Sunday, March 29, 2009

Buddy if you need some plants....


This is my growing operation, I ran out of room and had to expand to two lights. Mounting one under the table worked wonderfully! What a space saver!



My beans don't look like they need a longer growing season, I probably should have waited to plant them. They are thriving on the regular daylight though, if I can just keep them alive.


My mutant Cucumber, I had to move it out from under the lights because it was blocking the light from the rest of the plants. It's five time the size of its siblings. By moving it I think I shocked it into blooming. Maybe we will have fresh cucumbers by Memorial Day!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Parick's Day!

For those who would rather Watch then Read.... History of St. Patrick's Day.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Wasteful Spending

Daily when I drop my youngest of at school, I see a city or state employee blowing snow off of the sidewalks. This has been going on for more then two weeks, and we haven't had that much snow. Last I saw him there wasn't any snow to move. I do appreciate that the city is now keeping the side walks clear, but usually when I see him he is stopped, reading, I assume he stops for the safety of the children walking to school. Why am I paying him to sit there, he could just start work after nine. I've come to terms with that... maybe I don't know something, they do.

BUT today I saw the sidewalk plow, was FOLLOWING the sander.... come on folks I am paying the sand guy and buying the sand just so the plow guy can blow it all in to the berm, so the land maintenance guys can come sweep and rake it out of the grass come spring!!!

Imagine of we ran our households that way??

Monday, March 09, 2009

Full Circle Farms

We joined the co-op thingy, you receive a box of organic produce weekly or bi-monthly flown in from Washington. They ship you produce that is currently being harvested; working with other farms, so you will get fruits even when they aren't in season. It's fresh, with dirt and all, organic certified. You can also order eggs and other organic food items.

Full Circle Farms doesn't use any chemicals to grow their produce and because they fly it up ethylene isn't used ***. Ethylene diminishes the nutrient value and the taste, that is why the produce at the local stores in Alaska are bland and so many of us need vitamin supplements.

The week before, you can see what they are shipping and can add more and substitute items you may not want. When the product comes into Anchorage, it is distributed to various pick up spots, I go to Kaladi on the corner, closer then the grocery store.

We received our first box, last Thursday. It was two days late, but they kept me informed the whole time. I was worried what the produce would look like being late and all, but it was in great shape. I had the BIGGEST head of red leaf lettuce, a leek, 3 zucchinis, celery, peas, broccoli, red chard, kiwis, Clementine's, Fuji apples, and oranges. I have never had an apple like that.

A small box, the size of one those cardboard file folder box, cost me $40.00 and I can stop shipments anytime, or put a hold on my box if I am away for the week. They say a small box would feed a couple (that's two) for a week. My family of five is still eating it. Someday, I will compare their price to Carrs and Costco, just to see how it compares cost wise.

I will continue getting my bi-monthly delivery's but I am thinking we may be ordering weekly, if we are as happy with the next few boxes. My favorite part... it is so much fun to play with produce I wouldn't normally buy.


Tonight I made a Stir Fry.

*** I just got this back from Full Circle Farms

Hi Heidi,

Thanks for the e-mail. We use nothing but good old fashioned timeliness and refrigeration to get our produce to Alaska in the best shape possible. We pride ourselves on being 100% organic and as sustainable as we know how from field to table. Thanks for joining!

Regards,

CSA Team