91Ö±²¥

Howard Ling has been on an interesting journey from banking in California to natural farming in Kona.

In 2010, when he decided it was time to try something new, Howard began exploring farming. He started by joining the WWOOF program that offers World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. This led him to look for a place to learn more about natural and organic farming.

His first farm was Green Fire Farm in Hoopa, Calif. As a small farmer supplying Farmer’s Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, restaurant vegetable deliveries, Grady Walker showed Howard the hard work it takes to run a successful small farm.

After staying at Green Fire Farm for a month, Howard found Shumei Santa Cruz Farm. They teach and practice natural agriculture which is building a balanced partnership with the soil, plants and other living things on and around the farm. This challenges our perception that we humans are superior and helps farmers realize that their work is to cultivate a relationship with plants and soils so we can all thrive without outside inputs.

At Shumei Santa Cruz Farm, Howard met someone that told him about Bob Cannard who offered three-month internships at Green String Institute in Petaluma, Calif. After working the three months on Bob’s farm, Howard wanted to continue his study of natural farming.

“I liked the principles that Shumei promoted, and so I applied for a year-long internship at their 22-acre natural agriculture farm in Santa Cruz, California,” Howard reports.

As part of their program, they encourage farming activities like carefully observing plants, soil and insects to understand how they interact. Practicing close observation on the farm helps enable farmers to grow their plants in a healthier and more environmentally sustainable way.

After his one-year internship at Shumei Santa Cruz Farm, Howard sought Bob Cannard’s recommendation for a good contact for his next step. He then contacted Bob Shaffer, agronomist and soil scientist in South Kona. Shaffer’s work on improving soil resilience in 91Ö±²¥ is based on understanding the unique soil conditions here and adapting farming practices accordingly. His knowledge about the soil food web was exactly what Howard wanted and needed to prepare him to find a farm where he could apply his collected knowledge and experience.

When a lease on a farm in Honaunau came up in 2016, Howard began his 91Ö±²¥ farming experience. He started with seven acres of macadamia nuts and two acres of coffee. With small amounts of other tropical fruit on the land, he had to decide where to put his energy.

Naming the farm was easy for Howard. In addition to applying his study of natural farming and the soil food web, he also saw his farm as a web that included both the ‘aina (earth) and the community. He is dedicated to cultivating sustainable food practices as a way of promoting health and wellness in the community through education and collaboration. Hence, the big web.

At about 750 feet in elevation and with the current pests and diseases in coffee, Howard decided to plant other crops like sugar cane and added young ulu and cacao trees to the farm early on. Noticing the need for a reliable overstory plant for his coffee and cacao, he planted pigeon pea trees. These small trees not only provide light shade but also fix nitrogen in the soil and offer their beans or gandules as a bonus.

Howard found the gandules to be a lovely edible crop as well as providing food for the soil. Going the next step, he worked with an apprentice to develop a miso from the pigeon peas. This is just one of the value- added products he is working on including macadamia nut cheese and macadamia nut butter.

After reading “The One-Straw Revolution” written by Masanobu Fukuoka in 1975, Howard was convinced that natural farming principles involving observing and working with nature’s own processes was the most sustainable and environmentally favorable way to farm. Using these practices, the Big Web’s crops are now thriving and Howard has found ways to share his products and his knowledge.

Today he processes sugar cane at the Saturday morning farmer’s market in Keauhou, offering fresh pressed cane juice to his customers at the booth. You’ll find his wife, Kerry, in the front of the booth offering information about their bags of macnuts.

After practicing natural farming for 12 years on Middle Keei Road, Howard is ready to share his experiences with other would-be farmers as well as folks who want to learn about growing and eating healthy food.

As a way to share these ideas, he and his wife Kerry founded the Big Web Institute. Through the institute they hope to encourage new and experienced farmers to incorporate natural farming principles along with agroforestry and crop diversity as ways to produce healthy food for the community.

Kerry is also an important part of the Big Web’s farm mapping service. She has twenty-five years’ experience in the field including working with GIS (geographic information system). The mapping service is designed to help farmers optimize land use, improve crop yields, monitor environmental factors and streamline farm management.

Howard says, “Mapping my farm was super helpful in choosing ideal locations for crops and facilities that best serves them and the farm.”

Information on this service is available on their website: thebigwebfarm.com under “Farm Mapping Services.”

Along with Kerry and their 3-year-old daughter Sidney, Howard’s friend Ken Ayukawa often joins in on special projects on the farm. Attendees at the events at Big Island Institute also offer some farm help while learning about natural farming.

