I'm back with a loaded or possibly good question

[bortstc37]

you could also try beyond anchorage (i.e. kenai peninsula).
i've also heard good things about the kenny lake area (between glennallen and chitina), though that wouldn't really give you any more options than anywhere north of the alaska range.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Farmseeker

Yeah, not sure Ester has enough population to support two farms, but shipping stuff into fairbanks would become an option.

Well, it's like this. Ester doesn't even have the population to support one farm; they make their money with sales to Fairbanks and to the tourist places in the Park. I think they do pretty well, though, but generally, no business in rural Alaska can survive solely on local trade (except for the moonshine deal).

You need to seriously look into the costs involved in running greenhouses that far north; there's a reason why more people aren't doing it (I have a degree in botany with an emphasis in commercial greenhouse growing). But you could probably make something work. Chena Hot Springs has a greenhouse which supplies the vegetables for their salads, and it's run on geothermal energy.

The state of Alaska also has a pretty good program for women starting small businesses; you could look into that. And the extension program at Mat-Su might be a good resource for you as well.

[Farmseeker]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Well, it's like this. Ester doesn't even have the population to support one farm; they make their money with sales to Fairbanks and to the tourist places in the Park. I think they do pretty well, though, but generally, no business in rural Alaska can survive solely on local trade (except for the moonshine deal).

You need to seriously look into the costs involved in running greenhouses that far north; there's a reason why more people aren't doing it (I have a degree in botany with an emphasis in commercial greenhouse growing). But you could probably make something work. Chena Hot Springs has a greenhouse which supplies the vegetables for their salads, and it's run on geothermal energy.

The state of Alaska also has a pretty good program for women starting small businesses; you could look into that. And the extension program at Mat-Su might be a good resource for you as well.

Lady, you are just FULL of awesome information. Thank you SO MUCH for everything! Keep IT COMIN!

[Metlakatla]

There's some good stuff here:

Alaska Division of Economic Development: Small Business Development

They have inexpensive business development/planning classes that you can take, which is the most important part of getting started, of course. Doing business in Alaska is a little different than in the lower 48...but the state of Alaska has some really good resources for entrepreneurs/small businesses.

You might think about feeling out the local Denali resorts/restaurants/B&B's to see how much demand there might be for local salad and culinary herb produce as well as ornamental plantings. It could be that you could have a good little business growing and maintaining annuals for the lodges in the Park. You could also look into contracting with various places that would like to have their own salad/herb greenhouses on their properties but don't want the hassle of finding qualified personnel to run them. I know that I would pay an independent contractor to maintain a culinary greenhouse here.

That's the sort of thing you could do without having to make a large cash investment and give you a chance to assess what the actual needs of the area are. What you want to do has several good possibilities, and it seems like you know where you want to be and how you want to live your life...now you just need to take it one step at a time and it will probably happen for you.