HOOLEHUA, Molokai - A two-day workshop for farmers and gardeners on seed production and seed-saving methods will be held Aug. 24 and 25 in Hoolehua by the Hawaii Public Seed Initiative.
The workshop will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at Lanikeha Center and from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Plant Materials Center.
The cost for both days is $50, which includes a seed manual, catered lunch and tour of the Plant Materials Center. The workshop also includes lectures and hands-on fieldwork focusing on growing lettuce and tomatoes and on seed and taro propagation. Strategies to account for differences in elevation, weather patterns and rainfall will be discussed.
Presenters will include Hector Valenzuela, vegetable specialist of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Relations extension; Russell Nagata, lettuce propagation and seed production specialist and administrator of the college's Hawaii County extension; Glenn Teves, taro and tomato propagation specialist of the college's Molokai extension office; Ellen Sugawara, co-owner and operator of Papohaku Biodynamic Farm; and Nancy Redfeather, program director of Hawaii Public Seed Initiative and Hawaii Island School Garden Network and co-owner of Kawanui Farm.
Five youth scholarships are available for students in grades 11 through college who are interested in agriculture.
The workshops are designed to create a beginning working knowledge of seed production, botany and biology, plant selection, seed harvesting and cleaning.
The registration and scholarship application deadline is Aug. 19. For more details and online registration, go to kohalacenter.org/seedbasicsworkshop/molokai.html.
For more information, contact workshop coordinator Lyn Howe at (808) 756-5310 or seedproject@kohalacenter.org.
