garden

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• Sitka Local Foods Network Intern McLane Ritzel to host fermentation demo at Saturday’s Sitka Farmers Market

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At this Saturday’s Sitka Farmers Market, Sitka Local Foods Network Intern McLane Ritzel will host a live fermentation booth where she will give out samples of locally made sauerkraut and information on how to ferment at home.

Fermentation is an ancient process where microorganisms in our food extend their usefulness and enhance flavor. Fermentation is used in a wide variety of food from around the world, including the yeast that helps make bread, wine, beer, cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, coffee, soy sauce, and more. Sandor Katz, who wrote The Art of Fermentation, calls it “the flavorful space between fresh and rotten.”

Another advantage to fermentation is it can extend the shelf life of many foods. “It’s not forever, like canned foods that you can put into a pantry or storm cellar and forget about for 10 years and still eat it,” Katz said. “These foods are alive, they’re dynamic, but they’re extremely effective strategies for preserving food through a few seasons, which is really the point.”

Recently, one of the big discussions about fermentation is how it can help replenish healthy gut bacteria, especially when items are fermented by lactic acid bacteria. These helpful probiotics are essential in an age where so many of our foods include chlorine in the water, antibiotic drugs, antibacterial cleaning products, and other sanitizing methods that kill healthy bacteria with the bad.

In addition to learning how simple it is to make sauerkraut, visitors to the booth will be able to learn about and taste kombucha. Bring a small jar to the market so you can take a kombucha starter home with you.  This week’s Sitka Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the market.

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• Scenes from the Sitka Kitch class on canning the harvest

 

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Sarah Lewis, right, watches as Betsy Decker adds water to a pressure cooker before jars of produce are added to start the canning process.

kitch_logo_mainOn July 25-27, the Sitka Kitch project hosted Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service to host three classes in Sitka on the cottage food industry and home canning. In addition, Sarah had a table at the Sitka Farmers Market on July 26 where she tested pressure canner gauges.

The slideshow below features photos from Saturday’s Canning The Harvest class at First Presbyterian Church. For those who missed the classes and want to learn more about home canning, the UAF Cooperative Extension Service has a series of online tutorials on its website called “Preserving Alaska’s Bounty.” Pressure canner gauges should be tested at least once a year to make sure they are hitting the right pressures for safe food preservation. The Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service also has a variety of resources on home canning, gardening and other topics.

Sitka Kitch is a community wellness project from the 2013 Sitka Health Summit designed to improve food security in Sitka. The different parts of the project include creating a community kitchen Sitka residents can rent to prepare food for their small businesses or to preserve their family harvest of fish, game, or garden veggies; expanding Sitka’s emergency food storage capacity; and providing education about preserving food and building family emergency food pantries.

For more information about the Sitka Kitch project, contact Marjorie Hennessy at marjorie@sitkawild.org or 747-7509.

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• Scenes from the third Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer

Sitka Farmers Market Co-Managers Debe Brincefield, left, and Ellexis Howey, right, present the Table Of The Day Award to Pat Hanson, second from right, of Hanson Baked Goods while Jim Hanson, second from left, and friend Taylor Ihde look on at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer on Saturday, July 26, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in Sitka. Pat has been selling homemade bread, cinnamon rolls and scones at the Sitka Farmers Market for a couple of years. She received a gift bag with fresh greens, fresh rhubarb, and a copy of the Alaska Farmers Market Cookbook. This is the seventh year of Sitka Farmers Markets, hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network. The next market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St. This week, Aug. 3-9, is National Farmers Market Week, so celebrate by coming to the Sitka Farmers Market. Check our website to learn about our new bus service to the market. For more information about the Sitka Farmers Markets and Sitka Local Foods Network, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/, or check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK)

