Farmers of the Last Frontier

Calypso Farm is a non-profit, educational farm in Ester, Alaska, offering hands-on education programs for community members of all ages. Our diversified garden provides food for CSA and markets, feeding a number of local families during the growing season.

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From sensory activities to plantings, making food and playing garden games, the LEAF Campers at the Hunter school garden are having a fabulous week! pic.twitter.com/85GNNiGiMw

— Calypso Farm (@CalypsoFarm) June 13, 2018

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The latest Tweets from Calypso Farm (@CalypsoFarm). Encouraging local food production and environmental awareness through hands-on education in farming and natural ecosystems!. Fairbanks, AK

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Poppies, a Calypso Farm staple. We plant these guys in patches between crop varieties to encourage pollinators, and by July they are sprinkled throughout the field. #calypsofloral #poppies #biodiversity (at Calypso Farm and Ecology Center)

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Community, Creativity & How To Run A Farm For 20 Years: an interview with Susan Willsrud of Calypso Farm - The Good Heart Life

Susan Willsrud, co-founder of Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, on how they got started, how their farm has evolved over nearly 20 years, and the most important things she's learned since that first season planting seedlings under the midnight sun.

Calypso's 2010 School Garden Manager, Kate Spring is now a farmer and blogger at Good Heart Farmstead in Vermont. In her latest blog post, Kate and Susan discuss Calypso's background, lessons-learned and advice for aspiring farmers. Check out the Good Heart Life blog and give it a listen!

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Our 6 wonderful 2017 Farmers in Training arrived earlier this month, and have quickly settled in to life and learning on the farm. Hailing from the East Coast, West Coast, Mid-West, Hawaii and right here in Fairbanks, this is a diverse group with unique experiences. Carrie, Sarah, Andy, Ian, Holly and Josh will spend the next 5 months soaking in the dynamic Alaskan farming season, learning practical field and farm management skills, trying their hand at creative skills like fiber art and blacksmithing, and developing their own Whole Farm Plans. Stay tuned! 

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Swiss chard stained glass.  Full sunshine and crisp fall weather; farm life feels glorious!

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Visit us on First Friday, September 2nd from 4-8pm, to try your hand at natural dyeing, experimenting with lovely shades of yellow from our marigolds! We will also have a wet felting station, blacksmithing and spinning demos, wood-fired bread, Alaskan apple taste testing, and a few other creative activities for every age. Visit the link for more details. See you there!

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Walk through the fields and you’ll find poppies growing between broccoli plants, borage and fireweed at the ends of carrot beds, and columbines dangling above the herb patch.  We utilize ecological and biointensive gardening practices, allowing many native plants to coexist with our cultivated vegetable crops.  Not only do these flowering plants provide us a beautiful place to work; they provide the bees with honey and our farmers with foraging opportunities for food, tea, and remedies.  We also grow over 150 different flower cultivars  for our weekly flower CSA shares, markets, event arrangements and special orders - even a variety of edible flowers like Nasturtiums and Johnny Jump-Ups for a local restaurant! 

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Kohlrabi Harvest!  This season was Jace’s first time trying kohlrabi.  He’ll never go back. 

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The farm Buns. 

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Spring Review: Here are some shots from our Farmer in Training, Jace.  Beautiful views from the top of the field, growing greenhouse veggies, shared goodies in the communal kitchen, and a cozy cabin. 

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A delightful group of children and their mothers visited the farm earlier this week to explore life on the farm! They walked between the plant beds, taste-testing fresh veggies and edible flowers throughout the field. Our farm education staff, Peter and Amelia, explained the role of animals and insects on the farm, introducing the kids to our sheep, bunnies, bees and pigs. 

Thank you to Sarah Lewis Photography for sharing your lovely photos! 

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We’ve been busy bees with field trips on the farm - particularly pizza field trips! Now that school’s in session, we’ll have lots of classes coming up to harvest fresh veggies from the field, creating colorful combinations of beets, carrots, broccoli, and herbs! 

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Farmer in Training, Ryker, whipping up some savoy cabbage sauerkraut on the porch yesterday.  He has had a large interest in working on ferments this season, as well as teas and other goods from foraged boreal plants.   We taste-tested the Salad Turnip, Ginger & Garlic ferments that he tried out a few weeks ago - delish! 

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Hot off the Smithy!  Beautiful hooks and BBQ fork made by our Farmers in Training. 

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Meet our 2016 Farmer in Training, Jace!  So glad to have your smiling face at Calypso this year! 

What exactly is Calypso’s Farmer Training Program and who is it for?  Learn more about this unique program on our Website. 

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Meet our 2016 Farmer in Training, Ryker!  

To learn more about our Farmer Training Program participants and their experiences, visit our website.