Project seeks to improve soil in rural Alaska
June 11, 2010
907-474-5042
6/11/10
Gardeners in remote Alaska communities will learn how to prepare soil with local ingredients, thanks to a $48,500 Western Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education grant to UAF’s School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences.
More and more people around the state are interested in growing their own food, said Jodie Anderson, SNRAS researcher and instructor. “You’ve got to start with soil.”
Producers in Naknek, Minto, Galena, Kotzebue and an island near Juneau will participate in the project, dubbed “Building Alaska Garden Soils from the Ground Up: Local Soils Research and Demonstration Projects.”
Alaskans frequently encounter soil problems, such as thin root zones, nutrient-poor soils with low organic material content and issues with permafrost. Despite the high cost of shipping, people often import potting soil, not realizing that many of the necessary soil components can be found locally. Compost is one key ingredient that is often overlooked.
“Many Alaska communities have stated an interest in food production, but perceive that a lack of adequate soils inhibits gardening,” Anderson said.
The project will include community workshops on using local soils and resources to build productive gardens. The project’s research component will examine the nutrient availability throughout the growing season and vegetable yields, using potatoes as the common crop. Producers in each location will build four raised beds and fill them with locally prepared soils. Two beds will be fertilized with local organic nutrient sources and two beds with synthetic fertilizer.
The soils project is designed to encourage Alaskans to grow food in raised beds and to motivate and educate local producers by teaching them how to build garden soils from locally available materials. The project will also produce videos focusing on coastal areas and river locations to share with other rural communities.
“I hope this will teach people that they have all the soil components they need in their own area and they can make their own garden soils to grow their own veggies,” Anderson said.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Marmian Grimes, UAF public information officer, at 907-474-7902 or via e-mail at marmian.grimes@alaska.edu. Jodie Anderson, SNRAS instructor, 907-746-9461, jmanderson@alaska.edu.
NT/6-11-10/250-10