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Category Archives: Organic Gardening
First Time Canning With a Water Bath: Pickled Homegrown Beets
It was time to harvest my beets, and I wanted to try canning at home.
I took a few classes on canning earlier this year from the UAF extension office in Anchorage, so I was familiar with the differences between the hot water bath canning method and a pressure canner, but I had never done it on my own. Continue reading First Time Canning With a Water Bath: Pickled Homegrown Beets
The Hugelkultur Growth Progress (2 months after planting)
About two months after planting the hugelkultur for the 2015 growing season, things are definitely starting to take off.
Continue reading The Hugelkultur Growth Progress (2 months after planting)
A Happy Potted Naval Orange in Alaska
In December, I got a potted Bearss lime, an olive, and a naval orange from a greenhouse in Eagle River, Alaska.
Planting the Hugelkultur
Dad & Amy, my awesome stepmom, came all the way from Florida to help get my garden set up & seedlings into the ground. We finally got to plant the hugelkultur that my husband & I built last fall!
Growing a Bearss Lime Tree Indoors
Announcing a new addition to the family!
It’s a beautiful, healthy baby Bearss lime tree.
I bought a potted Bearss lime tree from a greenhouse.
And I’m pretty dang excited about it. Continue reading Growing a Bearss Lime Tree Indoors
Craigslist Kale & White Cheddar Soup
The mission:
A project prepping & storing produce.
The solution:
Craigslist.
As Alaska’s growing season quickly turns to harvest season (AKA quick-pick-friggin-everything-before-the-ground-freezes), I knew there had to be Alaskans with backyard garden bumper crops they wanted to get rid of stat. Continue reading Craigslist Kale & White Cheddar Soup
Hugel-whaaat? Building an Alaska Backyard Hugelkultur
What started as
“Sweet, that’s an awesome idea!”
soon felt like
“OMG did we really dig a massive hole in our yard??”
but now it’s more like
“Whew, done – YES!!”
Hugelkultur.
It’s a gardening word I had never heard of about 3 weeks ago (heck, it’s a word I still can’t pronounce) but it’s a pretty freaking spectacular gardening idea. And now I have one in my yard. Continue reading Hugel-whaaat? Building an Alaska Backyard Hugelkultur
Tour of My Potential Backyard Gardening Space
Check out the video to see what I’ve got going on. At this point, all I’ve done to the yard is chopped some branches and cut the grass. Continue reading Tour of My Potential Backyard Gardening Space
Welcome to The Alaska Urban Soil Project with The Alaska Urban Hippie
What if I told you that there’s a way to make the world a better place, and it starts with you & me making a pact – right here, right now? (And no blood or kool-aid involved, I pinky-swear.)
Hey there, I’m Ashley. Let’s start a project – The Alaska Urban Soil Project, to be exact.In the interest of full disclosure, I have no idea what I’m doing. For real. I’ve helped with other people’s gardens, but I’ve never had my own. I’ve never planned out a backyard garden space, timed out the planting/seeds, and cared for plants until harvest.
But I’m not going to let lack of experience hold me back.
I’m ready to jump in, full steam ahead.
- I want to do the research to better myself as a person.
- I want to feel more intimately connected with the earth and the natural resources at my fingertips (soil, sun, water).
- I want to have a better understanding of what it takes to create sustainable food for myself and my family.
- I want to learn a useful zombie apocalypse survival skill (for real – what else are all you photographers, writers & designers gonna do if/when shit hits the fan?)
Whatever your reasons are, if you’ve ever thought to yourself, “It would be cool to grow something, but I don’t know how,” now is the perfect time to start.
I’ll have wins, I’ll definitely have fails, and you’ll get to see it all. And I want to see yours, too!
Let’s get connected with our food. Let’s figure out how to do this ‘gardening’ thing, from vegetables to fruits and eventually to animals (chickens for eggs & meat, and hey, maybe a pig or rabbits?). Let’s build an online community of fellow urban hippies who want to get into Alaskan backyard farming by putting in the time & effort to start supplementing our food source with local, organic, homegrown goodness.
Welcome to The Alaska Urban Soil Project =)
Will you join me?