April 14, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Local Foods Network education committee to host first classes with new garden mentoring program

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee has chosen its two families for its new garden mentoring program, and will begin hosting classes for first-time gardeners at the homes of our selected families.

To protect the privacy of the selected families, they will be referred to as Family A and Family B and the locations of their gardens will be given when first-time gardeners call to RSVP for the classes. These free classes are open to all first-time gardeners in Sitka. Family A lives near the end of Halibut Point Road, and Family B lives midway down HPR. The classes will be similar at each location, so people wanting to participate only need to sign up for one class. New classes will be added as the spring/summer progress, so keep watching for more.

Our confirmed classes so far:

Garden preparation class (choosing a location, building planters, soil and soil requirements, etc.), note a free planter box will be given to one participant in each garden-prep class.

Family A, 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23
Family B, 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 27

Planting class (easy-to-grow plants, how, where and when to plant, planting)

Family A, 5 p.m. on Friday, May 2
Family B, 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 4

For more information, contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708 or michelleputzfood@yahoo.com.

April 14, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … build your garden planters workshop on April 18

New strawberry planters

The Sitka Local Foods Network reminds you that it’s time to get out in the garden and build your garden planters.

Michelle Putz will present a short workshop on building garden planters from 4-5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18, at 131 Shelikof Way. These planters will be used for our two first-time gardener families in the Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program. Garden planters can range from the frames for raised garden beds to smaller planters used in container gardening. Participants are encouraged to bring drills with Phillips-head bits and extension cords, if they have them. Parking space is limited, so please consider walking, riding your bike or carpooling. More information is available by calling Michelle at 747-2708.

The Sitka Local Foods Network is hosting a series of “It’s time to …” workshops this spring and summer designed to help local residents learn about various aspects of vegetable gardening and fruit growing. Many of these classes will be informal get-togethers at various gardens around town. Please watch our website, Facebook page, Facebook group, and local news media for information about upcoming classes.

In addition, don’t forget the Sitka Local Foods Network education committee will meet from 5:30-7 p.m. on Monday, May 5, at Harrigan Centennial Hall to discuss future workshops and classes for the rest of the spring and summer.

We are still looking to expand our network of local volunteers who can teach classes (formal and informal) this year about growing food, so please attend if you’re interested. If you can’t attend, please email Charles Bingham at charleswbingham3@gmail.com with info about what topics you can teach, your gardening experience, and contact information so we can add you to our database of instructors.

April 14, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Sitka Food Co-op, Sitka Local Foods Network make plant starts available on co-op delivery days

Plant starts in Sitka gardener Keith Nyitray’s greenhouse

The Sitka Local Foods Network and Sitka Food Co-op are teaming up to make garden starts available for Sitka food gardeners.

The plant starts will be available through the Sitka Local Foods Network on the next three monthly Sitka Food Co-op delivery days, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 21, May 19 and June 23, at the Sitka First Presbyterian Church (505 Sawmill Creek Road). The sale of these plant starts helps benefit the Sitka Local Foods Network, and we thank the Sitka Food Co-op for the opportunity to sell them on their delivery pick-up days. The plant starts are from Sitka gardeners and are of plants that do well in Sitka’s climate.

For more information, contact Keith Nyitray of the Sitka Food Co-op at sitkafoodcoop@gmail.com or go to http://sitkafoodcoop.org/

April 10, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Earth Week activities include gardening classes, a youth eco-challenge, and the Parade of the Species

Earth Day is on Tuesday, April 22, and Earth Week is April 20-26. Sitka will host a variety of activities for Earth Week, including some gardening classes, a youth eco-challenge, free bus rides all month, spring clean-up events, and the 13th annual Parade of the Species. Click the event names at this link for more activity details.

Giving Earth Week an early start is a presentation at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, in Room 106 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, when Gordon Wrobel will discuss his three-year USDA project to build local food systems in Elfin Cove. Contact the Sitka Local Foods Network at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com for more information.

Lauren Oakes will discuss yellow cedar ecology and long-term vegetation changes in temperate forests impacted by climate change at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, at the UAS Sitka Campus as part of the ongoing Natural History Seminar Series.

Bob Gorman of the Sitka District office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will give two presentations at 7 p.m. at the UAS Sitka Campus — on Monday, April 21, about extending the growing season and greenhouses, and on Tuesday, April 22, about sustainable wood heat.

