by

• Lori Adams discusses building raised garden beds in her Daily Sitka Sentinel gardening column

(Lori Adams, who owns Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden and is a frequent vendor at the Sitka Farmers Market, will be writing a regular garden column in the Daily Sitka Sentinel this summer. The Sentinel is allowing us to reprint the columns on this site after they first appear in the newspaper. This column appeared on Page 3 of the Wednesday, March 7, 2012, edition of the Daily Sitka Sentinel.)

                                             GARDENING IN SITKA

By Lori Adams

BUILDING BEDS

The following is an overview of my method for building beds:

  1. Cut down any existing brush and use a pickax to break up the soil in the entire area to a depth of at least 6 inches. I prefer this method over simply laying down landscaping cloth and covering it up with soil. If you don’t remove the salmonberry and horsetail roots they will crawl around under the cloth trying to find light, and when they find it they will sprout up through the weak spot and become IMPOSSIBLE to eradicate.
  2. Remove any roots or large stones. Vegetable crops only require the removal of stones that are larger than an egg, unless you are going to grow carrots or parsnips. For these crops you should sift out the gravel because it can cause crooked, twisted or split roots.
  3. Mark out a space no wider than 4 feet for your bed and shovel the surrounding dirt into it. Raised beds are a MUST in rainy, cloudy Sitka. They will drain faster than they would if left the same level as the rest of your yard. Wet soil is cold soil!
  4. Bring in a “clean” material such as wood chips, sand or sea shells for the pathways. This will reduce the amount of mud that is tracked into the house and gives you a nicer surface to kneel on while working.

It is not necessary to build a traditional bottomless box to keep dirt in place. My best bed is just dirt that is mounded up about a foot high and it withstood the entire season of weeding and u-pick traffic. When we built it we simply leaned a long piece of plywood against its side and kneeled against it, then compacted the damp soil along the edge by pounding it with our fists. The plywood was removed and the dirt stayed in place.

Traditional boxes or rock edges provide ideal conditions for weeds, slugs and mold. This being said, I do need something to keep the soil in when I till and keep the ducks out when crops are growing, so I keep experimenting with different types of fencing. My latest prototype utilizes chicken wire, rebar and 2×4’s.

The next step is to amend the dirt which I will address in the next issue.

Brought to you by Down to Earth U-pick Garden

Located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road

Open June-August / Mon-Sat 11:00-6:00

747-6108 or 738-2241

 

 

by

• Let’s Grow Sitka garden education event is Sunday, March 11, at ANB Hall

Mark your calendars, because the 2012 “Let’s Grow Sitka” gardening education event opens at noon and runs until 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall on Katlian Street. Don’t forget to set your clocks to spring forward so you can get ready to grow.

This annual event brings together local garden supply stores, local gardeners, landscapers and anybody who is interested in learning how to grow food and/or flowers. Sitka Local Foods Network Vice President Linda Wilson, who is coordinating the event with SLFN Board Member Cathy Lieser, was interviewed during the Morning Edition show Thursday on KCAW-Raven Radio and she provided more details about this event (click the link to listen to the interview), which helps Sitka residents get excited about the upcoming garden season.

There will be a wide variety of individuals and businesses with booths for the event, with some booths providing gardening information geared toward and others selling gardening supplies. Lunch will be available for purchase. Here is a tentative list of some of those planning to host booths:

