the Birds 
Gardens and Birds in Hawaiʻi 
Alae ula, Hawaiian moorhen
by Dr. Chris Lepczyk, CTAHR Dept. of Natural Resources & Env. Mgmt.   

  

Hawaii's native birds are among some of the most interesting and unique in the world, displaying vast differences in how they forage, where they live, and the food they eat.  Although Hawaii's native species are quite distinct and wondrous creatures, they are also important because they represent the relatively few bird species have successfully made it to our remote islands. As a result, even before humans arrived in Hawaiʻi, the number of different bird species that could be found was considerably less than an equal size area in the continental tropics. The birds that remain today are the last remainders of some of the most important birds the world has seen. 

For the Bees 
Pollinator Friendly Gardens in Hawaiʻi 
by Dr. Ethel Villalobos 

Bee on macadamia flower   

People that love gardening and horticulture are vigilant with the respect to the condition of their plants, and keep a close eye on insect or disease threats, as well as the blooming cycle and fruit production in their gardens. Most recently gardeners on Oʻahu and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi have been worried not as much about pests but rather about the sudden decline in honeybees and insect pollinators in general.
Rain Gardens for Hawaii's Water Quality
Koʻolaupoko Rain Garden Co-op and Cost Share Program
Hawaii Residential Rain Garden Manual
Hui o Koolaupoko logo
by Todd A. Cullison, Executive Director, Hui o Koʻolaupoko

Watershed development including homes, roads, parking lots, commercial sites and other impervious surfaces all contribute to an increase of polluted storm water negatively impacting Hawaii's water resources.  Pollutants such as fertilizers, pesticides and sediment flow across impervious surfaces during rains and pollute streams, ocean and coral reefs. However, there are a number of actions homeowners can take to protect water quality. The newest technology available in Hawaii for proactive homeowners is to construct a rain garden in your yard to capture polluted storm water.  A rain garden is an effective low-cost tool for private homeowners to proactively address water quality concerns while enhancing their property's landscaping. 
Video Resources for UHMGs

 

PBS Hawaii - INSIGHTS: GMOs   

Roberta Wong Murray moderates a discussion about the controversial development of genetically modified crops in Hawaii. Guests from the bio-tech industry and those opposed to GMO practices will offer their arguments from each side (CTAHR's Dr. Richard Manshardt, Dr. Hector Valenzuela). They will also explore the ongoing labeling debate, as well as public health, and environmental and land issues that come into play.

 

PBS Hawaii - INSIGHTS: GMOs
PBS Hawaii - INSIGHTS: GMOs

Producing Organic Papaya Seed
Dr. Ted Radovich, Extension Specialist at CTAHR's Sustainable and Organic Farming Systems Laboratory, outlines how to screen papaya plants to determine which have not been genetically engineered, how to bag flowers to exclude pollen from other trees, and how to process seed.
http://youtu.be/y_CNS0yawCU

Healthy Lawn Care Practices  

Follows 5 master gardeners (Maryland) as they share their tips (soil test, mowing, watering, IPM, fertilizing, aeration, erosion control, rain gardens) for a great lawn with several homeowners. http://youtu.be/who0nxEL5b4  

 

Aloha!

 

Jayme Grzebik
Email: [email protected]
University of Hawaiʻi Master Gardener Statewide Coordinator

Assisted by Jody Smith | Oahu MG | NREM capstone project | [email protected]
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
University of Hawai'i