I was asked to do a demo on how to make a Hawaiian style Christmas wreath at the Kino’ole Farmers Market. The demo was yesterday morning and in spite of lots of rain, the market was lively! We had several people sit through the whole thing (2 hours!) and some came and went and at least 4 people tried their hand at adding a bit to the wreath.
To make a Hawaiian style wreath, you use native plant materials for which you need to go foraging up to the Volcanoes National Park area or on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea on Saddle Road (this is on the island of Hawai’i also known as the Big Island). Before you even start, the first thing you need to do to be able to pick in those areas is to get a special permit, which is free, from the Department of Land and Natural Resources. This permit should be on your car dash clearly visible in case a ranger or other official should stop by to see what you’re up to.
The second thing you do is look around for a good spot in which to forage or go with someone who is already familiar with several choice picking spots. As with most people who make this style wreath, I have my own particular favorite place to pick.
The third thing you need is to know what plant material to look for and what dries well so that the wreath will still look beautiful after its no longer fresh.
If you know all of that already, then you’re ready to start.
Maui Invasive Species group seeks nominees
MAKAWAO – The Maui Invasive Species Committee seeks nominations by Nov. 15 to honor efforts in Maui County to eliminate invasive species.
MISC, the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals and Maui County co-sponsor the Malama I Ka Aina Award. It recognizes a landscaper; plant provider (retail or wholesale nursery, or garden shop); or the owner or manager of a commercial or agricultural property for efforts to keep invasive species out of Maui County.
Application forms are available at websites mauiisc.org or malp.org; click on “what’s new.”
Completed forms should explain how a nominee’s activities or decisions have contributed to keeping the county free of invasive species.
Forward applications via e-mail to miscpr@hawaii.edu, fax to 573-6475 or mail to MISC, P.O. Box 983, Makawao 96768.
Organizers will announce the winner Dec. 4 at the 15th annual Lawn & Garden Fair at the University of Hawaii Maui College.
The winner will receive a plaque and one-year membership in the Maui Association of Landscape Professionals.
For more information, call 573-6472 or send e-mail to miscpr@hawaii.edu.
Admired ag inspector turns in his badge
After 30 years of protecting native animals and plants, the head of Hawaii’s agricultural inspection operation leaves behind a short-handed and beleaguered team today, worried that invading species are slipping into the islands.
“Shipments are backed up but are still being inspected. That’s the good part,” said Domingo Cravalho Jr., who is retiring as inspection and compliance section chief for the state Department of Agriculture. “Because of the lack of resources and lack of inspectors and the reduction in the amount of good inspections, things are getting through. …
“It’s overwhelming at times and some individuals may be overlooking things or bypassing things. Under the circumstances, we just don’t have enough eyes and ears out there.”
Little fire ant infestation eradicated
WAILUKU – An infestation of little fire ants on Maui has been eradicated, the state Department of Agriculture announced Thursday.
The department credited the success to its rapid response and the development of innovative pest control methods.
The ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) can deliver a painful sting. They were discovered in October on a Waihee farm, and the Agriculture Department launched what it said was an “aggressive response to survey, contain and treat the infestation.”
The department obtained a special permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use an experimental ant bait developed by scientist Cas Vanderwoude, with the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The new bait provided an alternative to ground treatments to combat the pest, and it allowed the ants to be attacked in trees and vegetation where they nest. The Waihee area had been treated monthly with the ant bait and since February no little fire ants have been detected at the site of the infestation.
Kia‘i Moku: Used in reforestation, albizia now poses threat
By LISSA FOX
Near Kualapuu, Molokai, there are Makahiki and hula grounds. Last year, 850 fast-growing invasive trees covered the platforms, where ancient Hawaiians played games as part of the Makahiki festival, the annual celebration marked by several months of peace, thanksgiving and feasting.
These trees originated from the jungles of the Molucca Islands, 5,000 miles away in Indonesia. The islands are part of the Wallaceae “hot spot,” an area of Indonesia with some of the world’s highest levels of biodiversity, including more than 10,000 plant species and 650 different bird species.
Albizia, or Falcataria moluccana, has at least one trait that gives it an advantage over Hawaii’s native plants. Albizia is a nitrogen-fixing tree; bacteria in albizia roots convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form available for the tree. These fertilizer factories built into the roots give albizia an extra boost; albizia can reach 30 feet tall in just two years.
Wasps Wage War on Behalf of Wiliwili Trees
News from the USDA Agricultural Research Service
A black, two-millimeter-long wasp from East Africa is helping wage war on one of its own kind—the Erythrina gall wasp, an invasive species that’s decimated Hawaii’s endemic wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) and introduced coral bean trees (Erythrina spp.).
Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) officials “recruited” the beneficial wasp, Eurytoma erythrinae, and first released it in November 2008 after evaluating its host specificity as a biocontrol agent. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist Michael Gates’ scientific description and naming of the species, together with a collaborator, helped HDOA obtain the necessary federal approvals to make the release.
How the gall wasp arrived in Hawaii in April 2005 is unknown, but it quickly found suitable hosts on which to feed and reproduce, first on Oahu and then other Hawaiian islands