Straw Bale Contruction in Alaska (Bethel, Palmer: for sale, house, construction)

[blamont24]

I'm really interested in straw bale homes, and was wondering if anyone in Alaska constructs them, or has a straw bale home. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I live in Bethel right now, but my husband and I would eventually like to move somewhere on the road system.
Thanks!

[quakinator]

good thread on straw bale homes already brought up on these boards : here

The national registry only lists 2 straw bale homes registered in Alaska. Good luck finding them on C-D!

[Rance]

I think the biggest issue is getting straw in this state. And you want straw bales due to the hollowness of the straw.

[Marty Van Diest]

Jim Sykes, who ran for governor as a Green Party Candidate, has a straw bale house in Palmer. I'm not sure, but I think he got his straw in Alaska.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Marty Van Diest

Jim Sykes, who ran for governor as a Green Party Candidate, has a straw bale house in Palmer. I'm not sure, but I think he got his straw in Alaska.

don't know if it is still for sale, but.... a 300+ acre hay farm in trapper creek w/equipment and trapper cabin for sale (I guess you would call them a trapper cabin, couldn't be more than 2 small rooms, couldn't be more than a single bed, maybe a cot, a chair and a woodstove, the hay barn/tractor barn is way bigger than the house, looks to be the size of a real barn, 3 walls, one of the long ends is open, my guess would be on the lee side, wouldn't imagine someone leaving the weather side open. close to a lake, also woods on property as well, looked a bit marshy on the posted ariel photo on the NE edge of the property going down to the lake. My first thought was, plant soybeans also, mature quickly and would draw in every moose within 100 miles, soybeans being high in protein, and change the straw to alfalfa and every grazing critter with a couple of hundred miles would pilgrimage to the site. Alfalfa, a sweet grass is also good, high quality, straw.

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by Dusty Rhodes

don't know if it is still for sale, but.... a 300+ acre hay farm in trapper creek w/equipment and trapper cabin for sale (I guess you would call them a trapper cabin, couldn't be more than 2 small rooms, couldn't be more than a single bed, maybe a cot, a chair and a woodstove, the hay barn/tractor barn is way bigger than the house, looks to be the size of a real barn, 3 walls, one of the long ends is open, my guess would be on the lee side, wouldn't imagine someone leaving the weather side open. close to a lake, also woods on property as well, looked a bit marshy on the posted ariel photo on the NE edge of the property going down to the lake. My first thought was, plant soybeans also, mature quickly and would draw in every moose within 100 miles, soybeans being high in protein, and change the straw to alfalfa and every grazing critter with a couple of hundred miles would pilgrimage to the site. Alfalfa, a sweet grass is also good, high quality, straw.

Ha...nice thought. If you could figure out how to grow alfalfa and soybeans in Alaska you would be a rich man. They have to truck in the alfalfa from down below. That's why it's so costly to own a horse in Alaska.

Hay is mostly either timothy or brome.

The newest ag crop in Alaska is Peones. Seems that those flowers are in high demand about the time they are blooming here but no where else. Lots of people starting them up.

[mal_flisk]

I always thought Alfalfa was the kid in "Our Gang" that had the spiked hair! LOL

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by mal_flisk

I always thought Alfalfa was the kid in "Our Gang" that had the spiked hair! LOL

Hummmmmm, makes me wonder just how many goofy lookin' freckled kids with spiked hair you could grow per acre? Also, is there a market for same?

[MissingAll4Seasons]

Straw is not hay. Straw is normally the stalks of cereals grains, and have little (if any) nutritional value. Hay (forage) is usually grasses and legumes, and has high nutritional value. You build with straw, not hay (unless you want critters!). My research into building a straw bale home pointed me toward the barley and oat (sometimes wheat) farms in the Valley.

[BudinAk]

Although I like the concept, my biggest concern with straw-bale construction would be that in some parts of Alaska it tends to rain A LOT. If any of that straw gets damp or wet, are we setting up conditions for mold and mildew to grow inside the walls? My wife is VERY allergic to that stuff...


Bud