kale

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• Sitka Local Foods Network education committee announces the inaugural Sitka Slug Races

Slug Races Sign

The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee invites Sitkans to take part in Sitka’s first slug races.

“Do slugs move into your garden faster than a speeding bullet? Are you sure your slugs are breeding with Olympic runners and pole vaulters? Could you have the next winner of the Triple Crown? The Sitka Local Foods Network invites you to come and put your fastest slug to the test against Sitka’s best!” race organizer and SLFN board member Michelle Putz said.

The SLFN education committee will hold its inaugural Sitka Slug Races at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, at the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.). Registration for the race is from 10 a.m. until noon.

Those interested in participating  will pay $5 per slug entered into the race. Participants are encouraged to bring their own fast slugs, but “rental slugs” will also be available at the race. The participants with the three fastest slugs in Sitka will be crowned and awarded a certificate and commemorative pin.

“Slug races help to support Sitka Local Foods Network’s mission to increase the amount of locally produced and harvested food in the diets of Southeast Alaskans,” Michelle said. “By getting slugs out of our gardens and into the race arena, we are saving valuable cabbage, kale, onions, and other foods from their hungry mouths. And we’ll find out which slugs were tromping to and through our gardens the quickest!”

We ask those who bring slugs to only bring black slugs, which are not native to Sitka, and not the California banana slugs which are native (can grow to three inches or longer, usually yellow or shades of green). Also, please don’t release your slugs in new places. We don’t want to introduce any invasive species, and the black slugs (sometimes brown or gray) are pretty destructive to Sitka gardens.

Funds raised will be used to support the network’s projects and activities including family garden mentoring, garden education classes, the Sitka Farmers Market, and the St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm communal garden.

For more information about helping with the race or the SLFN education committee, please contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708.

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• KCAW-Raven Radio features Sitka Local Foods Network’s garden mentoring program in story

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Vegetable gardening used to be a necessity for Sitka residents back in the day, but regular barges and daily flights made it easy for people to stop growing their own food and buy it at the store. If you didn’t have your own garden, you didn’t have fresh veggies. In recent years grocery prices and shipping costs have gone up significantly, so more Sitka residents are going back to gardening. But there are some Sitkans who haven’t gardened before.

That’s where the Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentoring program comes in. This program started in 2014 when the network mentored two first-time gardeners and their families through a year of growing four basic crops that do well in Sitka — lettuce, kale, potatoes and rhubarb. This year, our two original families are back for a second year with slightly trickier crops (carrots, chard, peas and green onions), and we have four new first-year families in the program.

Recently, KCAW-Raven Radio reporter Vanessa Walker attended a class at the home of Rebecca Kubacki to learn more about the program and how it’s helping Rebecca reconnect with her food (click here to listen to the story). All of our free garden mentoring program classes are open to the public and we try to announce the classes enough in advance so people can attend.

Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program.

For more information about the garden mentor program, please contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708.

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• More classes set in 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program

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DasallaAndPutzThe fourth classes for the 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program have been set for our four participating first-year families, and the classes will be open to the public. The classes will be similar at each location, except one where we will be planting a container garden instead of our usual raised garden beds.

The fourth class of the six-class series is about early harvesting and learning about which crops are ready to be picked and which should be left in the garden to grow some more. For our first-year gardener families, we teach them how to grow four hardy crops for Sitka — kale, lettuce, potatoes and rhubarb. These classes are essentially the same, so feel free to attend the class that best fits your schedule.

The class schedule and location for these first-year families is:

  • Josephine Dasalla, 1709 Halibut Point Rd., No. 31 (green trailer) — 4:30 p.m., Monday, June 8.
  • A.J. Bastian, 207 Brady St. — 4 p.m., Thursday, June 11.
  • Rebecca Kubacki, 1202 Halibut Point Rd. — 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 16.
  • Breezy, 616 Sawmill Creek Rd. — 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 1 (Note: this class was postponed from its original date of June 24).

Please note the classes at the Dasalla residence involve container gardens instead of building raised garden beds like we’ve done for our other families.

In addition, the third class for one of our other first-year students (Breezy) and second classes for our second-year students also have been set. These will be garden maintenance classes (slug and pest control, thinning, watering, garden care, etc.).

The two second-year families (Anna Bradley and Tami O’Neill) participated in the inaugural year of the program last summer, and now they’re back for more. Our two returning families will be planting carrots, chard, green onions and peas this year, which are slightly more difficult to grow than our chosen crops for first-year students. Even though this year’s crops are more difficult to grow, many gardeners in Sitka still have good results with these vegetables.
Again, the classes at each location will be similar, and they are free and open to the public. The schedule is:
  • Breezy, 616 Sawmill Creek Rd. — 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4.
  • Anna Bradley, 4764 Halibut Point Road, 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 6.
  • Tami O’Neill, 2309 Merganser Drive, 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17.

BastianPutzAndSpiveyWithBigCheckMichelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program.

For more information about the garden mentor program, please contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708.