Sitka Farmers Market Co-Managers Debe Brincefield, left, and Ellexis Howey, right, present the Table Of The Day Award to Pat Hanson, second from right, of Hanson Baked Goods while Jim Hanson, second from left, and friend Taylor Ihde look on at the third Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer on Saturday, July 26, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in Sitka. Pat has been selling homemade bread, cinnamon rolls and scones at the Sitka Farmers Market for a couple of years. She received a gift bag with fresh greens, fresh rhubarb, and a copy of the Alaska Farmers Market Cookbook. This is the seventh year of Sitka Farmers Markets, hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network. The next market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St. This week, Aug. 3-9, is National Farmers Market Week, so celebrate by coming to the Sitka Farmers Market. Check our website to learn about our new bus service to the market. For more information about the Sitka Farmers Markets and Sitka Local Foods Network, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/, or check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK)

SitkaFarmersMarketSignPat Hanson of Hanson Baked Goods won Table of the Day during the third Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer, which took place on Saturday, July 26, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St.

We wound up with a bit of rainy weather for this market, but we still had a nice crowd and some new booths. We also enjoyed the second market with our new bus service from Sitka Tours. This free service will be available at all of the rest of our markets this summer.

The fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the season takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at ANB Founders Hall. This week, Aug. 3-9, is National Farmers Market Week, so celebrate by attending the Sitka Farmers Market. To learn more, watch this site for updates. A slideshow with scenes from the third market is below.

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• Celebrate National Farmers Market Week by visiting the Sitka Farmers Market on Aug. 9

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SitkaFarmersMarketSignU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared Aug. 3-9 as National Farmers Market Week this year, as noted by the Farmers Market Coalition, and you can celebrate the week by attending the Sitka Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.).

Farmers markets are a great way to connect with the community, while also purchasing local produce, wild fish, locally baked bread and arts and crafts. Besides providing access to fresh local produce, farmers markets create strong economic engines in communities, promote local health and bring a diverse group of people together. They also help consumers meet and get to know the people who produce their food.

SLFNGroupwLinda“The Sitka Farmers Market is a community festival where people of all walks of life come together and find great stuff, good food, amazing music, awesome produce, freshly harvested, and above all, great company!” said Debe Brincefield, one of the two Sitka Farmers Market co-managers.

Farmers markets have been growing nationally, from 2,863 in 2000 to more than 8,100 in 2014, a jump of more than 280 percent. While Alaska doesn’t have as many farmers markets as other states, it did have the highest percentage of new markets in the country in recent years, up to 35 markets in 2011 or 46 percent. The national rate of new market growth was 17 percent in 2011 and 9.6 percent in 2012.

Aug. 9 will be the fourth of six full Sitka Farmers Markets this summer, with the schedule running on alternate Saturdays (June 28, July 12, July 26, Aug. 9, Aug. 23, and Sept. 6). The markets feature local seafood (fresh, frozen, and cooked, ready to eat), locally grown and harvested fruits and vegetables, baked bread, locally picked berries, jams and jellies, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, locally brewed and roasted coffee, music, local arts and crafts, and a variety of other items gathered or made in Sitka. We emphasize local products and lots of fun.

SitkaFarmersMarketBusNEW2The Sitka Farmers Market was the first farmers market in Southeast Alaska to accept WIC coupons, and we also accept SNAP EBT payments. In addition, this year we teamed up with Sitka Tours to offer free bus service on market Saturdays. The bus picks up at Sawmill Creek Apartments at 9:45 a.m., at Indian River at 9:50 a.m., and Swan Lake Senior Center at 10 a.m., with the return trip leaving ANB Founders Hall at noon.

For more information about the market or hosting a booth, contact Sitka Farmers Market Co-Managers Ellexis Howey or Debe Brincefield at 738-8683 or sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. By the way, we always need volunteers to help set up and take down the market before and after the event. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Also, we need volunteer harvesters from 3:30-5:30 p.m. every Friday and 8-9:30 a.m. on market Saturdays at St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, which is located behind St. Peter’s By The Sea Episcopal Church (the dark brown brick-and-wood church on Lincoln Street above Crescent Harbor). Fresh veggies will be available for a donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network or a WIC farmers market coupon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Mondays before a market Saturday. For more info on garden work parties, contact St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm Lead Gardener Laura Schmidt at 738-7009 or 623-7003.

