The Beginning Organic Beekeeping class taught by Richard Spiegel and Jenny Bach started on Saturday, July 9, 2011, with a new crop of 17 people—all enthusiastic about learning to work with the bees. The class meets every Saturday afternoon from 1 to 5 pm in July.

Class attendees are backyard gardeners and small farmers, most of whom are interested in keeping bees for pollination of trees and vegetables. Many people on Hawai‘i Island have reported noticing a decline in macadamia nut and fruit tree production that is attributed by horticulturists to  the loss of wild beehives. Wild hives have begun to decline as a result of the varroa mite bee parasite and other bee pathogens.

The Adaptations CSA operation has been farming and providing locally grown organic produce to chefs and families since 1984. Owners Tane and Maureen Datta’s operation combines produce grown on their Adaptations Farm while also acting as a distribution center for produce and fruits grown by over 100 other organic farms all around Hawai’i Island. The 7.5 acre certified organic farm at 1,500 foot elevation in Honaunau, South Kona, has been in operation for 15 years growing micro mix, edible flowers, herbs, salad greens, avocadoes and medicinal plants -- and experimenting with crops not usually seen on the island.

Church of the Pacific Po‘oku Community Garden (Part 1)

"The first thing we give away is aloha, then love, then food." John Burkhouse, Garden Coordinator

Quietly and steadily the Church of the Pacific Food Pantry, in Po‘oku, Kaua’i, fed over 8000 people last year and fed them well. Fresh basil, kale, green beans, chard, sweet potatoes, papayas and citrus are just some of the food items offered at this food pantry. It doesn’t sound like what you’d expect from a typical food pantry and, well, that’s because it’s not. The goal is to provide balanced and nutritious food for families in need.

HFBF Organic Symposium was held at the Ag Sciences Building, UH Manoa on May 27, 2011. The featured speakers included Sylvia Yuen, the UH CTHAR Interim Dean; Russell Kokubun Hawai‘i Dept of Ag Chair; and Jim Hollyer Food Safety Coach, as well as several prominent organic growers. Puanani Burgess (Oahu conflict-transformation facilitator) provided the Keynote address, and Myrone Murakami (Hawai‘i Farm Bureau president) provided the welcome.

It’s great that so many people are jumping on the homegrown food bandwagon. There is nothing more delicious and healthful than your own fresh fruit and vegetables grown with love without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.

But for me, homegrown also means making my own medicines from plants in my garden, from the wild and from friends’ yards. And also using locally sourced materials -- like neem -- to improve soil fertility and food production. Recently I was brought into a discussion about a number of neem trees growing on the Hamakua Coast. The property owner had wanted to tear out his 70 or so trees in favor of fruit such as lychee and longan. Although I wasn’t directly involved in convincing him of their value, I am very happy that this valuable resource is now being preserved.