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• Third classes set for first-year students in 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program

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ONeillAndPutzThe third classes for the 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program have been set for three of our four participating first-year families, and the classes will be open to the public. The classes will be similar at each location, except one where we will be planting a container garden instead of our usual raised garden beds.

The third class of the six-class series is about garden maintenance (slug and pest control, thinning, watering, garden care, etc.). For our first-year gardener families, we teach them how to grow four hardy crops for Sitka — kale, lettuce, potatoes and rhubarb. These classes are essentially the same, so feel free to attend the class that best fits your schedule.

The class schedule and location for these three families is:

  • Josephine Dasalla, 1709 Halibut Point Rd., No. 31 (green trailer) — 4 p.m., Thursday, May 14.
  • A.J. Bastian, 207 Brady St. — 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 26.
  • Rebecca Kubacki, 1202 Halibut Point Rd. — 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 26.
  • Breezy, 616 Sawmill Creek Rd. — TBA (waiting for soil upgrade).

Please note the classes at the Dasalla residence involve container gardens instead of building raised garden beds like we’ve done for our other families.

This is the second year of the garden mentor program, and our two families from last year — Anna Bradley and Tami O’Neill — are back for a second year where they will learn how to grow a few more difficult crops for Sitka, such as carrots and onions. Their first classes recently were announced and take place in May. These classes also are open to the public.

Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program. For more information, please contact Michelle at 747-2708.

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• First classes set for second-year students in 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program

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ONeillAndPutzIt’s time to plant your vegetable garden along with the Sitka Local Foods Network’s two second-year garden mentor families.

These two families (Anna Bradley and Tami O’Neill) participated in the first year of the program last summer, and now they’re back for more. Our two returning families will be planting carrots, chard, green onions and peas this year.
These four crops are slightly more difficult crops to grow that our first-year plantings of kale, lettuce, potatoes and rhubarb. Even though this year’s crops are more difficult to grow, many gardeners in Sitka still have good results with these vegetables.
The classes at each location will be similar, and they are free and open to the public. The schedule is:
  • Anna Bradley, 4764 Halibut Point Road, 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 10 (EDITOR’S NOTE: This class was rescheduled from its original May 3 date due to illness).
  • Tami O’Neill, 2309 Merganser Drive, 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 23.
Don’t forget the schedule of third classes (garden maintenance) for our first-year garden mentoring families has been posted and these classes also are open to the public. The first two classes, which took place in April and early May, were about selecting the best garden site, building a raised garden bed, and planting.
Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program. For more information, please contact Michelle at 747-2708.
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• First classes set for second-year students in 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program

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It’s time to plant your vegetable garden along with the Sitka Local Foods Network’s two second-year garden mentor families.

These two families (Anna Bradley and Tami O’Neill) participated in the first year of the program last summer, and now they’re back for more. Our two returning families will be planting carrots, chard, green onions and peas this year.
These four crops are slightly more difficult crops to grow that our first-year plantings of kale, lettuce, potatoes and rhubarb. Even though this year’s crops are more difficult to grow, many gardeners in Sitka still have good results with these vegetables.
The classes at each location will be similar, and they are free and open to the public. The schedule is:
  • Anna Bradley, 4764 Halibut Point Road, 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 (EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to illness, this class will be postponed to a date and time TBA).
  • Tami O’Neill, 2309 Merganser Drive, 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 23.
Don’t forget the schedule of first classes for our four first-year gardening families also has been posted and those classes are open to the public.
Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program. For more information, please contact Michelle at 747-2708.
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• First two classes set for 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program

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The first two classes for the 2015 Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentor program have been set for each of our four participating first-year families, and the classes will be open to the public. The classes will be similar at each location, except one where we will be planting a container garden instead of our usual raised garden beds.

For three of the four families, the first class will focus on site selection, garden preparation, building planter beds, simple vegetables and soil preparation. The second class will be about simple vegetables and planting. For our first-year gardener families, we teach them how to grow four hardy crops for Sitka — kale, lettuce, potatoes and rhubarb. These classes are essentially the same, so feel free to attend the Class 1 and Class 2 that best fits your schedule.

The class schedule and location for these three families is:

  • A.J. Bastian, 207 Brady St. — CLASS 1: 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7; CLASS 2: 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30.
  • Rebecca Kubacki, 1202 Halibut Point Rd. — CLASS 1: 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 11; CLASS 2: 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.
  • Breezy, 616 Sawmill Creek Rd. — CLASS 1: 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 11; CLASS 2: 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5.

Our fourth family — Josephine Dasalla, 1709 Halibut Point Rd., No. 31 (green trailer) — will feature a combined Class 1 and Class 2 at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. In this combined class, we will teach the family about containers, soil for containers, plant needs, and we will plant lettuce, kale, potatoes and raspberries (rhubarb is our usual fourth crop, but it is not an option at this location).

This is the second year of the garden mentor program, and our two families from last year — Anna Bradley and Tami O’Neill — are back for a second year where they will learn how to grow a few more difficult crops for Sitka, such as carrots and onions. We will announce those classes when they become available.

Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank. We also have about a half-dozen experienced Sitka gardeners who serve as mentors for the program. For more information, please contact Michelle at 747-2708.