The events usually include a half day of learning and working on the farm with a delicious farm to table lunch- time reward. A farm to table event is currently scheduled for Sunday, March 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It definitely includes lunch and all the information you might want to know about growing what you will eat. To learn more about this event and sign up go to bigwebinstitute.org.

I was very impressed with Howard’s knowledge and his enthusiasm to share it during several of our conversations. I definitely encourage anyone interested in farming better and easier with excellent results to check out all the information on their farm and institute websites.

Be sure to open “The Big Web Farm in the News” banner for a video in Mandarin where you can see him and his family at work on the farm. The video is produced by the Taiwan News Crew from The Borderless World interviews. They chose to include farmer Howard as part of their 91Ö±²¥ tour on April 2, 2024.

You can also learn a lot about The Big Web Farm by visiting their booth at the Keauhou Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning and chatting with Howard over a glass of their delicious cane juice.

Gardening events

Saturday: “Work Day at Amy Greenwell Garden” from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meet at the Garden Visitor Center across from the Manago Hotel in Captain Cook. Call the Garden at 323-3318 for more information.

Now: “Kona Typica” grafted trees available for purchase. First come, first served basis. 20 “Kona Typica” grafted (on C. liberica rootstock) trees are available for $15 each. Tissue cultured “Ito” trees available at $15 each. Contact Andrea at andreak@hawaii.edu if you are interested.

Still available: CLR resistant coffee trees. Learn more at https://youtu.be/11-vtPT2jRU or call Andrea Kawabata at (808) 322-4892.

Starting Jan. 27: “Coffee and Orchard Crops Webinar Series” Tuesdays at noon. A Q&A session with the presenter(s) will follow their pre-recorded or live presentation(s). Tentative dates and topics include:

• Jan. 27 (two presentations) — (1) Bark beetles in 91Ö±²¥ (2) CLR pesticide research update.

• Feb. 3 (two presentations) — (1) Citrus tree planting and pruning (2) Asian citrus psyllid on Tahitian lime.

• Feb. 10 (pending).

• Feb. 17 (two presentations) — (1) Improving coffee nutrition in 91Ö±²¥ (2) CLR fungicide field trial update.

• Mar. 3 — Overview of pesticide laws.

• Mar. 10 (pending).

• Mar. 17 (pending).

• Mar. 24 (2 presentations) — (1) Parasitic nematodes (2) about the USDA Germplasm Repository in Hilo.

• Mar. 31 (2 presentations) — (1) Fungal attackers of multiple crops (2) Record-keeping and tools.

• Apr. 7 — Common fruit growers’ challenges and solutions.

• Apr. 14 — Updates on HARC’s coffee-breeding program.

A single registration gives access to the series’ Zoom link.

Contact Andrea Kawabata for flyer and registration information at (808) 322-4892 or andreak@hawaii.edu.

Starting Jan. 22: “Ka’u Coffee Farm Field Day Events” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (in person)

Jan. 22 – Coffee farm record keeping.

Feb. 26 — Nutrient sampling, sanitation practices and pruning.

March 19 – CBB &CLR management.

April 23 — Nutrition and fertilizing field day.

May 21 — Sanitation and desuckering field day.

All are free events. Lunch included for registrants. Spanish translator on site. Register at www.91Ö±²¥CoffeeEd.com/kau. Contact Matt at (808) 322-0164 with questions.

Feb. 1: “Best of 91Ö±²¥ Competition” registration is open until Feb. 20 for annual coffee cupping competition. Go to 2026 Best of 91Ö±²¥ Competition at hawaiicoffeeassoc.org for the official rules for entering.

Farmer direct markets

Wednesday: Ho‘oulu Farmers Market at Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay.

Saturday: Keauhou Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon at Keauhou Shopping Center.

Information on their online market at keauhoufarmersmarket.com/onlinemarket.

Kamuela Farmer’s Market, 7:30 a.m. to noon at Pukalani Stables.

Waimea Town Market, 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Parker School in central Waimea

Waimea 91Ö±²¥stead Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Waimea Middle and Elementary School playground.

Sunday: Pure Kona Green Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Amy Greenwell Garden in Captain Cook.

Hamakua Harvest 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hwy 19 and Mamane Street in Honoka‘a.

Plant advice lines

Anytime: konamg@hawaii.edu

Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9 a.m. to noon at UH-CES in Kainaliu, 322-4893, or walk in.

Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays: 9 a.m. to noon at UH CES at Konohana in Hilo, 981-5199.