‘ELE‘ELE — Carmila Udarbe, an ‘Ele‘ele School student, and her mentor Basilio “Bunga” Fuertes, will be distributing various seedlings, Saturday in front of the Gather Federal Credit Union branch in the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center, starting at 8 a.m.
‘ELE‘ELE — Carmila Udarbe, an ‘Ele‘ele School student, and her mentor Basilio “Bunga” Fuertes, will be distributing various seedlings, Saturday in front of the Gather Federal Credit Union branch in the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center, starting at 8 a.m.
“These seedlings are more mature, but they’re ready to plant,” Fuertes said. “They’ll be available on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. We’ll accept donations of any amount to help Carmila with fertilizer money.”
Available seedlings include tomatoes, green eggplants, Japan hot peppers, and Hawaiian hot peppers, or chili peppers.
Fuertes is a former agriculture instructor at Waimea High School, and has been a long-time distributor of bulb-onion seedlings. He met Udarbe when she needed a tutor for school, and her involvement with growing things blossomed to where she and Fuertes had a bumper crop of onion seedlings earlier this year that was distributed through the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center.
Udarbe and Fuertes also start seeds, many of them named varieties, for other growers, mainly farmers and large home gardeners.