Arctic Organics Notes from June 26: "Midnight sun lettuce! The lettuce seems to have grown overnight. Except that this time of year there is no night. And that’s partly why it managed top sneak up on us. The first lettuce patch of the season is the picture of perfection this week, yielding us a solid harvest of full-sized heads. The Asian veggies are continuing to take the lead in early crop production. This week we have several offerings. All of them can be cooked or eaten raw, with the exception of the turnip greens, which are best cooked. We are still waiting for a good rain shower. In spite of scattered showers visiting many parts of the area, we still haven’t experienced any. This is causing quite a strain on the limited supply of irrigation water. The lack of rain is great for the people, but bad for the crops. Enjoy the vegetables!"
- River and Sarah
Today’s delivery includes:
Market Express turnips w/greens
Mibuna
Tat soi
Lettuce x 2
Red giant mustard
Arugula
Radishes
Rhubarb
Basil
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Meeting Sarah Bean
Today at the Anchorage Farmers' Market (15th & Cordova, in Central Lutheran's parking lot) I met Sarah Bean, co-owner of Arctic Organics. Very friendly, down-to-earth--no pun intended.
It makes such a world of difference in the confidence I feel in this food, having met the people growing it.
The word that comes to mind is "trustworthy." For the safety and healthfulness of the food we purchase in the grocery store, we rely on government regulations and inspections (extremely random, as I understand), corporate fear of being sued, and blind faith that people we have never met wouldn't do anything that would harm us.
Buying local from people I've met is a completely different experience. And I like it. I like it a lot.
It makes such a world of difference in the confidence I feel in this food, having met the people growing it.
The word that comes to mind is "trustworthy." For the safety and healthfulness of the food we purchase in the grocery store, we rely on government regulations and inspections (extremely random, as I understand), corporate fear of being sued, and blind faith that people we have never met wouldn't do anything that would harm us.
Buying local from people I've met is a completely different experience. And I like it. I like it a lot.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Arctic Organics Week One
River and Sarah Bean write the following in the newsletter that accompanied this week's CSA pick-up:
"Welcome to the 2007 Produce Season! The summer weather started with a bang finally last weekend, and the crops are responding favorably! Thanks for your patience with the delay in start date this year. We are hoping for a longer autumn harvest season to make up for it.
"The relentless and severe winds we had for a couple of weeks before summer finally arrived re a challenge to the plants and to the various fabrics and covers we use in the field, not to mention the evaporation of moisture from the soil. We are doggedly trying to catch up on the irrigation needs. Things are greening up and growing nicely. The carrots are germinating, which is always a relief, and we’re waiting for the potatoes to emerge. We could really use a good rain.
"Enjoy the vegetables!"
Today’s delivery included:
Pac Choi
Mizuna
Broccoli Raab
Spinach
Arugula
Radishes
"Welcome to the 2007 Produce Season! The summer weather started with a bang finally last weekend, and the crops are responding favorably! Thanks for your patience with the delay in start date this year. We are hoping for a longer autumn harvest season to make up for it.
"The relentless and severe winds we had for a couple of weeks before summer finally arrived re a challenge to the plants and to the various fabrics and covers we use in the field, not to mention the evaporation of moisture from the soil. We are doggedly trying to catch up on the irrigation needs. Things are greening up and growing nicely. The carrots are germinating, which is always a relief, and we’re waiting for the potatoes to emerge. We could really use a good rain.
"Enjoy the vegetables!"
Today’s delivery included:
Pac Choi
Mizuna
Broccoli Raab
Spinach
Arugula
Radishes
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CSA Rookie
Today I will pick up my first CSA box of the season--which is also my first CSA box, ever. The CSA farm, Arctic Organics, is located in Palmer, and is run by River and Sarah Bean.
My first encounter with River Bean was at a Sierra Club screening of the movie, The Future of Food, which was, hands down, the starter's pistol for this urgent journey. River talked about Arctic Organics, and how they'd been in the organic movement long before certification, and why they've chosen not to be certified (among other things, it would mean that their Alaska Grown produce would be stamped "certified organic by the state of Washington").
