Gardener Gratitude, Plant Disease & Pest Management, Donor & Volunteer Highlight, Recipe, Native Plants, Announcements

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January 2015 Newsletter View this email in your browser Our mission is to build community around food self-sufficiency. Contents Gardener Gratitude - Newly Graveled Driveway Organic Plant Disease & Pest Management - Nematodes Paying It Forward - Growing Community in the Goodwill Garden Donor Highlight - Office Depot Foundation Volunteer Spotlight - James Raymor Garden Recipes - Fresh Tomato Salsa Native Plant Species - Stenogyne Kamehamehae Video Clips - How to Plant, Fertilize, and Irrigate Starts When Unable To Till Worms, Weeds, Wisdom, & Who's Who - Meet Volkan Bilen Announcements Gardener Gratitude Newly Graveled Driveway For many years, the driveway entrance to the garden has been muddy and full of potholes.  Gardeners and guests have skidded, hit rocks, and been stuck in the mud causing concern for safety and access.  However, that all changed one beautiful day last month.  Hāli’imaile had enjoyed two weeks solid of daily rains and the plants loved it!  However, the driveway developed puddles, potholes, and some areas were more than muddy - they were like quicksand.  One afternoon the garden council received and alert that a member had been stuck in the mud and the driveway ended up being closed for a day, later to be reopened for a few days after it was mulched to give better traction.  A discussion among the garden's councilmembers quickly led to a request for approval for road improvements being submitted to the landlord, which was approved the same day.  Thanks to the generous support the garden receives from various grantors, 16 tons of gravel arrived the next day and was poured along the driveway. We would like to say thank you so much to the wonderful people who turned out to volunteer to help spread the gravel.  The driveway is graveled from the MLP gate to the HCG gate, so all the problem areas are covered.  We even had a new neighbor, James, turn out and offer a hand and he is now a regular volunteer at the garden.  We're glad to have him on board as a volunteer and when he settles in he'll probably join the garden too.  James also fixed the gate for us so it's raised up and swings freely now.  What a pleasure to drive with good traction and also have the gate easy to open and close!  Photo's of the entire project are posted here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.856522874382183.1073741859.178716682162809&type=1 Now, how's that for a major improvement and fast results! Organic Plant Disease & Pest Management Nematodes Nematodes are microscopic, worm-like creatures that feed on the outside surface of plants, though some burrow into plant tissue too.  Nematodes inject saliva into a plant cell and suck out the cell contents.  The plant responds with distorted tumor-like growths.  Crops infested with nematodes can seriously damage plants. and leave behind deformed carrots and beets, and wilting greens with root knot.  Ideally, you want to keep your plot in production to grow food year round.  However, there are also several options to control nematodes which take it out of production for a few months when you have sufficient space to grow elsewhere or are planning a vacation. 1.     Add Organic Matter:  The easiest way to control nematodes is to add organic matter such as manure to your soil and till it in before each planting.  Organic matter improves soil structure and strengthens plants while producing gas releases that are toxic to nematodes and increasing the population of natural enemies of nematodes.  2.     Till Between Crops: Tilling between each planting helps to destroy roots remaining in the soil that are host to nematode eggs before they hatch.  Remove all the roots after harvesting a crop and till, preferably with fresh manure, before replanting. 3.     Temperature:  Nematodes decrease in the cooler months, so planting crops like beets and carrots over the winter months helps to reduce nematode damage. 4.     Cover Crop:  Cover crops are crops that you plant without harvesting.  Just before they go to seed, you till them back into the soil.  Select a crop that nematodes cannot feed on and they will decline over time.  A list of suitable crops may be found at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ng005#TABLE_2.  The disadvantage is that your plot will be out of production for two months.  In most cases, this can be avoided by tilling and adding manure each planting. 5.     Solarize the Soil:  If you have a bad problem, till the soil and cover it with clear plastic for 6 – 8 weeks to let the heat from the sun “cook” it to kill off the nematode population.  As a plus, this will also sterilize your weed seed population.  The disadvantage is that your plot will be out of production for two months. In most cases, this can be avoided by tilling and adding manure each planting. Paying It Forward Growing Community in the Goodwill Garden Last month a vacant plot was transformed into a fully planted and irrigated Goodwill Garden plot by a great group of gardneres in 2 hours time! Plus a couple of beds were tilled and replanted in the other Goodwill Garden plot. Our Goodwill Garden directly addresses food insecurity, a dedicated space where produce is grown specifically for making weekly donations to our partner organizations that feed the hungry, Hale Kau Kau and the Maui Foodbank. Many hands make light work of providing fresher, more nutritious food to those in the community that need it most. Since the Goodwill Garden was established in April of 2013, the garden has provided several hundred pounds of fresh produce each month to help feed the hungry. Those that need it most reap the benefits of nearly 100 pounds of fresh, organic produce delivered every week to our partner food pantries, the Maui Foodbank and Hale Kau Kau.   The Maui Foodbank distributes the food to soup kitchens who in turn feed the hungry.  Hale Kau Kau is a soup kitchen that serves a hot meal every night to over 200 hungry and homeless Maui residents at Saint Theresa Church in Kihei.  Mahalo nui loa to all our volunteers who keep the Goodwill Garden growing strong! Donor Highlight Office Depot Foundation Office Depot Foundation's mission is Listen Learn Care.  Office Depot is known throughout the world as a company with a heart.  