For more than 50 years, Bayer Hawaii has supported local agriculture in a variety of ways while placing great emphasis on helping local farmers improve farm productivity and food quality for the state. Whether it’s through educational workshops or leasing land to small farmers and ranchers, Bayer is always looking for new and creative ways to collaborate with the community to support local food production.

Bayer Hawaii, in collaboration with its home garden division, Seminis, recently launched its I Grow, You Grow: Helping to Grow Hawaii Forward program to help improve Hawaii's food sustainability by supporting not only local farmers, but home gardeners as well.

Bayer will donate more than 20,000 Seminis vegetable seeds to various community organizations throughout the state, including the Hawaii Farm Bureau, the Institute for Human Services (IHS) and University of Hawaii Master Gardener Program and more. The featured vegetables will include broccoli, onion, tomato and bell pepper. And starting in April, Bayer will launch a series of “How To” videos to help home gardeners get started on their growing journey.

“Improving Hawaii's food sustainability has been a topic of discussion for many years now, but this year has been especially hard. As a result of the pandemic, coupled with other ongoing challenges such as drought, there has been a significant increase in public interest in gardening, farming and local food production,” Alan Takemoto, community affairs lead at Bayer Hawaii. “By providing the vegetable seed packets and educational resources, we hope to be able to inspire more people to grow their own food, and have fun while doing it.”

Mililani Farmers Market (Sundays, 8 – 11am at Mililani High School)

Bayer Hawaii has partnered with the Hawaii Farm Bureau to offer 1,000 free veggie seed packets at the Mililani Farmers Market.

On Sunday, April 11, shoppers will be able to take home broccoli, onion, tomato and bell pepper seed packets, courtesy of Bayer. Free pots and educational resources will also be available.

“We are excited to partner with Bayer Hawaii and Seminis Seeds by hosting a seed giveaway at Mililani Farmers’ Market,” says Hawaii Farm Bureau’s executive director, Brian Miyamoto. “By growing some of their own food, our customers can gain an understanding and appreciation for agriculture, adopt healthier eating habits, and develop stronger support for Hawaii’s agriculture industry.”

Seminis is a division of Bayer Crop Science that is dedicated to providing growers with cutting-edge seed solutions that increase productivity for not only commercial farmers, but home gardeners as well. Currently they develop over 20 different crops with over 2,200 varieties of seeds, including bean, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, melon, onion, pea, pepper, spinach, squash, sweet corn, tomato and watermelon.
 

Click below to download the Veggie Seed Growing Tips.

Enjoy these I Grow, You Grow: Helping to Grow Hawaii Forward “How To” gardening videos below.