Poor Louis Farms

05/17/2026

We will not be attending Taste of Spenard today May 17th due to family sickness. Have a wonderful Sunday and see you soon!
Katherine with Poor Louis Farms

05/14/2026

Our new surprise farm addition. We get so much joy seeing her grow each day. Welcome to the family Opal!

05/14/2026

We had quite the surprise a couple days ago - meet little Opal 🥰

05/10/2026

05/06/2026

A surprise visitor this morning 🥰 (taken with my phone from a safe distance so quality is so-so 😄).

05/04/2026

We’ve been spending some time getting to know bladderwrack (a wild coastal seaweed we recently harvested out of Whittier, Alaska 🌊).

Bladderwrack has been traditionally used for generations and is known for being:
• naturally rich in iodine and trace minerals
• often used to support thyroid health
• incorporated into broths, teas, and topical applications

The little air bladders (sacs) are a tasty, naturally salty snack right off the plant. They come in all kinds of interesting shapes too—some even look like little hearts 😍—and the kids absolutely loved them.

Here’s what we’re exploring so far:
• freeze-drying the air bladders—they developed a light, crisp texture with a clean, briny taste, and made a fun popping sound when we pulled them out of the freeze dryer. The kids especially enjoyed how some would pop💥 in their mouths—almost like a rock candy vegetable
• dehydrating the tougher stems for use in broths and stock bases
• running a few small fermentations (including some with Korean red chili flakes 👀)

As always, we’re focused on understanding the plant first—how it behaves, how it tastes, and how it can be used well.

Alaska has a lot to offer if you’re willing to slow down and learn from it.

More to come as we keep experimenting!
— Poor Louis Farms

05/02/2026

05/02/2026

We’ve got a happy little pair of guests at
Poor Louis Farms 🐦💛

A pair of Black-capped Chickadees has made a nest in one of our dead trees 🌲 They often use old trees like this to carve out safe, cozy homes.
We’ve enjoyed watching them come and go every day ✨

02/06/2026

Here we have a keystone ingredient.

Winter-harvested White Spruce needles that have undergone a water-based extraction, cold diatomaceous earth filtration to remove waxes, and then freeze-drying. Chemistry is awesome.

We’re convinced Alaska can produce what it needs to be sustainable. Every year, we’re putting real effort into gathering, processing, and using as many purely Alaskan-grown, harvested, and crafted ingredients as we reasonably can.

This particular essence smells exactly like an idyllic evergreen forest. We’re excited to explore where it belongs and can’t wait to get it into a product for you to try at home.

12/13/2025

✨🎄 Poor Louis Farms update 🎄✨
We had a great day at the Holiday Bazaar 😊🎁

We’ll be back tomorrow @ 10 am- 5 pm
at the Palmer Senior Center

We would love for you to stop by and visit us! ❄️✨

12/12/2025

Come by and say hi! We are downstairs :) at the Palmer Senior Center today and tomorrow.
🌲 Happy Holidays!