  • Linda Wilson, Sitka Farmers Market, Grow a Row for the Market
  • Cathy Lieser, Let’s Grow Sitka, Sitka Local Foods Network
  • Doug Osborne. Sitka Local Foods Network?
  • Johanna Willingham, Pacific H.S./Sitka Farmers Market backup.
  • Jud Kirkness, Sicka Waste compost project, Fruit tree map
  • Tom Hart, compost, NZ composter ?
  • Kerry MacLane. Pest management
  • Lisa Sadleir-Hart. St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm
  • Laura Schmidt, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm/Seed swap & share
  • Maybelle Filler, ???
  • Stanley Schoening, Chickens, fig trees, UAF Cooperative Extension Service
  • Judy Johnstone, High Tunnel program
  • David Lendrum, Guest speaker 3:15, info on new/unusual varieties for Southeast Alaska
  • Jeren Schmidt, Sitka Spruce Catering, lunch for purchase
  • Robert Gorman, UAF Cooperative Extension Service, history of Experimental Station
  • Andrianna Natsoulas, Food Sovereignty
  • Tracy Gagnon, Sitka 4H Club
  • Eve Grutter, Chickens, produce
  • Adam Chinalski, Model greenhouse
  • Penny Brown, Garden Ventures – products for sale
  • Amanda Grearson, True Value – products for sale
  • Lowell Frank, Spenard Building Supply Garden Center ??
  • Michelle Putz, Locally grown environmental benefits?
  • Rick Peterson, Gardening 101 – easiest to grow, need to amend soil, etc…
  • Lori Adams, Down-to-Earth U-Pick Garden – garden promotion and information
  • Mike Tackaberry/Robin Grewe, White’s Inc. – products for sale
  • Mandy Summers, Pacific High School
  • Kelly Smitherman, National Park Service – garden at Bishops House, etc…
  • Lisa Teas, Sitka Farmers Market art debut
  • Florence Welsh, Forget-Me-Not Gardens, local garden booklet, possible plant starts
  • Hope Merritt, Gimbal Botanicals herbal teas – info on wild herbs and herbs to grow

Right after the three-hour Let’s Grow Sitka event ends, guest speaker Dave Lendrum of Juneau will speak at 3:15 p.m. on “New Vegetable Varieties, Small Fruits, and Ornamentals for Southeast Alaska.” Lendrum is a landscape designer who just finished a two-year term as president of the Southeast Alaska Master Gardener Association and with his landscape architect wife, Margaret Tharp, owns Landscape Alaska.

Dave’s life has evolved in partnership with the natural world. He grew up in California on an organic u-pick vegetable farm, learning horticulture from his parents and the 4H club. He did nursery work and continued his post-college adventure in Ecuador by starting a fresh market produce business. After being a city horticulturist at the Eugene (Ore.) Parks Department, Dave started his first nursery, Western Oregon Perennials. A few years later, he found himself in a high-temperature photosynthesis lab at Stanford. In the Pacific Northwest, Dave restored old estate gardens. When he heard Alaska’s call, he moved north to Elfin Cove. Dave and his wife started Landscape Alaska in Juneau 28 years ago. They design and build landscapes on every scale and have won numerous awards both locally and nationally. In addition, Dave is the landscape superintendent for the University of Alaska Southeast and the Southeast representative on the statewide invasive species organization (SNIPM).

For more information about Let’s Grow Sitka, contact Linda Wilson at 747-3096 (evenings, weekends) or lawilson87@hotmail.com, or Cathy Lieser at 978-2572. The two event fliers for this event are posted below as Adobe Acrobat files (PDF files).

• Main flier for 2012 Let’s Grow Sitka event

• Flier for Dave Lendrum presentation after Let’s Grow Sitka event ends

by

• City and Borough of Sitka issues resolution in support of school meal bills

During its Feb. 14 meeting, the City and Borough of Sitka Assembly passed a resolution in support of SB 3/HB 132, which are bills in the Alaska Legislature that provide funding for school meal programs. The resolution was signed by Mayor Cheryl Westover.

The resolution recognizes that good nutrition is a major requirement of the education process, and many children can’t afford enough food or healthy food. When students don’t have enough food or eat the wrong foods, then they aren’t ready to learn. The resolution was part of a statewide effort by several groups to get movement on the bills. (Anchorage Daily News story)

Of the two bills mentioned in the resolution, SB 3 passed the Senate last year by a near unanimous vote (17 for, 0 against, 3 absent). Unfortunately, the bill has been buried in the House Finance Committee. Two men (Nick Moe in Anchorage and Kokayi Nosakhere in Juneau) started hunger strikes in support of the bill, but both have given up after significant weight loss because the committee chairman Rep. William Stoltze refuses to hold any hearings on the bill. (Anchorage Daily News story)

• Resolution 2012-03 supporting the passage of bills in the Alaska Legislature for funding of school meal programs

by

• Kettleson Library to screen Cooking Channel’s “Hook, Line and Dinner” show featuring Sitka

"Hook, Line and Dinner" TV show host Ben Sargent, of the Cooking Channel, showed up in costume to participate in the Sitka Local Foods Network's Running of the Boots fundraiser on Sept. 24, 2011.