There will be clean-up events from 9-11
a.m. on Saturday, April 19, for 4-H club members and other youth, and from noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, for Sitka Conservation Society members and other community members, both at locations TBA. There also is a community-wide spring clean-up event from April 26
through May 11, when people can bring in a variety of large items and hazardous materials to the Sawmill Cove Scrap Yard, hosted by the City and Borough of Sitka Public Works Department.

The Sitka Community Ride bus service will provide free bus rides during the entire month of April in its annual recognition of Earth Day.

The youth eco-challenge is from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 26, at Sitka National Historical Park. School-aged youth teams will test their skills of compass navigation, bear safety, and fire building while they make their way through the Sitka National Historical Park. Sign up in teams of four, or as individuals and be put on a team. Teams of multiple ages are recommended. It’s a race. Contact Mary Wood to register, 747-7509.

Finally, the 13th annual Parade of Species, hosted by the Sitka Conservation Society, is on Friday, April 25. Parade participants are invited to dress as their favorite animal or plant and gallop, slither, swim, or fly with us. We will meet in Totem Square at 2:30 p.m. and parade down Lincoln Street to Harrigan Centennial Hall at 3 p.m. There will be a number of community organizations with hands-on Earth Day inspired activities for the whole family from 3-4:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for Best Use of Recycled Material, Most Realistic, and Best Local Plant/Animal. For more information contact mary@sitkawild.org or call 747.7509. Click here for photos of 2013 Parade of Species costumes.

• Sitka Spring Clean-Up Events 2014

• Sitka Earth Week Events Schedule for 2014

April 10, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Alaska Way of Life 4-H club seeks local gardeners to serve as program mentors

The Alaska Way of Life 4-H club gardens at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm in 2013. (Photo by Matthew Dolkas, courtesy of the Sitka Conservation Society)

The Alaska Way of Life 4-H club would like to get its hands dirty and grow some food this summer.

We would love some mentorship and modeling to help us out and build community between our youth and gardeners. If you are interested in sharing your skills and spending a few hours with youth this summer, contact Mary Wood at the Sitka Conservation Society, 747-7509 or mary@sitkawild.org.

Mary said the 4-H club has space at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, so they are looking to meet with local gardeners and see what they are doing; so more like site visits. She’s hoping the gardeners also might be interested in taking volunteer leadership roles with the club and developing mentoring partnerships, which will help make the club program sustainable.

Sitka’s 4-H club is a positive youth development organization that gets youth civically engaged and physically active. Sitka has three 4-H projects: Baking, Shooting Sports, and the Alaska Way of Life outdoor education program. Sitka 4-H Community Club meetings are held at 12:30 p.m. the second Saturday of each month (April 12 is the next meeting) at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St.).

Shooting Sports: Contact Paul Rioux for more information,
paulg.rioux@gmail.com.
Baking: Contact Amy Sweeney for more information,
a_sitka_sweeney@yahoo.com.
Alaska Way of Life: Get outside, explore the Tongass, and build community with 4-H. Visit the Sitka Conservation Society website for more information on current events. Summer club registration for hiking, and gardening, and other activities is coming soon. Contact Mary at the Sitka Conservation Society for more information, 747-7509 or mary@sitkawild.org.

April 8, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … plant your potatoes with two workshops on April 12 and 19

The Sitka Local Foods Network reminds you that it’s time to get out in the garden and plant your potatoes.

Potatoes are some of the most productive and easy-to-grow vegetables in Sitka. Michelle Putz will present two free, short, hands-on potato-planting workshops at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, at 131 Shelikof Way. Parking space is limited, so please consider walking, riding your bike or carpooling. More information is available by calling Michelle at 747-2708.

April 7, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• UAF Cooperative Extension Service releases new guide for home-based food businesses

Photo courtesy of UAF Cooperative Extension Service

The Sitka District office and other regional offices of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service now have on hand a new publication, “Guide to Operating a Successful Home-Based Food Business.”

Have questions about Alaska Food Code exemption requirements? Want to know more about recipe formulation, product testing, labeling, safe preparation packaging, or starting your own business? Are you curious which homemade foods can be sold at farmers markets and festivals, and which ones require a commercial kitchen?

