On April 10th, 2010, the Hawai'i Island Landscape Association (HILA) hosted a meeting at the Kona Outdoor Circle Education Center featuring guest speaker Dr. Diane Ragone, Director of The Breadfruit Institute at the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) on Kaua‘i.

The Kino’ole Farmers Market in southern Hilo has a big advantage over other similar markets on the windward side of Hawai’i Island. It is situated in the parking lot of the State Employment Office off Kino'ole St. with ample parking space all around, and plenty of space for shoppers to stroll between the booths without feeling crowded. This is a big consideration when you live on the rainy side of the island and umbrellas are a necessary accessory!

At the Kino’ole market you can buy a wide variety of farm-fresh produce, baked goods, and horticulture products. There is a colorful selection of fresh vegetables and fruits; hot homemade soups; fresh baked breads and pastries; locally made taro chips and cookies; veggie and herb starts; and flowers and plants. A center tent is always set up for well attended weekly presentations of Chi Gong, a Chinese exercise meditation that is similar to Tai Chi. The tent is also used from time to time for workshops, lectures and cooking demonstrations.

What if the best fertilizer was under your feet? What if you could make a product similar to EM and Bokashi simply and cheaply? Well, you can. It’s been happening in South Korea for decades and we have been fortunate to learn the basics here in Hawaii. Four years ago we bought a farm on the Big Island with soil that was flooded for more than seventy years with herbicides, fungicides, and arsenic: the usual arsenal of chemicals used by ginger, sweet potato and sugarcane growers. We were excited to be on land with soil, not just lava rock, common on the Big Island, but were immediately dismayed to see and feel the soil close-up: dry, lifeless powder, not a worm to be found. Our first crops struggled against weeds and pests. Then, a year and a half ago we were introduced to Natural Farming with Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO’s) and we are seeing amazing improvements in our soil structure and plant health. Wherever we put down our homemade, mycorrhizae-rich, “fertility drug” as my husband calls it, the soil regains its loaminess, tilth and structure, and the earthworms come in droves.

Have you ever made your own sushi and enjoyed it while listening to Hawaiian chants and experiencing hula? How about learning how to graft an avocado tree, or compost with worms, or cultivate honey bees for pollination, or the do’s and don’ts of macadamia nut cultivation and production?

These were some of the featured presentations at this year's Fourth Annual Avocado Festival, which took place on February 20, 2010 at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona. Leading island experts in agriculture and and gardening demonstrated their knowledge and skills for an overflowing crowd of nearly 3,000. Attendees learned about avocados and many other locally grown foods in a festival atmosphere of local arts and crafts and the din of countless conversations and stage entertainment.