"Hook, Line and Dinner" TV show host Ben Sargent, of the Cooking Channel, showed up in costume to participate in the Sitka Local Foods Network's Running of the Boots fundraiser on Sept. 24, 2011.

Sitka residents who missed the “Hook, Line and Dinner” show’s episode about Sitka are invited to watch the Cooking Channel show in a free public screening at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, at Kettleson Memorial Library.

The show, which originally aired nationally Feb. 23 and 26 on the Cooking Channel, recounted a September trip to Sitka by host Ben Sargent. Unfortunately, the Cooking Channel is not available on any of the GCI Cable TV packages, so many Sitka residents missed seeing the episode.

The show features a fishing trip with Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association Executive Director Linda Behnken and her family, cooking with Chef Colette Nelson of Ludvig’s Bistro, a visit to the Alaska Raptor Center, and then Ben participates in the Running of the Boots fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network and eats some black cod tips cooked by Sitka Local Foods Network President Kerry MacLane.

 

by

• Lori Adams debuts new ‘Gardening in Sitka’ column in the Daily Sitka Sentinel

(Lori Adams, who owns Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden and is a frequent vendor at the Sitka Farmers Market, will be writing a regular garden column in the Daily Sitka Sentinel this summer. The Sentinel is allowing us to reprint the columns on this site after they first appear in the newspaper. Her first column appeared on Page 6 of the Friday, March 2, 2012, edition of the Daily Sitka Sentinel.)

GARDENING IN SITKA

By Lori Adams

In an effort to encourage more people in Sitka to start growing their own vegetables, I thought I would share some things that I have learned out at the u-pick garden. This column will address basics for people who are new to gardening.

1. THE SITE

The ideal site in your yard for a garden is the area that gets the most sun. If you own your property it helps a great deal to cut down any trees or brush that block sunlight. Even trees on the east and west sides of your property can block a surprising amount. Trees also rob nutrients and moisture that should be going to your vegetables.

The best orientation for rows is running north to south rather than east to west so that the sun heats up both sides of the bed during the course of the day. It is even better if those rows are on a south sloping hill which causes the sun to hit the soil at a more direct angle so more heat is absorbed.

I have rows that run in both directions. The north to south rows warm up faster and have evenly distributed sunlight allowing each plant grow to its full potential. The rows that run east to west tend to have a sunny side and a shady side and the plants in the front shade the plants in the back. If east to west is your only option then it is best to raise the dirt on the back side of the row and grow shorter plants in the front.

Walk around your yard and notice the paths of your sunlight and shade, but remember that in the summer the sun will be higher than it is now.

Good drainage is also very important. Most successful Sitka gardeners raise their beds higher than their existing yard and pathways by about 9 inches. If your yard is on muskeg or usually has puddles you might want to install some drainage tiles. Hillside gardens usually don’t have drainage problems. Many people think you must terrace a hillside to avoid erosion from rain but I have not had trouble with erosion on my hillside beds. The rain soaks through and seeps out the bottom. Walk around your yard and notice where puddles form.

Once you have selected your site don’t try to get the entire garden ready your first year. Building beds can be back-breaking work and you can quickly get discouraged. Set the realistic goal of completing one bed this spring. You will be rewarded with fresh vegetables this summer, and the knowledge that you gain will give you a better idea how to build the rest of the beds in the following years.

Brought to you by Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden

Located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road

Open June-August / Mon-Sat 11:00-6:00

747-6108 or 738-2241

by

• Alaska Food Policy Council releases its 2012-15 strategic plan

The Alaska Food Policy Council recently released its 2012-15 Alaska Food Policy Strategic Plan, which was about a year in development.

