Alaska Seeds of Change provides vocational training for young people through a variety of programs — including earning school credit! Vala created this story to share what she learned about working at Seeds.

At Alaska Seeds of Change, we grow lettuce and different herbs. We plant and harvest lettuce every day.
Girl standing by green plants in warehouse
Our lettuce and herbs start out as tiny seeds and…
are placed in these plugs.
After the seeds are placed in these plugs, we have to keep them in a heating container so the seeds can germinate. After a couple of days, we move them into our “Sprout City” where the plants can continue to grow big and strong
When we transplant the new lettuce sprouts into their growing towers, we have a process on how we do it. First, we have to clean the towers; then we have to put the seedlings that have sprouted into the towers to grow big and healthy.
Twice a day, we inspect our entire farm using our Ag Log checklist. We have to check to see if the water that runs through to the plants is clean. If not, we have to clean it, and make sure the water has enough nutrients for the plants. This helps our plants stay healthy as they grow.
When we have an aphid outbreak, we have to take care of it by picking them off of each individual leaf. We also have beneficial bugs like ladybugs that help kill the aphids too.
After 6-7 weeks, it is time to harvest our lettuce! We have to inspect every individual leaf to make sure it is safe to eat. Then we box our lettuce to send to restaurants and local residents across Anchorage.
Then we box our lettuce to send to restaurants and local residents across Anchorage.
After harvesting the plants, we have to clean out the rest of the towers and it’s like its own work out.
At the end, we compost all that we don’t use. Sometimes we even give it to chicken owners in Anchorage!
At Alaska Seeds of Change, we don’t just grow plants. We also have mental health services and can work on our personal and professional development where we learn about budgeting and making SMART goals to achieve our dreams.
Now we have Team Time on Zoom. Its fun!