The 12-page handout features the answers to these questions and many other topics discussed during the training sessions about food regulations for farmers markets, hosted in February by Kate Idzorek with the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, and by Lorinda Lhotka and Morgan Poloni with the Alaska DEC Food Safety and Sanitation office.

View and download a copy of the publication online, or contact the UAF Cooperative Extension Service’s Sitka office at 747-9440 for a hard copy.

April 7, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• State grants available for summer ‘Chef at the Market’ program at local farmers markets

Suzan Brawnlyn, the Chef at the Market, holds a sample cup of honey miso-glazed black cod with broccoli and bok choy stir fry during a cooking demonstration on July 21, 2012, at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the season.

The state’s Chef at the Market program is accepting grant applications from Alaska chefs interested in providing demonstrations at local farmers markets between May and September this year, according to a press release in the Juneau Empire.

The Chef at the Market program began in 2011 to promote fresh Alaska Grown specialty crops and teach Alaskans new ways to prepare them. The program has also provided a new opportunity for chefs to develop relationships with the local food vendors who supply restaurants and with Alaskans interested in cooking Alaska Grown at home.

In the summer of 2013, six Alaska chefs performed a total of 27 demonstrations at nine local farmers markets and special events.

Suzan Brawnlyn hosted four Chef at the Market presentations during the 2012 Sitka Farmers Market season, but wasn’t able to renew her grant last year because the kitchen was closed due to construction at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in 2013. The construction is finished and the kitchen is open again, so Sitka chefs are encouraged to apply for 2014. In addition to hosting demonstrations at the Sitka Farmers Market, Suzan prepared recipes and other information about how to use the local produce she highlighted each week.

To apply for a 2014 summer program grant, go to
http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/ag_grants.htm. Grant applications are due on Wednesday, April 30.

To find out more information about Chef at the Market demonstrations, contact Jacquelyn Schade at jacquelyn.schade@alaska.gov or 907-761-3858.

April 7, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• Gordon Wrobel to give presentation on building local food systems in Elfin Cove

Gordon Wrobel will give a presentation at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, in Room 106 (note room change from original post) at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus about gardening in Southeast Alaska, in particular in Elfin Cove where he is completing a three-year USDA project to improve local food systems.

Gordy will provide an overview of his project, including the challenges and opportunities (such as available land, soils, pests/diseases, climate/temperature, markets, and crop/seed selection). His project objectives and results included creating access to fresh produce in the rural Southeast Alaska community of Elfin Cove, evaluating the economic viability of a floating island garden, evaluating the strategies of a floating island, container, hoop garden and greenhouse, creating a composting program for the community of Elfin Cove, and evaluating the potential for a sustainable produce business in Elfin Cove. There will be a short question-and-answer session after his presentation.

For more information, contact Sitka Local Foods Network board members Michelle Putz at 747-2708 or Charles Bingham at 738-8875.

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April 2, 2014 by Charles Bingham

• It’s time to … plant your cold frames class/open discussion on Sunday, April 6

Doug Osborne prepares a cold frame for spring planting during a 2012 work party at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm.

The Sitka Local Foods Network reminds you that it’s time to get out in the garden and plant your cold frames. Michelle Putz will present a free, short, on-the-ground cold frame planting class and open discussion at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 6. A cold frame is like a miniature greenhouse, usually a raised garden bed with a glass or fiberglass cover that helps warm the plants to extend the growing season.

Due to limited space, those interested in participating in this class need to pre-register by calling Michelle Putz at 747-2708. They will be told the event’s location when they call.

The Sitka Local Foods Network will be hosting a series of “It’s time to …” workshops this spring and summer designed to help local residents with various aspects of vegetable gardening and fruit growing. Many of these classes will be informal get-togethers at various gardens around town.

In addition, don’t forget the Sitka Local Foods Network education committee will meet from 5:30-7 p.m. on Monday, April 7, at Harrigan Centennial Hall to discuss future workshops and classes for the upcoming spring and summer.

(Editor’s note: A series of photos from the class is posted below, as are two handouts about cold frames from the Purdue and Cornell Cooperative Extension Service programs.)

• Hot Beds And Cold Frames handout from the Purdue Cooperative Extension program

• Hot Beds and Cold Frames handout from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service

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