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• Lori Adams’ contribution to Sitka gardening featured on Sitka Conservation Society website

Lori Adams poses with some of the ducks she keeps to help keep slugs at bay at her Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden. (Photo Courtesy of Sitka Conservation Society)

Lori Adams poses with some of the ducks she keeps to help keep the slugs at bay at her Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden. (Photo Courtesy of Sitka Conservation Society)

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out this recent feature story about Sitka gardener Lori Adams on the Sitka Conservation Society‘s website.

Lori Adams is owner of Down-To-Earth U-Pick Garden (located at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road), and the author of “How to Grow Vegetables in Sitka, Alaska” (a collection of her 2012 Gardening in Southeast Alaska columns originally published in the Daily Sitka Sentinel). Lori also is a regular vendor at the Sitka Farmers Market.

The feature tells the story about how Lori wanted to start a you-pick garden at her house in 2007, but city code at the time didn’t allow people to grow food and then sell it directly to people from her private property. Lori worked with the city planning department and Sitka Assembly to rewrite the code so Sitka residents can apply for a special permit to sell food grown in their home gardens. The article also features several photos from her garden.

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• Bob Gorman to lead garden tour on July 31 as part of Sitka Seafood Festival

Bob Gorman, Extension Agent of the Sitka office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, shows some germinating seed starts during a free garden workshop on March 11, 2009.

Bob Gorman, Extension Agent of the Sitka office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, shows some germinating seed starts during a free garden workshop on March 11, 2009.

University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service Professor Emeritus Bob Gorman will lead a walking garden tour at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, as part of the Sitka Seafood Festival.

The tour should last about 90 minutes, and participants should dress for the weather and be prepared for a walking tour with several stops. The garden tour will feature visits to a mixture of ornamental landscapes and food gardens in the downtown area.

Many of these gardens on this tour are private, home gardens, so no public map will be released for privacy reasons. However, last September when a cruise was in town with participants in the 2013 International Master Gardeners Conference, there was a similar tour of public gardens in town and there was a map (PDF document) provided to participants (note, the USDA Experimental Farm site in Sitka usually is closed to the public).

The event is free, but pre-registration is required and can be done by calling UAF Cooperative Extension Service Sitka District office at 747-9440 or emailing Jasmine Shaw at jdshaw2@alaska.edu by noon on July 31.

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• Sarah Lewis to provide free pressure canner gauge testing at Saturday’s Sitka Farmers Market

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SarahLewisThis is a great time of the year to be in Sitka. The fish are running, gardens are starting to produce, and berries are ripe for the picking.

Many Sitka residents have pressure canners to preserve their harvest, and this weekend Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will be in town to teach three classes about canning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She also provide free pressure canner gauge testing at the Sitka Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall.

“People can bring the gauge or the lid with the gauge still attached,” Sarah said. “If they have any questions about the full canner (gaskets, damage, how to use, etc.) they can bring the whole thing.”

In addition to testing pressure canner gauges, Sarah plans to work with Jasmine Shaw of the Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service to have a wide variety of publications available about home canning. In addition, the UAF Cooperative Extension Service has a series of online tutorials on its website called “Preserving Alaska’s Bounty.” Pressure canner gauges should be tested at least once a year to make sure they are hitting the right pressures for safe food preservation.

We posted earlier about Sarah’s canner classes this weekend, hosted by the Sitka Kitch project, and info can be found here. However, the location for the first two classes has been moved to the Sitka Presbyterian Church (from Sitka High School) and the topic and time have been changed for Sunday’s class (new topic is Canning Jams and Jellies, new time is noon to 3 p.m., location remains Sitka High School). The canning classes are $20 each, and preregistration is required (call Marjorie at the number below).

For more information about the Sitka Kitch project and to register for Sarah’s canning classes, contact Marjorie Hennessy of the Sitka Conservation Society at marjorie@sitkawild.org or 747-7509.

