UAF Cooperative Extension Service

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Sitka Kitch to offer a Preserving the Harvest series of food preservation classes this summer

You grew it, harvested it and/or caught it, so now what do you do? The Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen will be offering the Preserving the Harvest class series to teach Sitkans how to store the summer’s bounty so they can use it during the winter. This class series features a community canning session and six classes covering a variety of food preservation methods. Students will learn how to safely preserve their food, so it won’t spoil or cause illness. The classes on schedule are (class titles underlined and in green are direct links to the class registration page):

  • Clear The Freezer; Fill The Pantry — 5-9 p.m., Tuesday, May 30, Community canning session for your leftover fish, meat, berries, etc. Take home and/or trade what you make with others. We provide the canners, herbs/spices, recipes, three jars, and guided help where needed. Bring additional jars and ingredients, otherwise not provided. Canning session hosted by UAF Cooperative Extension Service. There is a $10 registration fee. Register by Monday, May 29, to make sure it happens. Call Jasmine Shaw of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 747-9440 with any questions.
  • Just Dry It: Intro To Food Dehydration — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, June 12, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Rambunctious Rhubarb: Creative Ways To Use Rhubarb — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, June 26, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Simple Pickles and Sauerkraut — 6-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50, registration fee
  • Jam Session: Preserving Jams and Jellies — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, July 24, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Ring Around the Rose Hip: Rose Hip Relish and More — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 18, taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, $27.50 registration fee
  • Venison Jerky — 6-8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 30 (this date may change), taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart and Jasmine Shaw, $27.50 registration fee

This class series is sponsored by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), and the sponsorship will reduce our usual food/supply fees for each class. Also, we still need people to register by Saturday night, May 13, for our Food Budgeting 101 class scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15, at the Sitka Kitch. If we don’t hit our class minimum by Saturday, we’ll have to cancel the class. This class costs $10.

The Sitka Kitch was a project of the 2013 Sitka Health Summit, and the project is coordinated by the Sitka Conservation Society. The Sitka Kitch can be rented to teach cooking and food preservation classes, by local cottage food industry entrepreneurs who need a commercial kitchen to make their products, and for large groups needing a large kitchen for a community dinner. To learn more about how to rent the Sitka Kitch, please go to the website at http://www.sitkakitch.org.

When registering for any Sitka Kitch classes, students should prepay for the class through the Sitka Kitch online registration site, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com (click on your class title), using PayPal or a credit/debit card to secure your spot in the class. If you need other payment arrangements, contact Chandler or Clarice of Sitka Conservation Society at 747-7509 to arrange a time when you can pay with cash or check. All classes are $27.50, plus a food/supply fee, except for the Clear Your Freezer, Fill Your Pantry canning session on May 30, which is $10. Unless noted, registration for each class closes at 11:55 p.m. on the Friday before the class.

If you have any questions about the class series, please email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org.

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The Garden Show returns to KCAW-Raven Radio spring programming lineup for 26th year

For 26 years, Mollie Kabler and Kitty LaBounty have taken to the KCAW-Raven Radio airwaves during the spring months to broadcast The Garden Show.

This year there’s a major change to the show, as the show doesn’t have a designated time slot and so will be a pop-up show as they fit episodes around their travel plans and the radio station schedule. In past years the show aired from April through June, or longer into the summer if work schedules permit. Kitty has a regular music show (Hometown Brew) from 2-4 p.m. on Thursdays, and many of the half-hour Garden Shows may take place during her program.

Garden Show topics include timely tasks for gardening in Southeast Alaska, taking on-air questions, and themes around basic and more advanced gardening of vegetables, flowers, fruit, trees, etc. For example, on the pop-up show on Thursday, May 6, Kitty interviewed Keith Nyitray of Finn Island Farm about the vegetables and plant starts he grows in the Kasiana Islands near Sitka.

Mollie and Kitty each have been gardening in Sitka for more than 26 years, and they also have significant gardening experience from their childhoods in Wisconsin (Mollie) and Oregon (Kitty). They both are certified as Master Gardeners, after completing the class series offered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.

To call the show with gardening questions, call 747-5877 and ask to be connected to the show.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service to provide one-on-one assistance on pest management


Need help with pest management? Would you like to have an integrated pest management professional visit your farm or production area to discuss new and established pests?

