Homer Grown

This season on Homer Grown, with the assistance of the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, we are exploring rural agriculture throughout the state. For this episode we travel to Nome.

In this episode we visit Rob Heimbach at his farm to talk about root vegetables, salvaging materials from the dump, and why he is waiting for a president of the United States to say the word "root cellar."

In this episode we visit the Native village of Tyonek, and talk to Tonya Kaloa, programs coordinator for Tyonek Tribal Conservation District.Support for Homer Grown comes from Wagon Wheel Garden and Pet and Woda Botanicals.

Everything under your feet is connected with a near-infinite mycelial web. What's the connection between microbes, chemical warfare and synthetic fertilizer, you ask?“In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.” ~ Goethe

This season on Homer Grown, with the assistance of the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, we are exploring rural agriculture throughout the state. For this episode we travel to Nome.

The topic is flowers. Rachel Lord of Alaska Stems discusses the business of cut flowers. We also visit Teena Garay's garden off of West Hill. Teena has collected seed from other countries with a similar climate to Homer and propagates rare perennial flowers and shrubs.

Every year Homer Grown produces an episode about Soils. In anticipation of a trip to Kotzebue to conduct interviews with Arctic gardeners, we thought it was important to understand what is happening below the surface in Northern climates. Our guests are Glenna Gannon, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Extension. She is also part of Permafrost Grown, a 5 year study on permafrost's relation to farming. And we talk with Monica Kopp the Ag Program Coordinator for Homer Soil and Water Conservation District about ice formations unique to Arctic environments.

For this episode, host Desiree Hagen travels to Kotzebue to interview the author, Seth Kantner. He is the author of five books focused primarily on the Northwest Arctic. He also runs the Maniilaq Gardening project which serves seven villages along the Kobuk River. He has been gardening in the Arctic for about five decades.

In case you weren't aware— gardening is for everyone, no matter your age or physical limitations. This episode focuses on programs that support inclusivity.

With much of Alaska on high alert for a fire, forestry is a hot topic. For the latest episode of Homer Grown, host Desiree Hagen interviewed Mitch Michaud about forest ecology and a new reforestation project in the Soldotna Area. John Winters, newly retired forester from the Division of Forestry, is the other guest. He talked about forest stewardship, creating defensible space around your home, and things you thought you knew- but somehow missed, about spruce bark beetles.

Spring is finally here! If you are like most people you are probably gearing up for the upcoming gardening season, which means you will most likely visit your local greenhouse for plant starts or potting soil. But have you ever wondered where these items come from?

Nature provides many cues to alert us to the arrival of spring, whether its the return of migratory birds, the appearence of stinging nettles, or the flow of birch sap. In this episode we visit with Bridge Creek Birch Syrup both in the birch grove and at the sugar shack to discuss the process of making birch syrup.

After a successful gardening season, you might wonder how to preserve your excess of vegetables. Our guest is the fabulous fermentista, Willow Jones. Willow chats about growing up with a subsistence lifestyle in the village of Ambler, the value of traditional and fermented foods, and making fermented foods using dry salt and brining methods.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

On this final episode of the first season, we talk with Aryn Young and Beau Burgess of Blood Sweat and Food Farm about the benefits of pasture-raised meats, caring for animals during winter and ethical butchering. We discuss the big picture: how their integrated approach to agriculture presents numerous benefits to the quality of life of the animals, the consumer, the community and the farmer.

In the latest episode of Homer Grown:

In this episode we talk with Jon Kee of Spruce Top Farm, Linda Gorman on overwintering bees, Katherine Schake and Nicole Arevalo on Reed Canary Grass and Brad Casar on fall soil sampling.

We return to the garden (figuratively, of course) to discuss ways we can interact with plants despite recent

The focus for this episode is Alaska Native plant traditions and medicine. We talk with Elder Kathy Brewster of Nanwalek about medicinal plants within Supiaq/Alutiiq culture. King Island Inupiaq, traditional wellness consultant with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and founder of Indigenous Herbals, Tia Holley discusses the history of King Island and plants and practices used for healing.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

As the end of the growing season approaches, gardeners and farmers might consider cover crops to improve soil health in their empty garden beds. Around Alaska, Soil and Water Conservation Districts are conducting cover crop trials to study cover crops best suited to Alaska's unique growing conditions.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

The soil is alive, but what's actually in it? How can we keep are soil thriving and healthy?

For this episode we visit with Sonja Martin Young from Alaska Aquaponics to discuss how her goldfish and koi work in tandem with her year-round indoor grow system.

On this special Halloween episode, Desiree talks with Carolyn Westbrook of Woda Botanicals and Yarrow Hinnant about various local plants, the lore and significance of plant names, and how these plants can be processed to use medicinally. The interview ran a little long so we included a bonus segment with more details on processing herbs that was not included in the original episode.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, we travel to that 'micro farm' that host Desiree Hagen mentions in every episode. Darius Kleine of Fritz Creek Fungi chats about mushroom cultivation, foraging wild mushrooms, the potential for mushroom mycelium as a building material. The episode, just like mycelia, branches into many directions including mushrooms that control insects, how mushroom cultivation is integrated into a circular operation model on the farm, and who we want for our 'apocalypse team.'

Homer Grown focuses on farming, agriculture, and everything that grows locally.

Homer grown is back and we are exploring aquaculture.

For this episode host Desiree Hagen talks with the Invasive Species Manager from Homer Soil and Water Conservation District Katherine Schake about invasive species, common plants in the garden, what they are and how you might utilize them.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

In this episode host Desiree Hagen interviews Jodie Anderson, director of the Matanuska Experimental Farm and Extension Center through UAF about all things compost. Can it be composted? Is it a "brown" or a "green"? Jodie explains how we can be better "zookeepers" to our compost piles, and how microbes can be compaired to children who have been given puppies and too much sugar.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

On this latest episode of Homer Grown hosted by Desiree Hagen: the topic is peonies.

A poet once said, "The whole universe is in a glass of wine."

In this episode we take a trip across the bay to Seldovia and to talk with Rosanna McInnes and Lisa Stanish about starting Seldovia's first farmers market, with the aim of increasing food security for their small town across Kachemak Bay (and off the road system). We then visit Rosanna's Garden to learn about intensive planting and lasagna-style beds.

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen:

For the latest episode of Homer Grown, hosted by Desiree Hagen: