Potato Patch planted, and named

We planted the first potato patch today, and named it Red Fingers - to signify that it is a patch with red potatoes, Finnish fingerlings, and Yukon Gold.  I know, the Yukon Gold's don't figure into the name, but the reds and fingers do, hence the name.

My entire body aches from hauling, shoveling, mixing, planting, and working during all of the daylight hours.  Tomorrow is the last day of my weekend in Naknek, and then Robert will be left to hold down the fort.  I hope that my family will help him out and provide him some support over the next couple of days, until his girlfriend arrives.  I feel bad leaving him all by himself, but he will have our vehicle and the little cabin, so at least he'll have housing and transportation.  Plus, Big Jake is helping out on the project, so that makes me feel much more comfortable.  Jake's the man - I don't know what we would do without him!

The Dirt is Beautiful

I have been running the roto-tiller yesterday and today, over at the land.  Our new friend arrived today, Robert.  He's a friend of a friend that wants to help us get our high tunnel installed and planted.  In return, I'm doing what  I can to help him find a fishing job on a boat. 

The soil is thawed at least 1 1/2 feet down.  We got the high tunnel off the barge yesterday (5/6/2010) and are hoping to get it installed in a couple of days.  I'm so grateful to have so many great people helping out on this project.  My stepdad, Fred, dropped off the high tunnel boxes yesterday. 

Robert and I got the perimeter of the high tunnel location tilled.  The frustrating part has been the removal of so much debris, but it is getting a little easier.  We put together a garden cart and that has made the hauling of material a lot easier.

We are going to be hitting it all day tomorrow too.  Two tons of fun!

Spring 2010 Dillingham

Saving the worms. You need to make piles like this, and the worms will continue to burrow to the bottom. After harvesting the top layers, then you keep going, and you are left with worms on the bottom layer. In reality, you need to pick out worms all the while as you are sorting through it. It sounds gross, but it's actually not that bad. We washed our hands really well after this (several times), because worm castings are loaded with bacteria. It is poop, after all.

Spring 2010 Dillingham

Fun with worm poop!

Spring 2010 Dillingham

Chet harvesting about 25 pounds of worm castings. This came from our worm bin over one winter's worth of kitchen scraps.

Crop Record - indoor starters and fertilizer production

March 15, 2010 - Started onions indoors in recycled milk cartons.

March 30, 2010 - Started 10 cabbages indoors in recycled yogurt cups.

April 3, 2010 - Started broccoli indoors in recycled milk cartons.

April 4, 2010 - Started 42 basil plants in plug cells with coir pellets.

April 4, 2010 - Started 30 cilantro plants in plug cells with coir pellets.

April 4, 2010 - Started Brussels sprouts in recycled milk cartons.

April 20 and 21, 2010 - applied worm tea to basil, cilantro, and Brussels sprouts.

May 1, 2010 - Harvested approximately 25 pounds of worm castings from worm bin. Worm castings will be mixed into soil on Lot 6, Rose's Subdivision (Alaska Bounty Farm).

May 2, 2010 - Started one flat arugula and 3/4 flat mixed greens in Pro-mix.

DEC's decision

Well, it's official - the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)has officially shut down the fish composting portion of Alaska Bounty's operations. How this bodes for our operation is yet unknown. The DEC cited the fact that the one-acre parcel is located in a residential neighborhood, which is true. However, it was not my intention to attempt such a project in a residential area. Last year, I attempted to sub-lease a 5-acre parcel of land from Paug-Vik Inc., Ltd., the local Alaska Native Corporation of Naknek last year. However, they didn't agree with the premise of my project, and declined to lease or sub-lease any property to me. I will attempt to either lease or purchase another parcel of land, further way from town, in order to quash fears of attracting bears to a residential area. However, given the land ownership situation in rural Alaska, I don't think that I will have much luck in this endeavor.

If you don't agree with this decision, you can share your opinion with both the Bristol Bay Borough, who filed the frivolous complaints in the first place, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Solid Waste Permitting. I'm sure that they would appreciate some kind words about what we are attempting to do on our one-acre organic farm in Naknek, Alaska.