This spring, the council will work on action-planning on its top five priority strategies:

  1. Develop, strengthen and expand the school-based programs and policies that educate about and provide healthy, local foods to schools (e.g., Farm to School Program, Agriculture in the Classroom, traditional foods in schools, school gardens).
  2. Strengthen enforcement language in the Local Agricultural and Fisheries Products Preference Statute (AS 36.15.050), also known as the “Seven Percent” statute and Procurement Preference for State Agricultural and Fisheries Products (Sec. 29.71.040).
  3. Advocate and participate in the development of community level and comprehensive statewide emergency food preparedness plan(s).
  4. Develop AFPC’s role as research aggregator and resource.
  5. Identify and support existing local food system leaders, projects, events, and activities that support Alaska’s food system.

“The Alaska Food Policy Council has been working toward this strategic plan since May 2010,” said Diane Peck, MPH, RD, a community and evaluation specialist with the Alaska Obesity Prevention and Control Program who leads the council. “Initial committees worked to identify Alaska’s food system issues and concerns and then the strategic planning group worked to turn those into our goals and strategies. It’s exciting to see such a broad spectrum of food system stakeholders come together to develop a clear and concise plan that will help guide local, regional and statewide food systems planning in Alaska.”

“The Alaska Food Policy Council works to strengthen Alaska’s food systems to spur local economic development, increase food security, and improve nutrition and health,” according to the council’s website. “The council serves as a resource for information on local and state food systems, and works to identify and propose policy and environmental changes that can improve the production, processing, distribution, health, security and safety of our food.”

According to the council’s website, “the long-term goals of the Alaska Food Policy Council are to identify barriers to building a viable Alaska food system, create a strategic plan to address these barriers, and make the necessary recommendations to decision makers to implement this plan. Diverse stakeholders from around the state have been invited to participate, including representatives for commercial farmers, farmers’ markets and CSAs; fisheries and fish processors; distributors; institutional purchasers; private-sector businesses; legislators; consumers; Alaska Native tribal organizations; food security organizations; environmental organizations; and local, state, and federal government agencies.

”

The Sitka Local Foods Network is represented on the Alaska Food Policy Council by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, MPH, RD, CHES, ACE, community nutrition department manager for SEARHC Health Promotion and the treasurer of the Sitka Local Foods Network.

“Being involved in the Alaska Food Policy Council has deepened my commitment to making local food a reality in Sitka,” Lisa said. “It’s also made me realize that we are already a community ‘on the map’ when it comes to food issues and creative responses. Sitka is considered to be one of the leading communities in the state, on par with Fairbanks/Ester/Delta Junction and Homer.”

The Alaska Food Policy Council will meet April 4-5 in Anchorage for a face-to-face meeting to action-plan the five priority strategies. People interested in providing feedback on the plan should contact Diane Peck at diane.peck@alaska.gov.

• 2012-15 Alaska Food Policy Council Strategic Plan

by

• Sitka Maritime Heritage Society to host a presentation on the importance of herring in Southeast Alaska

Herring is an important food source in Sitka and the rest of Southeast Alaska. Not only are there huge commercial and subsistence harvests of the fish, and it is an important food source for salmon, halibut, whales, sea lions and other animals in the region.

The Sitka Maritime Heritage Society will host the presentation “Herring: Rakes, Reduction Plants and the Fisheries: A Night of History” during its annual meeting at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

The program features a panel discussion about the importance of herring in Southeast Alaska, from the booming commercial sac roe herring fishery to traditional gathering of herring eggs on hemlock branches. Another panel topic includes the herring reduction plants that once were scattered throughout Southeast Alaska. There also have been recent community discussions about possibly starting a whole-fish herring fishery that won’t target roe. Members of the public will be invited to share their memories of herring fishing and roe harvests. Photos and artifacts will be on hand.

For more information, contact sitkamaritime@gmail.com.

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network seeks market manager for 2012 Sitka Farmers Markets

The Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors is recruiting for a volunteer/contract worker to serve as market manager for the 2012 Sitka Farmers Markets.