Throughout their history, they have distinguished themselves through their support of charitable organizations and worthy causes on a local and national scale. The Foundation was formally structured as the Office Depot Disaster Relief Foundation in 1994. According to the Foundation, its primary objective was to provide interest-free loans to Office Depot associates who had incurred a catastrophic loss, such as a natural disaster, fire or the death of an immediate family member. “The Foundations priorities focused on helping children succeed in school and in life; enabling civil society (nonprofit) organizations to become more efficient and effective; assisting people and businesses in preparing for disasters, then recovering and rebuilding afterwards; strengthening local communities through grants, product donations and volunteerism; and encouraging community development through entrepreneurship and economic innovation.”   Hāli’imaile Community Garden would like to say mahalo our friends at Office Depot Foundation for their generous grant recognizing the importance of our garden programs and assistance implementing our business continuity and emergency disaster evacuation plan. Volunteer Spotlight James Raymor James Raymor was a stranger to us last month when he approached us on the driveway asking about volunteer opportunities.  Three of us were standing there having difficulty digging up dirt in a high lying area and helplessly wondering what we got ourselves into as we waited for a 16 ton load of gravel to arrive.  Sheepishly, our plot manager asked, "Would you like to start right now?"  And, he said yes! James jumped right in using the mattock and moving dirt to clear high areas and fill in low areas on the driveway and later helped spread the gravel to create our new driveway.  James says, "I'm build for this work."  When all was said and done we asked if this was what he had in mind when he volunteered to garden. He answered that it's all part of having a garden... and, "I got to throw a mattock." A few days later he turned up to help till and plant the Goodwill Gardens.   Now a regular volunteer at the garden and we are so happy to have him!  James has experience building trails for national parks and working with watershed projects. New to the island, he says when he gets settled on Maui he hopes to join the garden as a member.    Mahalo Nui Loa to James for all your hard work! Garden Recipes Fresh Tomato Salsa This month's featured garden recipe is fresh tomato salsa!  Some like it spicy and some like it hot... make your own just the way you like it.  Fresh tomatoes grow in abundance in the warm summer months.  This salsa is a great use for a huge crop of tomatoes and so easy to make.  Everybody loves salsa! Serves: 3 - 4 Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 0 min   Ingredients 4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, fresh (sub 2 Tbsp of minced garlic chives) 1jalapeno, diced 2 Tbsp lime juice 1 tsp Real Salt brand unprocessed sea salt   Instructions 1. Mix ingredients. 2. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.     To obtain a copy of the Hāli’imaile Community Garden cookbook, contact us at haliimailegarden@gmail.com to purchase direct or go to https://www.createspace.com/4277366 to purchase online.  All cookbook fundraiser proceeds benefit Hāli’imaile Community Garden, a tax exempt public charity under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Native Plant Species Stenogyne kamehamehae by Allison Borell Photo courtesy of Jupiter Nielsen   Hawaiian Name: None recorded      Botanical Name: Stenogyne kamehamehae Family: Lamiaceae Status: Endemic Where Found:  Moloka‛i, Maui   Here in Hawai’i we have 20 endemic species of “mintless mints”.  This one in particular is more common and can be found on Maui in upper elevation wet forests. The unique thing about these mints is that the flavor that we relate synonymously to mint does not exist.  Over many years and multiple generations these plants no longer needed the strong taste that kept animals from grazing on them, and evolved to stop expressing that flavor. Instead it put more energy into creating a showier fragrant flower to attract birds.  Just one more example of a unique evolutionary process that took place during the isolation Hawaiian Islands. Video Clips How to Plant, Fertilize, and Irrigate Starts When Unable to Till Direct Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybhYbX1mxL4 Worms, Weeds, Wisdom, & Who's Who:  What's the Digs in a Plot Near You? Meet Courtney Turner Announcements   Call for Volunteers Hāli’imaile Community Garden Needs Your Help Are you interested in volunteering at Hāli’imaile Community Garden?  It is a beautiful place to be and a place where you can really make a difference.  Individuals and groups interested in becoming volunteers should complete a volunteer application and plan to attend an orientation session to receive a tour of the garden and learn about the various opportunities available to volunteers.  For more information and a volunteer application form: http://www.haliimailegarden.com/volunteer.html   Membership Has Its Benefits Come Grow With Us The benefits to gardening in a community setting are that it: Improves The Quality Of Life For People In The Garden, Stimulates Social Interaction, Encourages Self-Reliance, Beautifies Hali’imaile, Produces Nutritious Food, Reduces Family Food Budgets, Conserves Resources, Creates Opportunity For Recreation, Exercise, Therapy, Stewardship, and Education, Reduces Crime, Preserves Green Space, Provides Opportunities For Intergenerational And Cross-Cultural Connections, Increases Environmental Sustainability, and Provides Food For Food Pantries. Plots are now available for new members interested in gardening with us.  Plots are 10' x 20'.  Membership dues are an affordable $100 per year plus 1 service project per quarter.  For more information, see http://www.haliimailegarden.com/join.html.  To inquire about membership, call 415-480-GROW (4769) or submit a contact for at http://www.haliimailegarden.com/contact.html.   Support Hāli’imaile Community Garden Make a Tax Deductible Contribution Mahalo for supporting Hāli’imaile Community Garden with a tax-deductible contribution,  Hāli’imaile Community Garden is recognized as a tax exempt public charity under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3).  For donations options: http://www.haliimailegarden.com/donate.html Donate Now Facebook Twitter Website Google Plus YouTube Email Hali'imaile Community Garden is recognized as a tax exempt public charity under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). 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