This week’s segment features tips for accelerating the ripening process for tomatoes, planting trees and shrubs, and dividing perennials.
Food
Science and cooking collide to fight botulism
Scientists are trying to learn how to prevent botulism in seal oil, a main ingredient in many traditional Alaska Native foods.
Gardentalk – How to get a handle on persistent pest; food festival preview
Root maggots, slugs and wooly bear caterpillars continue to be spotted in Juneau yards and gardens. Food Festival is Saturday, Aug. 26 at JACC.
Contaminated shellfish found in Homer harbor
The State Department of Health and Social Services is warning residents to exercise caution when collecting shellfish in Homer harbor.
Alaska prison farm helps food bank meet demand
Vegetable donations from a prison farm in Wasilla are helping the Fairbanks Community Food Bank handle a 25 percent increase in food requests this summer.
Alaska group works to let locals test shellfish for toxins
Alaska SeaGrant officials are working on a tester for paralytic shellfish poisoning, an illness that can cause tingling in the lips, tongue, fingers and toes and eventual breathing problems. Officials say testing currently costs $125 per test and has a time delay, as samples need to be sent in to the state.
Plankton population and the power of pink salmon
Although plankton might seem like an ecological afterthought, biological oceanographer Sonia Batten disagrees. She calls them the most important organisms in the ocean.
Craft distillers tap pure sugar cane for a southern rum renaissance
The South was once a hub for sugar plantations. Now, small rum-makers are turning away from molasses, culling fresh sugar cane itself to create smooth liquors with grassy, woody or floral flavors.
Preserving the history of Alaska’s canned seafood
A historian is researching the past of Alaska’s canneries and a Petersburg woman has volunteered her collection of canned salmon labels.
Researchers developing cheaper, faster monitoring method for paralytic shellfish poisoning
Researchers are developing a field test kit that would make it easier to monitor for paralytic shellfish poisoning. Project partners include NOAA researchers from the Lower 48 as well as community testers based on Kodiak Island and in the Alaska Peninsula.