Worms inside your House? A review of UAF Cooperative Extension’s “Composting with Worms”

cmsanchez2

Want to see my worms? This was a common question I’d ask guests visiting my apartment as a vermicompost enthusiast. I was introduced to composting with worms as a young adult living in Chicago, and jumped at the opportunity to make this type of compost a staple of my urban life. I loved that it was an affordable, effective, and relatively effortless way to create nutrients for soil. And the bin fit under my bed. My vermicompost bin lasted a year and a half. When I moved to Alaska, the Read More …

A Reservoir of Information for Urban Farmers: A General Analysis of Upstart University

srenard

Intro: Upstart University Powered by Plenty Of all the searching for a reservoir of information that is relevant to large-scale vertical hydroponic and aquaponic farms, there is only one source that floats on top. Upstart University is an online college that is semi-specific of ZipGrow and Deep Water Culture systems that are primarily set up to empower those in growing food systems in all areas. The ZipFarm is a vertical water working system that Dr. Nate Storey with Bright AgroTech designed to use less space and less energy compared to Read More …

Book Review: “Alaska Gardening Guide Volume 1” by Ann D. Roberts

sranft

When we bought our first house in Fairbanks nearly 20 years ago, I wanted to have a garden but really had no idea what would grow successfully, or how to grow vegetables in our climate. I was moving from the Pacific Northwest and was looking for information specific to growing in the Interior, at a time when accessing information on the Internet was not as easy as today, and was still dial-up at the time. Somewhere in town I picked up the Alaska Gardening Guide, Volume 1, Alaska Vegetables for Read More …

Gorgeous Inspiration for Home Gardeners and Farmer Florists

jcooperc

Overview The book Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden  is an inspirational book for anyone wanting to cultivate a beautiful garden full of flowers for arranging. Author Erin Benzakein along with photographer Julie Chai have filled this 300 page resource with beautiful photos and hard won growing advice on more than 175 flower varieties plus planning tips for all four seasons. The setting for the book is a Mt. Vernon, Washington farm that is only two acres in size. Erin and her husband Chris have created a small scale, high intensity Read More …

A Great Place to Get Free Information

clfinney

Free Information One of the first places my husband and I go for gardening information is the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES). Why Alabama and not Alaska? Well, I gardened for many years in Alaska but have since moved to lovely Alabama. Each state has an Extension service with brick and mortar offices and websites. Each Extension service is tailored to the specific climate of that state. We especially like their information because it is based on research and written by specialists. We have confidence that the information we get Read More …

Relying on Facebook for Gardening Information!

closmanson

Where I started when I didn’t  know where to start. I always knew I wanted to have a vegetable garden; but when we finally bought a house with some land I didn’t know what to grow, how to grow it, and when to start. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed because I knew most of what I would find online wouldn’t work here in Palmer due to our short summer and very long days. That’s when I turned to Facebook! I was in all sorts of Facebook groups, Read More …

A Tale of Two Interests: Resource Review of the Suburban Homestead YouTube Channel

agrothe2

The Stomach of Necessity The quickest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. As someone who has worn many hats in the field of healthcare, and has passed a human anatomy class, I take issue with this phrase. However, as someone who spends the better part of their time either thinking or talking about food, I could not agree more. I began the process of learning to cook at the age of about 10. I was fed up with canned green bean casserole, and determined to exert more control Read More …

Viburnum Edule, A “Berry” Nice Garden Shrub

nmurawsky

Highbush Cranberries “Highbush Cranberries” is a publication from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (CES), to which I have been referring on an annual basis for a couple of decades. The current version, revised in 2013, by Roxie Rodgers Dinstel (Extension Faculty) and Marci Johnson (Extension Program Assistant) is sitting in front of me as I blog. I have temporarily misplaced the berry-stained original that my mother handed down to me, but it will resurface, most likely stuck to another spot-on CES publication. The Stench Highbush cranberry is Read More …

Inspiration from the Ambushing Bush

mlmilius

You never know when a bush is going to attack you when walking up my front stairs. There have been many mornings where I am running late for work and have to wrestle my way around a   web of branches and leaves from a large bush that is intended to welcome you to the home. Instead of welcoming you, it often feels like it is trying to suck you into the plant itself so that you are entangled and a part of the bush forever. A Book for Beginners Read More …