The University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR) Cooperative Extension Service assists gardeners with information, including how to start a garden, soil testing and plant pest problems.

Gardeners can find a lot of information on the college website at ctahr.hawaii.edu. Across the CTAHR homepage are several headings in a light green band. On the far right is the “Publications and Videos” heading. Click on that to take you to the “Publication and Information Central” page. There will be a box where you can type in the subject you want to search. For example, if you want information on taro, type “taro” in the box, click “Search Publications” and the available publications on taro will be listed. The publications are in PDF format so you need to have Adobe Reader, which you can get for free on the Internet.

If you are not sure of a specific topic to search, you can click the link “Browse CTAHR publication by general subject categories” just below the box. That will take you to the subject index where you’ll see a list, including fruit, insects, landscaping and many more subjects. Click on one of those subjects to see the titles of available publications.

Some of the publications are for sale and will have “For Sale” in red after the title. Click on the title and the next screen should be an order form. Print the order form and send it with payment.

Several of those publications can be ordered from the University of Hawai‘i Press. For example, “Weeds of Hawaii’s Pastures and Natural Areas: An Identification and Management Guide” can be ordered without printing and sending an order form.

Back at the CTAHR home page, the “Extension” heading in the middle of the light green headings band is the link to garden information.

Click on that to take you to a list of of different programs and topics. The “Home and Garden” links are at the top and contain links to “Ask an Expert,” “Farmer’s Bookshelf,” “Hawaii Backyard Conservation Handbook” and the “Master Gardener Program.”

On the right side of the page is “Quick Links.” You can find links on how to take a soil sample and a link to order Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center seeds. For seeds, click the link “Order fruit and vegetable seeds.” You’ll need to print the seed order form and send it, along with payment, to the ADSC Seed Lab. Visit the link to the ADSC Seed lab to see the updated seed order form as the seed stock changes throughout the year. Unfortunately, we cannot order seeds on the ADSC Seed Lab website.

Go back to the “Home and Garden” section. The first link is “Ask an Expert,” which allows you to ask the Extension Service questions about plants and pests. Fill in the required information including your name, email and island, and your question. Your question will be forwarded to someone from CTAHR on your island.

If you want to see some of the frequently asked questions from the Hawaii Master Gardeners, go to the Master Gardener’s program “Urban Garden Centers” link. There you will see the link to the “Frequently Asked Questions.” This link gives you topics of questions the Hawaii Master Gardeners received and information on the topics. You will also see links to the Master Gardener program on your island if you are interested in joining the program.

The “Farmer’s Bookshelf” contains information on growing fruit, vegetables and some ornamental plants. The “Hawaii Backyard Conservation Handbook” includes information on making compost, integrated pest management, nutrient management and much more. Browse through those to find more information on gardening.

Revisit the CTAHR website periodically to see new publications and more garden information.

Richard Ebesu is an Extension Agent with the Kauai Cooperative Extension Service.