By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
James Leary shows off new growing methods at the
Poamoho Experiment Station at the University of Hawaii
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
Leary is a graduate student conducting the experiment
for his master's thesis.
Plant expert pushes weeds as
By Suzanne Tswei
boon for gardens, farming
Star-BulletinWEEDS are not a gardener's nightmare to Joe DeFrank.
The University of Hawaii horticulture professor says weeds are the answer to a healthy, productive and environmentally friendly garden.
The trick is finding the right weed and growing it under the right conditions, DeFrank said Wednesday as he showed off rows of broccoli and eggplants thriving between clumps of weeds at the Poamoho Experiment Station belonging to the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
It was the first public unveiling of the results of his farming experiment that began in mid-March and is now bearing fruit.
"It looks pretty good," farmer Whider Sun said as he inspected the young broccoli buds and baby-size eggplants.
"I can see the plants here are healthier, bigger, better looking than those over there," Sun said while comparing the plants growing between weeds and nearby plants grown in bare dirt.
"I think I'll try it, a small patch at least," Sun said.
That's the answer DeFrank was hoping for. He knows he cannot turn farmers into converts overnight, but that they will warm up to the idea as they see others using it.
A weed is only a weed if it is unwanted, DeFrank said. In his case, his weed of choice is Buffelgrass, a common pasture grass that grows in clumps and is drought-resistant. The grass, grown as a "living sod," is used as a beneficial crop that keeps out other weeds, lessens insect and disease damage and controls erosion.
DeFrank and his associate, graduate student James Leary, who is conducting the experiment for his master's thesis, planted the grass first and waited for it to become established before planting the vegetables. Then they applied reduced dosages of herbicide to keep the grass under check so it does not encroach on the vegetables.
"What we found is that the grass becomes the one management method that can deal with all the problems ... weeds, pests, disease and erosion," Leary said.
Normally, farmers need to constantly weed their fields, but the grass takes up the room where weeds would grow, Leary said. The grass requires no care and attracts a number of beneficial insects such as spiders and ladybugs which seem to help control harmful pests.
The grass also helps prevent soil from splashing onto the vegetables during the rainy season, which causes diseases and rot.
Best of all, the "living sod" method may be the answer to government regulations controlling runoffs to prevent coastal water pollution, DeFrank said. The grass absorbs some of the farming chemicals and helps keep the soil in place, he said.
"The government considers any water runoff as pollution if it contains soil, pesticide or fertilizer. It's going to become a problem in about five years when (the regulation goes into full effect). So I am trying to come up with a solution before the panic. This is one of the techniques that will allow farmers to produce crops and deal with the environmental police all at the same time," DeFrank said.
