Got Pests!? Identifying and Controlling Pests in Alaska using Integrated Pest Management Techniques

By Glenna Gannon, Alaska Master Gardener Teaching Assistant Have you ever planted your beautifully pampered seedlings only to wake the next day and find them riddled with holes? This year that is exactly what happened to me. I noticed a smattering of holes all over my pak choi especially, and arugula to a lesser extent. Step 1: Identify your pest When we find that our precious vegetables starts that we have nursed along through the Alaskan spring are attacked before they have a chance to thrive, it is easy to Read More …

Gardening North of the Arctic Circle

by Jennifer Dillard, An Alaska Master Gardener North of the Arctic Circle! New to Alaska, my husband and I moved to Bettles Field, a remote Interior Alaska community, ready to embrace a new way of living. Having lived in Wisconsin and Illinois where I had my own garden and participated in a community garden, I felt confident in my gardening skills but translating these skills into Arctic conditions was a completely new and challenging journey for me. Fully aware that I lacked even the basic knowledge of how to garden Read More …

Starting an Alaskan Garden

by Evan Sterling, An Alaska Master Gardener in Ester, Alaska Background Well, this is my very first posting on the Alaska Master Gardener blog, but I certainly hope it won’t be my last. I’m a newly minted Master Gardener working on completing my volunteer hours, and to tell you the truth, I do not feel like much of a “Master!” Yet, anyway. I’m 28, almost 29, and just starting out with my partner, Shannon, on our own piece of land in Ester, Alaska. We don’t have any plans of becoming Read More …