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Steller Botanical Health
Contact: Jen & Larry Landry
Address: PO Box 151 Gustavus, AK, 99826
Phone: 907-209-6180
About Us
We are a small, human powered subsistence and small market operation. Trying to make a living in a small town requires that we be competent in many things. We grow our own starts, make our own compost, grow the most healthy and delicious vegetables and medicinal herbs that we can, as well as berries and fruit. We sell plant starts, garden supplies, and electric fencing to support others' efforts to grow their own food. Jen is a Registere Herbalist (AHG) and Asian Bodywork Therapist offering health consultations, medicinal herbs and supplements out of our shop in Gustavus. If you are in Gustavus come check out our freshly harvested produce Saturdays from 12:30 - 2:30 in the Salmon River Business Center.
Practices
Living near the bountiful waters of Icy Strait makes it much easier to build soil fertility without exogenous inputs. We mix a couple tons of seaweed/ leaf mixture into the beds in the spring, and add more as a top dressing in the summer.

We build a couple sizable compost piles each year, mixing modest amounts of fish waste in the center of the pile, where cooking at 140 degrees and absorption by the organics in the pile quickly eliminated bear attracting odors (yet rely on electric fencing to protect our compost piles from bears). We use ash from the wood stove to sweeten the soil. The beds are covered with leaves in the fall

Jen has designed year round outdoor vermi-bins. Temps in the worm bin have stayed between 60F (great) to 100 degrees F (yikes too warm) during the last few winters, even during the long cold spells.

When we have time amdist all the other chores, we spray an active aerated compost tea on the soil and plants. Agronomic research in recent years has revealed the critical role that microorganisms play in making soil nutrients available to plants.

Our lone foray into inorganic chemicals: with perhaps undue relish, Larry sprays a dilute ammonia solution directly on each of Satan’s minions, THE SLUG!