Janice Chumley, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program tech with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service, will be visiting Sitka the first week of June to work with growers one-on-one on pest issues (NOTE: This date has been changed due to illness). These consultations are free of charge.

Sitka District Office administrative assistant Jasmine Shaw is setting up individual appointments for Janice during her visit to Sitka in early June. If interested, please fill out the following form to set up an appointment, https://form.jotform.us/71097060928157.

Janice also will give a public presentation on Common Pests in Greenhouses at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 5, in Room 229 of the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. This presentation is free and open to the general public. For more information, contact Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440 or jdshaw2@alaska.edu.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service, Alaska Sea Grant to host online specialty food business class series

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and Alaska Sea Grant program are teaming up to offer a four-session online-only class on how to start and operate a specialty food business. The four classes are from 6-8:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, May 15-18, and the classes will cost $50 for all four sessions. To register, go to http://bit.ly/SpecialtyFoodBusiness.

This course outlines the development and management of a successful specialty food business from inception to operation. Participants will learn about the practical application of business planning, obtaining
financing, permitting, feasibility analysis and marketing along with the operational aspects of a specialty food business.

This course will be delivered primarily by lectures, with four homework assignments that are individualized to help you develop an action plan for your business. At the end of this course, the student will understand and use the appropriate managerial and decision-making tools that are needed to start and run a specialty food business.

The course is available statewide from any computer with a reliable connection. We will be using Zoom to deliver class content. Students must have access to a video camera, speakers and microphone to actively participate. To learn more about the system requirements for Zoom, visit https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-Requirements-for-PC-and-Mac.

For more information, contact Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at (907) 523-3280, Ext. 1, or sarah.lewis@alaska.edu, or Quentin Fong of the Alaska Sea Grant program at (907) 486-1516 or qsfong@alaska.edu.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service offers Certified Food Protection Manager class by videoconference April 26 in Sitka

Wednesday, April 12, is the registration deadline for a certified food protection manager workshop being taught on Wednesday, April 26, by University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. This is an all-day statewide class that will be offered by videoconferencing to Delta Junction, Fairbanks, Juneau, Palmer and Sitka.

A certified food protection manager (CFPM) is responsible for monitoring and managing all food establishment operations to ensure that the facility is operating in compliance with food establishment regulations.

A CFPM is knowledgeable about food safety practices and uses this knowledge to provide consumers with safe food, protect public health and prevent food-borne illnesses. Alaska regulations require food establishments to have at least one CFPM on staff.

This course takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (with a half-hour lunch), and participants will take a computer-based exam at the end of the class. The reason the deadline is two weeks before the class is to guarantee course materials reach all the students in time for the class. The cost is $200, and the course will be taught by Julie Cascio of Palmer. Students can register here.

The Sitka videoconference for the class will take place in Room 106 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. To learn more, contact Jasmine Shaw at the Sitka District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service at 747-9440, or contact Julie Cascio at (907) 745-3360 (Palmer number) or jmcascio@alaska.edu. Note, this class is taught in English but textbooks are available in Korean, Chinese and Spanish, just contact Julie at least three weeks before the class.

Also, the ServSafe book ($70) and certification exam ($75) now are available online, if people want to order the book and study independently without taking the class. Just go to this website and purchase the book and exam items.

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Check out the April 2017 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the April 2017 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short items about spring garden classes, the recruitment of a manager for the Sitka Farmers Market, a new sponsorship program for the Sitka Local Foods Network, a request for new board members, and an item about an upcoming cottage food business basics class. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the newsletter image in the right column of our website and filling in the information. If you received a copy but didn’t want one, there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter so you can unsubscribe. Our intention is to get the word out about upcoming events and not to spam people. We will protect your privacy by not sharing our email list with others.

 

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Sitka Local Foods Network education committee announces its 2017 spring garden classes

Want to learn how to grow your own food? Are you new to Sitka and want to learn what veggies grow in our town? The Sitka Local Foods Network education committee has a list of free 2017 spring garden classes that can help you learn what to do and when to do it so you have a healthy garden.

This spring, all of our classes except one will take place from 6:30-8 p.m. on Thursdays at the Sitka Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall (408 Marine Street, parking off Spruce Street). Each week will feature a different topic, and all classes are free (donations to the Sitka Local Foods Network will be accepted).

