Jan Newman is the Champion behind the civic association that is Grow Palmer. On this episode of Ag Matters, Amy & Jan discuss: the history of the group, the new partnerships that have evolved for 2018 and how volunteers can get involved.
AUTHOR | Kerry Nelson
Palmer has Jan Newman to thank for the addition of edible garden spaces that have popped up in town over the last few years. Grow Palmer is a community project championed by Jan that transforms the downtown area in the summer and provides food for the community to sample and enjoy. Started in 2013, the project enters its sixth growing season this year with exciting new partnerships and potential.
Alaska Digs Into Girl With Maine Roots
Jan got her first glimpse of Alaska in 1988 while studying for her degree in Seattle. Having grown up on the opposite side of the continent in Maine, she decided to take advantage of being so close to a state many only dream of seeing. By the following year she had finished her schooling, accepted a job at the Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks and made her way up the Alcan. Alaska had dug in and not let go.
Eventually settling down on Lazy Mountain with her husband and children, Jan took to growing food for her family as they grew. The idea for Grow Palmer was planted after seeing a TED Talk about two women that had started growing food all over their small New England town. She had always loved the agricultural history of Palmer, and replicating this seemed like it would be such a nice extension of that.
Grow Palmer Gains Steam And Blazes Trails
Armed with a great idea but no background in community organizing, Jan talked to all of her family, friends and acquaintances. They thought it was viable endeavor and encouraged her to go for it. So, she got up the nerve to pitch her plan to then Mayor DeLena Johnson. That’s all it took. Mayor Johnson loved the idea and introduced her to the city gardener, who gave Jan a small plot usually used for ornamental plants. She applied for a small grant and started growing vegetables and edible flowers in her newly gifted space.
Growing every year since, the project now boasts multiple beds of food throughout downtown Palmer. Jan’s intent is to create areas that are both beautiful and informative. Everything grown is edible including the flowers, and free for anyone to harvest. Signs reading “growing food for all to share, take only what you need and take the time to pull a weed – please harvest responsibly” peek out between the crops. She hopes that people will try something new and become inspired to grow it themselves or contact a local producer. The edible goodies typically show up in early June. They can be found growing in various barrels along Alaska Street, in front of the Palmer Depot or in the jewel of the project – the Edible Rail Trail.
In 2015, Grow Palmer partnered with the Salvation Army to build an edible park. When the property was sold a short time later, Jan made arrangements with the City of Palmer and the Railroad to build the Edible Rail Trail. Located just north of the Depot, large round cement planters filled with vegetables, herbs and flowers line Palmer’s most used urban trail. Raspberries are planted along the trail spur as well, though they have faltered the last two seasons. Jan plans to give them one more shot this year. If they remain stubborn, she’ll replace them with another berry. Blueberries anyone?
Partnerships, Potential and Produce
The upcoming season for Grow Palmer will offer exciting new opportunities. APU’s Spring Creek Farm will be providing all of the vegetable starts that get planted, a sign of the project’s growth. In the beginning, Jan reached out to area home gardeners to donate their inevitable extra starts. Spring Creek has the greenhouse facilities to grow exactly what Grow Palmer needs on a larger scale.
This year you can expect to find a lot of good greens like lettuce, chard and kale along with the edible flowers. Heavier crops like cauliflower and broccoli take longer to mature, and can really only be harvested once. A crop like kale loves Alaska’s cool summers and will grow all season. Jan is also hoping to put in perennials that can over-winter along the trail, like strawberries and other greens.
A new partnership with Seeds and Soil Organics will provide expertise on soil amendments, soil building, companion planting, and perennials. The Plant Materials Center in Palmer will donate cover crops for use as green manure – a method Jan hasn’t tried yet in the planters. These new partnerships support the Grow Palmer project to grow its potential even further.
It’s All About Those Vibrant Volunteers
As incredible as Jan is, Grow Palmer has blossomed into what it has through donations and volunteers. Funds are needed to buy starts, soil and gardening supplies. Volunteers are needed to help plant the nearly 1,000 seedlings that will fill the planters. There’s usually one big planting day at the end of May. This year there will be another opportunity in early April to help plant the spring cover crops that will amend the soil for the new seedlings. Dates will be weather dependent, but volunteer opportunities will be announced on the facebook page and flyers posted around town. You can also contact Grow Palmer to get added to their email list for updates.
If you can’t make it to one of the big volunteer days, you can Adopt-a-Plot. Individuals, families or organizations can adopt an area of Grow Palmer and tend to it for the summer. This way the beds are weeded and monitored to keep them looking their best. Whatever your volunteer fancy is, contact Grow Palmer at growpalmer@gmail.com for more information and to stay involved!
Grow Palmer Grows Community
Grow Palmer is a civic association. Anyone and everyone who lives, plays or worships in Palmer and the surrounding community is included. That’s exactly why Jan started this project, to bring people together and provide an opportunity for community engagement. It also seeks to raise awareness about food security in Alaska and where our food comes from.
To make things easy, Grow Palmer posts various places where people can find local food on facebook. You can also find a market board in downtown Palmer. Located in the parking lot directly in front of the visitor’s center, it lists weekly updates of local food sources. She encourages anyone with food for sale to get in touch to get a free listing on the board.
When asked what excites her most about Grow Palmer and its future, Jan’s answer is community. The community engagement and social interaction with people that she never would have crossed paths with gives her great joy. “I have met incredible people, it’s the best part about building a healthy and vibrant community – I never expected this part.”