Hales living their dream at Harvest Point Farms

Matt Hale gets excited about poop. He gestures to the far fields of his 41-acre farm, Harvest Point Farms in Wasilla, where cow manure is piled in neat rows.

Matt trucks in the manure from a neighboring cattle operation. He mixes the pungent waste with 30 percent hay and lets it sit for a few months before it can be used.

“I’m not buying compost from somebody down in Washington,” Matt explains.

Matt and his wife, Ginny, celebrated their first harvest in 2015. Neither had previous farming experience. Matt is a carpenter and Ginny is finishing up her degree to become a professional genealogist.

“He’s learned everything we do here on YouTube,” Ginny says.

The farm, bordered by blue-tinged mountains and their neighbor’s buffalo herd, is the Hale’s dream come true.

“It’s pretty fun living out here,” says Ginny as she nods to the lake behind the house with a mostly finished dock and various boats pulled up on shore.

The dream started 22 years ago when the Hales lived in a farming community in Idaho. They kept a vigorous garden and admired the agricultural lifestyle.

After settling in Alaska, Matt passed a greenhouse going out of business. He was hoping to find a discounted wheelbarrow. The only thing left for sale was the actual greenhouses. The Hales purchased the three industrial greenhouses for $20,000 and stored them on a friend’s land for three years.

The couple then bought farmland from a neighbor who allowed them to make payments. They built their house and purchased farm equipment little by little as their finances allowed.

“We have no debt,” Ginny noted, with the exception of the land payment.

Their farm equipment is older, like their 1974 payloader.

“It’s not top of the line but it works just fine,” Ginny says.

The greenhouses produce tomatoes, peppers, beets, carrots, celery, Swiss chard, kale, radishes, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, squash and the Hale’s cash crop—lettuce.

Heated lettuce beds allow the Hales to grow red leaf lettuce and green Salanova year-round. The 250-300 bags of mixed lettuce processed each week are sold at Natural Pantry in Anchorage and all of the Three Bears locations.

In the field, the Hales grow raspberries, pumpkins, beans, peas, various herbs and strawberries.

The strawberries, which will be ripe in about three weeks, are part of the Hale’s U-Pick program. Customers can harvest their own strawberries for $4 per pound.

“We want to make a difference by bringing good, wholesome food to Alaska,” Ginny says. “The groceries that come up from the Lower 48 are subpar.”

Harvest Point also offers a weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable box. A full share cost $160 per month and a half share (every other week) costs $80. The contents of the box depend on what is in season and the bounty of the harvest.

Ginny does not keep track of how many hours she spends farming.

“We’re out here all day,” she says.

Matt estimates he works 60 hours a week on the farm, outside of his construction job. Three of the couple’s five children still live at home. The Hale offspring help maintain the farm and its beehives.

Matt’s least favorite chore is weeding. At planting time, the Hales practice shallow tilling, a process which disturbs the soils’ microbes as little as possible. Shallow tilling means more weed maintenance but the couple are committed to organic methods.

“We’re trying to build the soil, not the plants,” Matt says.

Despite the long hours, the Hales are content.

“It does good for your soul,” Matt says.

“There’s something empowering about eating your own food that you grew,” Ginny adds.

Visit www.harvestpointfarm.com or call 907-354-8991.

Melinda Munson is a co-conspirator with Alaska Family Fun, which can be found at alaskafamilyfun.com.