The class schedule is as follows:

  • Gardening in Sitka 101 — March 30, taught by Michelle Putz
  • Cottage Foods Business Basics — April 6, 6-8 p.m., Room 106, University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus, taught by Sarah Lewis and Nina Vizcarrondo, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service
  • Growing Potatoes in Sitka — April 13, taught by Kathy Kyle
  • Extending Your Garden Season — April 20, taught by Kerry MacLane
  • Container Gardening — April 27, taught by Joshua Andresky
  • Raising Chickens — May 4, taught by Joshua Andresky, Nina Vizcarrondo and Brinnen Carter
  • Everything You Need To Know About Trees — Friday, May 19, taught by Jud Kirkness
  • Growing Garlic in Sitka — Date TBA (toward the end of the summer), taught by Jennifer Carter

For more information about the classes, contact Jennifer Carter at 747-0520. Other classes may be added at a later date if we find volunteers to teach them.

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UAF Cooperative Extension Service releases new food gardening app, Grow & Tell

Heidi Rader shows her new Grow & Tell app. (Photo by Jeff Fay, for the UAF Cooperative Extension Service)

Heidi Rader describes the new Grow & Tell app and website she developed as “essentially Yelp for gardeners.”

Rader teaches gardening and farming as the tribes Extension educator for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the Tanana Chiefs Conference. She also reaches gardeners and farmers from around the state through distance-delivered courses.The free app, which was released Tuesday, allows gardeners in the United States to see what vegetable varieties grow best in their areas based on what other gardeners say. The app also invites gardeners to act as citizen scientists and rate the varieties that they have grown for taste, yield and reliability.

Vegetable variety trials conducted in Fairbanks show what grows well here, she said but not in other areas of the state.

“That works pretty well for me but not for people, say, in Arctic Village or Nome,” she said.

Rader hopes that lots of gardeners will rate crops, which will make the app more useful for others. “It’s citizen scientists conducting variety trials where they live,” she said.

The app is available on the App Store for iPhones, Google Play for android phones or as a website at www.growandtell.us. Development of the app was funded by a grant from the eXtension Foundation to promote innovation in the Cooperative Extension Service. To keep the app free, Rader said, Extension will seek sponsorships to pay for updates, fixes and regular maintenance. Additionally, event advertising can also be purchased and targeted to app users locally, by state or nationally.

Rader hopes to expand the app to capture ratings on other plants used in the landscape and garden, including trees, shrubs, flowers, fruits and berries.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks recognized Rader with a 2016 Invent Alaska Award for her work on the app. Cornell University contributed ratings that it had already collected as well as lessons learned from operating a similar citizen science project. A Boston-based company, Geisel Software, built the app. For more information, contact Heidi Rader at grow.andtell@alaska.edu.

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Check out the March 2017 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the March 2017 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter features short items about our open Sitka Farmers Market manager position, a showing of two free films for Alaska Food Security Awareness Week, info about how people and businesses can sponsor the Sitka Local Foods Network, recruiting for new board members, and info about a variety of upcoming classes. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the registration form image in the right column of our website and filling in the information. If you received a copy but didn’t want one, there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter so you can unsubscribe. Our intention is to get the word out about upcoming events and not to spam people. We will protect your privacy by not sharing our email list with others.

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Learn the basics of starting and running a home-based food business with free class

Do you have an old family recipe for barbecue sauce you think would sell at the local farmers market? Have you seen your friends and neighbors selling their home-processed jams and jellies and thought you could do that too? Do you like to bake bread and cookies and think you could sell them?

The Sitka Local Foods Network and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service have a free class for you. Join us from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, April 6, in Room 106 at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus for a https://www.uaf.edu/ces/small-food-business/cottage-foods/ basics class.

This class will be taught via videoconference by Sarah Lewis of the Juneau District Office of the UAF Cooperative Extension Service, with assistance from Sitka by Nina Vizcarrondo of the Sitka Local Foods Network. The short class will teach people some of the basics of the home-based food industry, including Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation food safety regulations for home-based food businesses, how to market your products, how to set your prices, and more.

For those folks hoping to sell home-based food items at the Sitka Farmers Market, there will be a special discount for class attendees of 50-percent off for your first Sitka Farmers Market table of the 2017 season.

Please pre-register for this free class by clicking this link and filling in this short online form. For questions, contact Nina at (863) 286-9230 or email us at sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.