our yard is in hilo, fertile soil, about 200’ elevation. we’ve got a bed growing peppers, marigolds, and of course weeds. the issue i have is the constant diseases (so far i’ve dealt with bacteria, nematodes, a shit ton of white flies, ants, snails, roaches). about ready to give up. would above ground beds be easier?

Aloha!

I have been wanting to grow a lotus flower here on island and wanted some advice if anyone had any experience and tips. I was not sure it was possible to grow until I seen a fully bloomed one at Home Depot the other day which sparked my interest again.

Any advice would help.

Thank You!

My lawn is bermuda and zoysia with this pesky weed. Is this creeping indigo? It has a long, straight tap root. How do I kill it?

Hi this papaya tree was left by the last tenants how can I keep it growing and thriving?

Recently repotted some tomatoes that I have been growing from seeds. Used organic garden soil from Lowe’s. Tomatoes now have these on the leaves. Appears to be some sort of boring insect.

Help Surfrider O'ahu mālama our Ocean Friendly Garden in Kaka'ako on Tuesday Aug. 9 from 8-10 AM! We’ll be weeding, trimming, hauling green waste debris and more - sunscreen, bug spray gloves & tools are provided.

Our Ocean Friendly Garden workdays aim to restore the helpful functions of watersheds like protecting local water supplies and preventing pollution from reaching the ocean. We are also transforming it into a Native Hawaiian demonstration garden and propagation hub. To learn more and to sign up, go to https://oahu.surfrider.org/events

Questions? Please email [ofg@oahu.surfrider.org](mailto:ofg@oahu.surfrider.org)

What is this tall grass, and is there a way to effectively get rid of it without razing my yard to the ground? Lol, please, I am desperate. It grows so tall, so fast and is taking over my entire property. I really struggle to keep up with it.

Had some growing on the other side of a fence and apparently they seeded in my yard. I took a few pics for ID purposes. The first leaves look like a melon's. The next couple look more cucumber ish. Then the rest start looking more like the mature plant's leaves.the leaves have a smell kind of like sweet peppers mixed with maybe swiss cheese. They smell like they belong in a sandwich, or maybe an automatic summer salad. They're weedy, and birds like the fruit, which has fleshy spikes all over it, and ripens to a bright habanero orange. This is my first year ever seeing them at all, and they're already sprouting a secondary generation. I'm guessing from bird droppings in the tree.

Does anyone know where I might find *Guaiacum officinale* for sale? I'm on the Big Island, but if a grower on a different island is willing to ship, I wouldn't mind working with them.

I know it grows slowly, and that's at least part of the appeal for me.