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• Participants selected for Sitka Local Foods Network’s 2015 garden mentoring program

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The Sitka Local Foods Network has selected the 2015 participants for its garden mentoring program, and plans are being made for six classes each this summer at the homes of our four new participants and two returning families.

This is the second year of the program, which launched last year with two participants — the families of Tami O’Neill and Anna Bradley. This year our program expands with four new families (Josephine Dasalla, A.J. Bastian, Rebecca Kubacki, and Breezy), and our two 2014 families are back for a second year. Michelle Putz has been contracted to coordinate the program and design lesson plans, after the Sitka Local Foods Network received a community development grant from First Bank.

The Sitka Local Foods Network garden mentoring program is designed for first-time gardeners, and the first year of the program involves participants learning how to grow four simple crops that grow well in Sitka (lettuce, kale, rhubarb and potatoes). The participating families learn how to find the best spot on their land (for sun and drainage), how to build raised garden beds, how to amend the soil, how to plant, how to maintain their garden, and how to harvest their crops.

The two returning families will learn how to grow more difficult crops, such as carrots and onions, plus they’ll have refreshers on their first-year crops. The goal of the program is to teach people low-cost ways to grow healthy food in Sitka. When selecting our families, we wanted to make sure there were multiple generations involved, especially kids. The classes, when announced starting in mid-April, will be open to the public. Several experienced gardeners volunteer as mentors for the selected families.

 

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• Two new books from UAF Cooperative Extension Service encourage kids to eat more veggies

FNH-00540KaleRecipes_Page_01 FNH-00557AKkidsVeggieCookbook_Page_01So you’ve got a nice garden but your kids don’t want to eat their veggies? What is a parent to do? Two new books by Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service can help get your kids eating their veggies. And they’re available for free downloads.

Sarah is the Family and Community Development Agent for Southeast Alaska, she travels throughout the region giving cooking and canning classes. She will be back in Sitka in mid-July to test pressure canner gauges and teach several classes yet to be determined.

“Sitka’s 4-H Cloverbuds Club helped me refine a few of the recipes after we had a wonderful time in the kitchen together last year,” Sarah said. “Talk about some fun publications to do research for.” (Note: contact the Sitka Conservation Society for more information about Sitka 4-H clubs.)

The first book is Time for a Kale-abration! Introducing the wonders of kale to Alaskan kids. The free 12-page booklet is all about a garden plant that grows well in Sitka, but one some people have trouble eating. The book features information about the varieties of kale, nutritional info, and several kid-friendly recipes from main courses to desserts.

The second book is The Alaska Kids’ Healthy Harvest Cookbook: Alaska kids grow, cook, eat and love vegetables. This free 12-page booklet lists several common vegetables found in Alaska gardens (kale, carrots, peas, zucchini and potatoes) and provides a variety of recipes using these veggies. It also includes recipes for venison stew and salmon chowder (both heavy with Alaska veggies).

According to the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, “Research shows that helping kids have fun with vegies, even ones they say ‘eeewww’ to, increases the chance they’ll try and like then as they get older. For this reason, our very own Sarah Lewis, Family and Community Development Agent for Southeast Alaska, has written two publications to introduce veggies (especially Alaska Grown ones!) to kids. Time for a Kale-abration and Alaska Kids’ Healthy Harvest Cookbook offer simple and tasty recipes that can be cooked with or by kids, with a menu for a kale-themed party or a harvest festival. Sarah has held local food parties and festivals with 4-H kids and Girl Scouts throughout Southeast Alaska, and now you can hold some with your kids, class, or youth group.”

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• Sitka Local Foods Network garden education classes for Winter/Spring 2015 get strong launch

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The first two classes from the Winter/Spring 2015 schedule of the Sitka Local Foods Network Education Committee are in the books and more than 50 students attended. The Vegetable Gardening 101 class on Jan. 27 had 33 people in attendance, while the Choosing What Veggies to Grow in Sitka class on Feb. 3 had 22 students.

These classes show Sitka has a hunger for learning more about how to grow and raise its own food, and we’re hoping to offer a wide variety of classes that help accomplish that goal. Our next class is Everyone Can Compost, taught by Jennifer Carter at 6:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine St., parking is off Spruce Street). Other upcoming classes include Fruit Tree Pruning Basics on March 7, Growing and Fertilizing Rhubarb on March 14, Starting Vegetable Seedlings on on March 31, and Seed-Starting Basics on April 11. The full schedule is attached, and the link above has more details.

We also are looking for more teachers who feel comfortable teaching an aspect of gardening they know well and is suited for Sitka. If you think you can teach a class, please contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708 or michelleputzfood@yahoo.com. Below are handouts related to the first two classes, plus a slideshow of photos from the first class.

• Winter/Spring 2015 garden education classes from the Sitka Local Foods Network (opens as PDF)

• Vegetable Gardening 101 Handout

• Vegetable Garden Varieties for Southeast Alaska (from UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

• Vegetable Gardening in Southeast Alaska (from UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

• Raised-Bed Gardening in Alaska (from UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

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