Clark, who has long taught gardening classes, was asked last year to come up with a class that addressed Y2K fears. It was like, right before you're ready to starve you should put some seeds in the ground. It's teaching people how to successfully grow organic produce so they can actually feed themselves over time. It's just trying to live in balance with nature. Clark teaches it in partnership with Jon Biloon, a Big Island organic farmer, soil researcher and environmental activist.
Most people know organic farming means no chemicals are used.
That means plant nutrition, as well as pest and disease control are dealt with by natural means. Much of this revolves around soil health. Tropical soils, like those in Hawaii, are notorious for mineral depletion. High levels of rainfall are partly responsible, large-scale agriculture greatly compounds the problem, said Biloon. The minerals we focus on are calcium magnesium and potassium, we get those in balance and everything else falls into place.