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Community members could jumpstart their home gardens with Romaine lettuce that grows well in Hawaiʻi’s heat.
For Hawaiʻi residents, a thriving home garden starts with choosing the right plants. After a virus decimated his banana plants, Kalei Hale visited the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on January 21, to find reliable alternatives at a free seedling sharing and education event hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR).
Proven plants for Hawaiʻi
Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi team members gathered lettuce seedlings, plumeria cuttings, and other plants for home-bound kupuna.
The centerpiece of the event was distributing CTAHR-field tested Romaine lettuce seedlings, a variety thoroughly tested for Hawaiʻi’s climate.
“We’ve conducted research on a number of Romaine varieties, and we know this variety does well in local conditions,” said Jari Sugano, CTAHR’s Oʻahu County administrator. “The featured variety, Sparx, can tolerate the heat on Oʻahu. It doesn’t require cool conditions, which is typically what Romaine requires.”
Beyond food crops, the event provided lei plant cuttings, including pikake, plumeria and crown flowers, and hearty foliage such as Song of India and Song of Jamaica. These selections ensure that both food and ornamental gardens can thrive despite tropical challenges and help growers succeed.
CTAHR staff and interns provided guidance on crop nutrition, weed control and fertilizer use to help new seedlings mature into full plants. Attendees, including staff from Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi who picked up plants for kupuna, were given the tools to immediately begin growing their own food or beautifying their homes.
People got advice on their home gardens from CTAHR staff.
Turning setbacks into success
For Hale, using proven plants and time-tested growing methods has already made a difference. After Mānoa lettuce starters he bought at a CTAHR student fundraiser grew into “huge” heads in just a few weeks, he returned to collect the heat-tolerant Romaine seedlings and straw mulch for his new aquaponics system. By focusing on research-backed varieties, home gardeners such as Hale are finding a more manageable and successful path to self-sufficiency.
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