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Issue No. 14
Dec 2015| Jan ~ Feb 2016
Winter 2015-2016 Master Gardener Newsletter
In This Issue
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The Results are in! UH MG Statewide Program Survey
Jayme T. Grzebik, UHMG Statewide Coordinator
 
The results of the recent 2015 UH MG Statewide Survey show a vibrant program with room to Grow! Thank you to all who submitted their entries, we received 169 surveys. If you haven't picked up your gift from your Coordinator or main office, please do so, we appreciate you.

Eighty-eight percent of responses are Certified UH Master Gardeners, eleven percent are the budding crop of MGs from 2015 and the remaining are either Emeritus or inactive. You let us know that the majority of you volunteer between 1-5 hours per month, followed by 6-10 hours per month, this helps Coordinators know the capacity of activities that the program may be able to sustain. Almost half of our Master Gardeners enter the program without any prior training, and of those that have acquired training prior to joining the Program, we can see the diversity of our Volunteers in the answers to Question #6, page 24. What an amazing group of Volunteers we have!
Master Gardener NEWS from around the STATE

NEWS FROM KAUA'I  
Russell Messing, Acting Kaua'i County Administrator   
       
Mokihana, Melicope anisata
Mokihana
Melicope anisata
Meet Joshua Silva   
Urban Horticulture, UH-CTAHR, Kaua'i CES

Mr. Joshua Silva has recently joined the UH Cooperative Extension Service team in Kaua'i County. He will serve as Junior Extension Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator, and will develop Extension programs in urban and residential gardens, subsistence agriculture, and youth education. Read here.
 
NEWS FROM O'AHU
Jayme Grzebik, MG Coordinator Oʻahu

'Ilima, Sida fallax
Ilima 
Sida fallax 
Link to read News from the Urban Garden Center (July/Aug/Sept 2015) with articles on the fruit tree care workshop by the Aloha Arborist Association, the Disney-Foundation-funded 4-H Day Camp, and the opening of the Waimanalo Learning Center, compiled by O'ahu MGs Barbara Alexander & Catherine Ano. Read here

 
NEWS FROM MAUI COUNTY
Cynthia Nazario-Leary, MG Coordinator

Lokelani Rose
Rosa chinensis
Maui Updates 
Fall 2015 has been and exciting time for the Maui Master Gardener Program with participation in several outreach events, continuing education opportunities and Master Gardener applicant interviews for our upcoming Master Gardener Training Course in January 2016.
Read here.

Plumeria

by Chris Wooding, Maui MG

UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service has a diverse collection of plumeria varieties at its low-elevation farm. The Master Gardener's access this collection and collect cuttings to sell at the Maui Fair each year. We have learned a lot about plumeria over the last few years we've been propagating them and here are our recommendations. Read here

NEWS FROM EAST HAWAI'I  
Andrew Kawabata, MG Coordinator

Ohia, Metrosideros polymorphas
'Ohi'a
Metrosideros polymorpha
East Hawai'i MG News
by Randi Schneider, EHIMGA Vice President
East Hawaii Master Gardeners participate in a monthly holo holo. In November, we had the opportunity to learn about invasive weeds in the Volcano area from Tim Tunison, a former Chief of Resource Management at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Held on November 14, the sun was shining - a rare treat. We made it until 1:00 pm before it started to rain. Read here
 
NEWS FROM WEST HAWAI'I  
Ty McDonald, MG Coordinator 
Ohia, Metrosideros polymorpha
'Ohi'a
Metrosideros polymorpha

West Hawaiʻi Winter News
by Celeste Makrevis, West Hawai'i MG 
West Hawai'i Master Gardeners toured the beautiful Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary under the guidance of the creator and owner, Norm Bezona, in September. The 75-acre family trust is at 2800 - 3500 ft. in Kaloko Mauka. Starting our hike at the lower elevation, we could appreciate all the plants that were growing at the different elevations as we made our way to the top. Read here.

West Hawaii Master Gardeners' "Wild Table" Demonstration Garden
Ed Fenzl, West Hawai'i MG
Our Wild Table Demonstration Garden was started in a 20'x30' plot by a small group of West Hawaii Master Gardeners on May 5, 2015. The initial seed starts included Red Amaranth, Burdock, Italian Dandelion, Water Cress, Wild Garlic, Magenta Spreen, Red Veined Sorrel, Leaf Fennel, Sunflowers and Rainbow Quinoa. The area was already providing us with Oxalis, Wild Amaranth, Purslane and Mint. Hardly your traditional vegetable produce garden! Read here.

Breadfruit vs. Potato Public Education Campaign 
From Hawaii Homegrown Food Network
 
Breadfruit tastes fantastic mashed, in salads, made into chips and french fries, and in countless other dishes where you can use potato. In Hawai'i, breadfruit is the obvious choice over potato this holiday season. It's grown locally and supports local farmers. It's more nutritious than potato. Check out Chef Sam Choy's easy breadfruit recipes available for free download. Or order the Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu Cookbook for the holidays.
 
Meet the Pollinator: Hawaii's Largest Bee 
 
Male carpenter bee A common sight in many areas, gentle carpenter bees are the largest bees in Hawai'i. Carpenter bees contribute greatly to pollinating local vegetables and fruits in Hawai'i, perhaps best illustrated by the passion fruit or lilikoi. Lilikoi flowers are large and their reproductive parts rely on the visits of large insects or birds. Most insects are too small to successfully pollinate these big flowers, but carpenter bees have the right body size.

Carpenter bees must collect large amounts of pollen to feed their young, and their movements between flowers result in the production of larger and heavier fruits. Watermelon, squash, cucumber, zucchini, winter melon, and Kabocha pumpkin, are all examples of local vegetables that benefit from carpenter bee pollination. Read here

Unlock the Secrets in the Soil 
 
HEALTHY SOILS ARE: High in Organic Matter
There may be no other component that's more important to a healthy soil than organic matter.

The tiny fraction of soil composed of anything and everything that once lived-organic matter-is more than an indicator of healthy soils. The carbon in organic matter is the main source of energy for the all-important soil microbes and is also the key for making nutrients available to plants. Read here.
Stop the Splash, Harvest the Benefits
We join the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in celebrating 2015 as the International Year of Soils
 
Aloha!

 

Jayme Grzebik
University of Hawaiʻi Master Gardener Statewide Coordinator

Assisted by Jody Smith | smithjos@hawaii.edu
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources | University of Hawai'i