alaskaphoto & design » Agriculture

Product of the summer

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:16:00 +0000

June in Alaska is a tough time for the Eat Local crowd. Long, sunny days and yet we’re not going to see produce at the markets for another two or three weeks.

Root vegetables — potatoes, carrots, beets — are still available, but supplies are running low and they’re just not the same after being storage all winter. I miss fresh carrots in particular, which made it pretty tough to edit together this video of the Vanderweele Farm carrot harvest from last September.

Winter hangs around

admin — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:07:00 +0000

Sign along the Glenn Highway near Palmer on Thursday, April 15.

carrot harvest

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:56:53 +0000

As the farming season winds down, local producers are racing to get the last of their crops out of the ground before winter arrives. This week Vanderweele Farms is pulling carrots for the local grocery stores, and owner Ben Vanderweele expects the first bags to arrive in Anchorage/Palmer/Wasilla stores by the end of the week.

Strawberries in Alaska

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:27:26 +0000

Arthur Keyes is experimenting a pair of California strawberry varieties on his Palmer, Alaska farm. As strange as this California-in-Alaska story seems, Keyes sees a huge upside to growing the berries in Alaska. The fruit can ripen on the plant, increasing sweetness, and Alaska’s harsh winters and isolation mean that there are very few crop-threatening pests.

He says the strawberries have been very popular with his customers at the South Anchorage Farmers Market.

[Still photo gallery from A&M Farms]