LIHU‘E — Organic methods of food production is the focus of a 14-week training program returning next week to Kaua‘i Community College. Part of KCC’s Growing Food series, the course instructs students on the sustainable principles and practices of organic
LIHU‘E — Organic methods of food production is the focus of a 14-week training program returning next week to Kaua‘i Community College.
Part of KCC’s Growing Food series, the course instructs students on the sustainable principles and practices of organic gardening and farming.
The goal of the sustainable gardening and farming program is to contribute to Kaua‘i’s food self-sufficiency by preparing students for organic gardening at home as well as at community and market gardens.
Each section of the program is conducted by experienced farmers and consultants from local agricultural enterprises, who combine classroom instruction with hands-on field experience in successful food production sites at on- and off-campus locations, such as Kilauea Community Garden.
Each session is comprised of two hours of classroom instruction and more than two hours out in the field, said Paul Massey, one of the course’s four instructors.
“It’s about the principles of how to be a good grower of food, not about enterprise,” he said, adding that students will have exposure to agricultural entrepreneurs should they wish to learn how the industry works.
Sessions’ topics include: site selection, planning, preparation, marketing, crop selection, labor, tools, irrigation, soil building and management, planting and harvesting, germination, propagation, transplanting, weed management, pest and disease management, botany basics and seed saving.
“It’s everything from field to harvest,” Massey said, and as an organic gardening course, it focuses heavily on non-chemical pest control. “Pest control and weed control is all about the right mix, planting types, schedule for planting and feeding. There’s a real misunderstanding out there about how these elements should be applied.”
The instructional program, designed for beginner to intermediate gardeners, was developed by the program’s staff and complemented by training resources from the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture, the University of California Santa Cruz’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, and other research organizations that specialize in organic farming methods.
This is the third time KCC has offered the course, which Massey said instructors continue to improve and refine, including limiting the class’ size to 40 students. They hope to continue to hold classes in both the spring and the fall.
Sustainable gardening and farming training courses meet Thursdays from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., beginning March 31 at the KCC farm in Puhi. Space is still available, Massey said earlier this week.
An additional four hours of fieldwork is required each week to qualify for the course’s certificate of completion. The session fee is $350 and includes materials. Students must provide their own transportation.
“Just bring your own gloves, a hat, sunscreen and lunch,” Massey said.
For more information, email paul.massey@ribg.org or call 652-4118. To register, call KCC’s Office of Continuing Education at 245-8318.