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• Scenes from the second Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer

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Sitka Farmers Market Co-Managers Debe Brincefield, left, and Ellexis Howey, third from left, present the Table Of The Day Award to Allison Sayer of Hearts and Flowers, second from left, while tablemate Kitty Sopow looks on at the second Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer on Saturday, July 12, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall in Sitka. Allison is a new vendor at the Sitka Farmers Market and she sold fireweed syrups and jellies, salmonberry fruit leather in the shape of a heart, journals and pendants. Allison received a gift bag with fresh greens, fresh rhubarb, and a copy of the Alaska Farmers Market Cookbook. This is the seventh year of Sitka Farmers Markets, hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network. The next market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St. Bring your canner pressure gauge to this market to have it checked. Also, check our website to learn about our new bus service to the market. For more information about the Sitka Farmers Markets and Sitka Local Foods Network, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/ or check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK)

SitkaFarmersMarketSignThe second Sitka Farmers Market of the 2014 summer took place on Saturday, July 12, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall, 235 Katlian St.

We wound up with a bit of rainy weather for this market, but we still had a nice crowd and some new booths. We also launched our new bus service from Sitka Tours. This free service will be available at all of the rest of our markets this summer.

The third Sitka Farmers Market of the season takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, at ANB Founders Hall. Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will be at this market providing free pressure canner gauge testing, so bring in your gauge or pressure canner. To learn more, watch this site for updates. A slideshow with scenes from the second market is below.

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• It’s time to … learn how to amend your soil and increase your production — free workshops

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Your Sitka Local Foods Network reminds Sitkans that now is a great time to think about scaling up vegetable garden production with local soil amendments. Large scale production in your garden takes some forethought and requires good, productive, healthy soil. Local amendments such as seaweed, fish parts, chicken and duck manure, and other materials can help boost the production in your garden.

Lori Adams, owner and manager of Down-to-Earth U-Pick Garden, will host two discussions and hands-on workshops on large-scale garden production using local amendments at her u-pick garden at 2103 Sawmill Creek Road (across from the Mormon church). Classes will be held from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, or at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 28.  All are welcome to come and attend these free classes.

Other topics that may be discussed include using ducks in the garden, organizing and simplifying techniques to keep costs down, and proven seed varieties for success.

Lori grew up on a farm in Oregon, and has gardened in Sitka for 20 years. Her u-pick garden has been in production for about six years. In 2012, Lori wrote a series of garden columns for the Daily Sitka Sentinel (and reprinted on the Sitka Local Foods Network website), and in 2013 she produced a book of those columns, “How to Grow Vegetables in Sitka, Alaska,” which she sells for $20 a copy at her Sitka Farmers Market booth. For information or directions to the garden, call Lori at 747-6108 or 738-2241.

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee has been 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. If you have an “It’s time to …” workshop you’d like to teach, contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708.

The SLFN education committee is still looking to expand our network of local volunteers who can teach classes (formal and informal) this year about growing food, 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.

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• It’s time to … make homemade wine from your extra rhubarb; learn how on July 18

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RhubarbWine1Rhubarb is one of the easiest plants to grow in Sitka. So what do you do with all the extra rhubarb, after you’ve already made as many pies and jams and other rhubarb recipes as you can handle? You can make rhubarb wine.

Perry Edwards and Michelle Putz, who are members of the Sitka Global Warming Group, will teach their annual homemade wine-making class at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 18, at their home (address and directions will be given to people who register for the class). This fun and informative beginner’s class will teach people how to use locally grown fruit, such as rhubarb, apples or berries, to make wine. This class will offer simple wine-making tips, techniques, tools, and will feature Perry and Michelle’s award-winning rhubarb wine recipe.

This class is free and open to all adults age 21 or older. Space is very limited and this class fills up fast. Please pre-register to assure your spot in the class. For more information, or to register for the class, please call Michelle at 747-2708. This wine-making class is sponsored by the Sitka Global Warming Group.