Tag: Molokai

October 20, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Mo`omomi-Anahaki Protection in the Works

DHHL to host two beneficiary meetings.

Department of Hawaii Home Lands News Release

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is considering re-designating Mo`omomi-Anahaki as a “Special District,” which would protect resources, provide stewardship opportunities and preserve the unique sense of place.

Mo`omomi-Anahaki current land use designation is “General Agriculture,” but at a beneficiary meeting in July it was clear the community is concerned about the potential for wind turbine development there.

DHHL will host two meetings to discuss the re-designation. The first will seek beneficiary input on land use and is scheduled for Oct. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lanikeha Community Center. The second meeting, where beneficiaries can review the proposal and provide feedback before it is sent to the Hawaiian Homes Commission, is scheduled for Nov. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lanikeha Community Center.

For more information, contact Kaleo Manuel at the DHHL Planning Office at (808) 620-9485.

Mo`omomi-Anahaki Protection in the Works | Molokai Dispatch

October 6, 2010 General Ag News and Notes 1 Comment

Growing Dryland Taro Part I

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent,
UH CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service

Molokai is blessed with many Hawaiian taro varieties, in part due to the vision of the late Martha and Cowboy Otsuka in seeking out and preserving these legacies. Also, under the direction of Alton Arakaki and Faith Tuipulotu in making huli available each year at the annual Molokai Taro Field Day.

With the advent of drip irrigation and water distribution systems, taro can be grown in areas where it could never grow before. In the past, dryland taro was only grown in the uplands in mulch where seasonal rains were sufficient to bring the taro to harvest.
Most varieties will mature between eight and 12 months, and keeping plants actively growing is the key. Taro loves water, and along with fertilizer, will flourish before your eyes. Dryland taro is distinguished from wetland taro in that the latter grows in water ponds or lo`i. Different varieties were selected for these two conditions. Taking a soil sample of your planting area is the first step in growing upland taro. Call our office at 567-6932 for more information on taking a soil sample.

The biggest challenge in growing taro is weeds

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October 3, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Deer Damage Molokai Crops

Drought is a farmer’s worst nightmare. But imagine the few plants that make it through the summer are then eaten by something other than your family or customers.

On top of a dry summer, the Molokai agriculture community is facing a deer problem – lack of water and food in their usual habitat has driven deer into the fields for nourishment at the farmer’s expense.

“The problem is there’s not a whole lot you can do about it,” said Rick Tamanaha, owner of Kaleikoa Farms in Ho`olehua. “They’ve actually stopped me from planting for 2010. They’ve shut me down.”

Tamanaha said he will be installing an electric fence to ward off the deer. This is one of many problems that come with farming that he prepares for.

“If it’s not deer it’s going to be something else,” he added. “You take the good years, and you [have] to take the bad years.”

Farmer Testimony

The number of deer heading into farms and people’s gardens may be disturbing, but the problem isn’t overpopulation, according to a few hunters familiar with the west end. A contractor for the Molokai Ranch said at last count two years ago, there were 8,000 deer on the west end.

The dry summer has caused the worst deer pressure for many farmers in recent memory.

“All these years, we’ve never had a deer problem,” said Grant Schule, owner of Kumu Farms. His plan of attack: “We’re just kind of moving crops around…basically we’re running from them.”

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September 29, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kelp Waits to Take Its Place in America’s Stomachs

The leaves resemble brown lasagna noodles when they wash ashore on coasts around the world. Like many other seaweeds, sugar kelp has all sorts of uses. The leaves of Saccharina latissima provide a sweetener, mannitol, as well as thickening and gelling agents that are added to food, textiles and cosmetics.

But some believe its most important potential is largely untapped: as an addition to the American diet.

Seaweed is widely cultivated and consumed in Asia. However, in North America, where it sometimes is rebranded as a “sea vegetable,” it is cultivated rarely and eaten infrequently. To proponents, this is the unfortunate oversight, considering it is a crop that can clean the water in which it grows, needs no arable land, and provide a nutritious food with traditional roots.

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September 16, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Mango Season Not Pau

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

Mango is called the King of Fruits for good reason. Nothing could be better than an ice cold mango on a hot afternoon. Native to South and Southeast Asia, mango has been cultivated for over 4,000 years, and was introduced into Hawaii in the early 1800s from Mexico. Molokai has an ideal hot, dry growing climate, and the best area is a belt running from Kalamaula to Kamalo. Unfortunately, the further east you go, the windier it gets, and nothing can be more damaging to a potentially great crop of mango than wind blowing off flowers and fruits. On most islands, mango season runs from June to October with the peak in the earlier half of the season, but for Molokai if you look hard enough, you can probably find mango 9 months of the year especially around the Kaunakakai area.

Mango is not without its problems. Of the tens of thousands of flowers it bears, less than a fraction of 1 percent will actually make it to harvest. With the challenges of four to five months of growing from flower to mature fruit, they face serious diseases and other maladies along the way.

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September 15, 2010 General Ag News and Notes, Organic Ag Post a Comment

Organic Program Chopped

The state’s only organic-certifying body, the Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA), will suspend its program this month, forcing organic farmers in Hawaii to look to the mainland for certification.

Rising costs and a limited client pool prompted the Hilo-based group to end certification, which it began in 1993. HOFA certifies a bounty of products – from coffee to herbs to beer.

“Part of the reason HOFA is not surviving is that we didn’t charge enough,” said Sarah Townsend, HOFA’s certification coordinator. “We’re not big enough to sustain ourselves.”

Some organic farmers on Molokai worry certification from the mainland will come at a higher cost.

“It’s hard enough trying to make a living farming and now we have to go to the mainland?” said Rick Tamanaha of Kaleikoa Farms, an organic papaya farm in Ho`olehua.

Tamanaha’s farm was certified organic by HOFA in October 2007, and he has renewed his certification through the organization every year since. The organic label, he said, allows his farm to compete with non-organic farms that sell at lower costs.

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