This is the fifth year of operation for the Sitka Farmers Market, which features six markets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every other Saturday from July 7 through Sept. 15 (July 7, 21, Aug. 4, 18, Sept. 1 and 15) at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. The farmers markets feature booths from local farmers/gardeners, local fishermen, and artisans and craftspeople. These events are great Sitka gathering places, and we promote local foods and other goods at them.

A detailed description of the market manager duties (compiled by Sitka Local Foods Network vice president Linda Wilson, who has been the market manager the past four years) can be found at the link below. For more information or to submit applications, contact Maybelle Filler at 747-2761 or mocampo25@hotmail.com, or contact Doug Osborne at 747-3752 or doug_las@live.com. Please submit a resume and interest letter to Maybelle and/or Doug by 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. The market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market reports to the Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors.

• Description of duties for market manager of the Sitka Farmers Market

by

• Booths and vendors needed for the Let’s Grow Sitka! garden education event in March

Sitka residents wander the booths during the 2009 Let's Grow Sitka garden show

Sitka residents wander the booths during the 2009 Let's Grow Sitka garden show

It is time to start planning for the 2012 Let’s Grow Sitka Garden Expo. This year’s event will be from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall.

Linda Wilson is coordinating the event, and she is looking for anyone interested in participating. Table spaces are FREE. The only restriction is that your products, services, information, displays, demonstrations, etc., must be related to gardening or food production in Sitka.

Linda is looking for:

  • Vendors selling garden-related products, including seeds, supplies, tools, books, accessories, …
  • Vendors promoting/selling their garden-related services, such as greenhouse and cold frame construction, yard maintenance, …
  • Vendors promoting/selling products and services related to small animal husbandry, such as chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigs, etc., …
  • Someone to host a table, do a display or presentation/demonstration on the following topics:
    • Growing root crops in Sitka (potatoes, carrots, etc…)
    • Root cellars and other methods for storage of vegetables
    • Fruit trees and berry bushes
    • Raising chickens and ducks
    • Composting and using compost
    • Soils and soil amendments
    • Edible flowers and ornamentals
    • Cold frames and other small garden structures that extend the growing season
    • Greenhouses
    • Seed swap and share table
    • Hosting a children’s activity such as decorating a pot and planting pansy, violet, viola seeds to take home.  Or ???
    • Garden pests — slugs, root maggots, etc., …
    • Proper garden drainage – how to construct garden beds to drain properly
    • Anything else you can think of that relates to growing food in Sitka, …

Please consider volunteering to host a table or to be a vendor. We want to make this a bigger and better event for this year,  and to get more people inspired to start or expand a garden. Last year we were unfortunate to be scheduled during the same week as Spring break, but NOT this year!

Please let Linda know, at your earliest convenience, if you would like to reserve a table or booth space. Linda can be reached at lawilson87@hotmail.com or 747-3096 (evenings and weekends).

by

• Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors to meet on Monday, Feb. 6

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured are Johanna Willingham-Guevin and Tom Crane.

The 2011-12 Sitka Local Foods Network Board of Directors at its winter board retreat on Dec. 3, 2011. From left are Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Doug Osborne, Maybelle Filler, Cathy Lieser, Robin Grewe, Linda Wilson and Kerry MacLane. Not pictured are Johanna Willingham-Guevin and Tom Crane.

The Sitka Local Foods Network board of directors will hold its monthly meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Building, 408 Marine St. (parking lot is off Spruce Street).

Key topics for the meeting include planning for the Let’s Grow Sitka on March 11, a recap of the Jan. 21 Sitka Local Foods Network annual meeting and potluck, an update on the Sitka Community Greenhouse and Education Center, an update on the Sitka Food Co-op, an update on recent work by the Alaska Food Policy Council, an update on the Sitka Composting Project (Sick-a-Waste), our new logo and t-shirts, planning for spring planting at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm and other community gardens, planning for upcoming events such as the Sitka Farmers Markets on alternating Saturdays from July 7-Sept. 15, and more.

Board meetings are free and open to the general public, usually once a month (except summer). We always welcome new volunteers interested in helping out with our various projects. For more information, contact Kerry MacLane at 752-0654 or 747-7888.