Local food sustainability group

[Alasgun]

Yesterday’s meeting went well. I had invited a gal who works for the Alaska state fair, running an experiment station of sorts right on the fair grounds. They have a large poultry barn, a goat barn a greenhouse and several plots from 1/8th acre to 1 acre that get used for community gardens up to lessons on cover crops etc on the larger pieces.
next week the whole group will take a farm tour and determine who’s interested in what and so forth and so-on. It’s starting to look like this thing has gained enough momentum to actually fly?

Apparently way back when, someone donated this plot of land to the state with the stipulation it would never be sold and that it would be made available for this very purpose!

“There still are some good people, toto!”

 

[Alasgun]

Thursday’s meeting saw us taking a farm tour of the Raduchez property which is on the State fairgrounds. This family was part of the original Colony project back in the 30’s. They donated this property to the Alaska state fair, which operates an almost living history arrangement on the property. Currently restoration of the Almost 100 year old log cabin (farm house) and numerous out buildings is being undertaken.

This working farm houses a 60 ft. Poultry building, a goat barn and a 100 ft high tower greenhouse! Plots of land from 1/8th acre up to 1 acre are available for rent/ trade/ or work for food arrangements and all work is performed by community members participating in the various small animal and farming groups. This includes a group of adult mentors and a collection of students ranging from kids thru Wounded Veterans or displaced Women!

kinda makes you all warm inside when you learn something like this is going on right in your community! This tour was to introduce folks wanting to learn gardening to folks with available small plots plus experience and limited resources such as irrigation to the various plots, volunteer‘s to plow or till tracts of land etc.

Time will tell how it all shakes out but a big tip of the hat to these early pioneers with the foresite to look this far down the road. The stipulation placed on the land donation included a clause saying “the land can never be sold and must be used for educational purposes and an aid to community gardeners.”

 

[Alasgun]

Yesterdays meeting was well attended and im happy to see new faces each week.
To date ive been able to provide them with a local source for organic garden soil, numerous research links and documents to help them understand some of the finer points, a farm tour that includes the opportunity to grow a garden at this farm, if they‘re situation wouldn't permit it and yesterday i presented my “johnny appleseed project”.

Knowing how quickly things will go here in the next month i decided to place a bulk seed order which included cabbage, 2 kinds of squash, pole and bush beans, beets, chard, kale, carrots, celery, parsley, dill and anise hyssop. These are “the easy stuff”. My goal is for them to have all the tools to actually get out there AND DO SOMETHING!
Those seeds arrived and i will deliver they’re personal seed orders next week and that will end my involvement with the group as we’ll be moving into our own busy season.

Some have mentioned, “gee, it would be nice to have something like this where i live” and i would challenge you to find a way! Simply buying a few seeds or distributing some of your last years stuff would be a good starting point. I noticed early on, most of these folks needed to be led by the hand for a while but in a group setting there will always be those who are do’ers and that inspires others.

America was not founded by people sitting around wringing they’re hands and saying, gee i don’t know about that. We are where we are by the grace of God and the determination of individual's willing to step out and lead!
Be one of them!