I've been waiting for it for so long, and I can't wait to see what's in the box! The drop-off location is just down the street and around the corner from my house, so it will also be an opportunity to meet some almost-neighbors.
But what if I don't like any of the veggies in the box? Especially in Alaska, early season CSA offerings can be "kind of weird," as someone told me recently. Lots of bok choy. Radishes.
And what if I can't keep up with the veggies, and the box's wasted contents only add to my "bad-homemaker, not-Martha-Stewart" guilt?
But on the other hand, maybe there will be rhubarb, and since I'm one of the small subset of Alaskans not currently overrun by rhubarb, I'd like that.
My first encounter with River Bean was at a Sierra Club screening of the movie, The Future of Food, which was, hands down, the starter's pistol for this urgent journey. River talked about Arctic Organics, and how they'd been in the organic movement long before certification, and why they've chosen not to be certified (among other things, it would mean that their Alaska Grown produce would be stamped "certified organic by the state of Washington").
I've been waiting for it for so long, and I can't wait to see what's in the box! The drop-off location is just down the street and around the corner from my house, so it will also be an opportunity to meet some almost-neighbors.
But what if I don't like any of the veggies in the box? Especially in Alaska, early season CSA offerings can be "kind of weird," as someone told me recently. Lots of bok choy. Radishes.
And what if I can't keep up with the veggies, and the box's wasted contents only add to my "bad-homemaker, not-Martha-Stewart" guilt?
But on the other hand, maybe there will be rhubarb, and since I'm one of the small subset of Alaskans not currently overrun by rhubarb, I'd like that.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Shopping Bags at Fred Meyer
A few weeks ago as I walked out of the Eagle River Fred Meyer, I noticed a display of black, reusable shopping bags, marked "99 cents." I thought, "That's a great place for them--where people will see them after their purchases have already been loaded into plastic bags."
On the next trip, they had gotten smart and given each cashier a stash of them. I purchased 3, and was very pleased with them. They're surprisingly roomy, and have a plastic insert that makes their flat bottoms quite sturdy. A shopping cart that would have been loaded into 10-12 plastic bags fit nicely into my three new reusable bags. And as an added bonus, FM refunds five cents for each reusable bag you use (or they're supposed to, provided that your cashier remembers).
Carrs-Safeway, on the other hand, has yet to get their act together on this. On one shopping trip, a cashier told me, after much thought, that she thought they had something like that in aisle 12. On another trip I asked three employees, none of whom had any idea what I was talking about.
On the next trip, they had gotten smart and given each cashier a stash of them. I purchased 3, and was very pleased with them. They're surprisingly roomy, and have a plastic insert that makes their flat bottoms quite sturdy. A shopping cart that would have been loaded into 10-12 plastic bags fit nicely into my three new reusable bags. And as an added bonus, FM refunds five cents for each reusable bag you use (or they're supposed to, provided that your cashier remembers).
Carrs-Safeway, on the other hand, has yet to get their act together on this. On one shopping trip, a cashier told me, after much thought, that she thought they had something like that in aisle 12. On another trip I asked three employees, none of whom had any idea what I was talking about.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Nagoonberries
At the Wildflower Garden Club's annual plant sale this year I bought a nagoonberry, mostly because I liked the name.
I brought it home and tried to learn more about it. You can start your own search here, at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_raspberry.
The nagoonberry is local to the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, and is moderately aggressive. Its berries are small and not very abundant, so gathering enough berries for jam would require an inordinate amount of persistence.
All in all, an excellent symbol for the challenging task of pursuing a locavore life in Alaska.
I brought it home and tried to learn more about it. You can start your own search here, at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_raspberry.
The nagoonberry is local to the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, and is moderately aggressive. Its berries are small and not very abundant, so gathering enough berries for jam would require an inordinate amount of persistence.
All in all, an excellent symbol for the challenging task of pursuing a locavore life in Alaska.
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