Homer Alaska - Business

Though the oscillation between rain and sun makes summer activities rather unpredictable, it is feeding our local gardens wonderfully. This is the Homer Garden Club's "Gardeners' Weekend." If you are interested in seeing the thriving beneficiaries of this weather, make sure to attend the garden tours on Sunday.

The gardens aren't the only beneficiaries. Homer Farmers' Market shoppers, of course, also are benefitting from the summer harvest. We are already seeing the first onions, zucchinis and snow peas rolling in. There isn't a soul in Homer who shouldn't be eating gourmet salads every day as fresh greens sprout up in every garden: lettuce, mizuna, spinach, arugula, romaine, mustard greens and bok choi. If only we could have this harvest all year.

We have to admit that our latitude is not famous for its year-round growing, but that just means that there is room to learn. Technically, we have 10 hours of light a day, the recommended amount for production, from February to October. If we can just keep the ground warm in those cooler months, we can increase yields greatly. One of the Gardeners' Weekend guest speakers, Eliot Coleman, is an expert in extending the season.

His methods are familiar to the Castellani household. Paul and Jen have been using various season extending techniques including a high tunnel greenhouse that they put up before the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resources Conservation Service caught on and started a grant program for such high tunnels. Every producer at the market has used some form of cover to encourage a longer season, including various forms of greenhouses and row covers.

Now, with the high tunnel grants, even more ground is getting sheltered from the cold. Bob Durr, Cindy Bolog- nani, Charles Crampton and Dan and Luba Dorvall all have their new high tunnels up. More than 60 have been approved in our area alone.

Stay tuned to what our daring producers manage to create despite our latitude and see what miracles of production they have created this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or this Wednesday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Homer Farmers' Market on Ocean Drive.

Kyra Wagner is the director of Sustainable Homer and the Homer Farmers' Market's biggest fan. She can be reached at kyra@ sustainablehomer.org.