Category: Alaska Garden Climate Zones

Welcome To My Climatic Zone in the Matanuska Valley

closmanson

My Climate I live in a subdivision in the middle of Palmer and Wasilla so all of my neighbors, including myself, have raised beds. One great benefit of raised beds is that they thaw much faster in the spring than frozen ground, so that means you can prepare and transplant earlier. Another reason raised beds work here is our ground is very rocky so it’s just easier to have a raised bed. The raised beds have better drainage, which is great for a rainy week. Benefit or challenge? I have Read More …

What’s the Challange: A Report on Anchorage’s Mountian View Climate

srenard

Mountain View, Anchorage: Garden Climactic Zone Intro Growing in Anchorage has been simple this summer mainly. In the micro-climate of Mountain View (Zone 4b), the most significant challenges resident gardeners have observed consist of locating the right spot to grow, due to the amount to buildings which block the sunlight from reaching plants. Some residents choose to use containers that make for easy transport and weeding should the chosen location not work out for that year, as seen in figures 1,2, and 3. Furthermore, there have been challenges with the Read More …

Seward’s Garden Climate Zone

clfinney

Seward Climate I am currently not a resident of Alaska but have lived in Anchorage previously for several years. I raised a garden in every one of those years. However, because my husband and I thought we might consider retiring somewhere in Alaska I wanted to do some research on where would be best based on the longest growing season. I found that Seward, Alaska has the longest frost-free growing season in southern Alaska. From mid to end of April through September and possibly mid-October. The climate zone according to Read More …

Gardening with Wildlife in Chugiak, Alaska

mlmilius

All the Perks As with many communities in Alaska, gardening in Chugiak has many upsides and downsides. Compared to many other areas of the state we have considerably moderate temperatures that can extend our growing season with the help of picking appropriate varieties of plants to grow and the use of a greenhouse or season extender. According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Map, Chugiak is in Zone 4b. When compared to many other Alaskan communities, Chugiak has relatively mild weather extremes. Another upside to my community is that I live Read More …

Short and Sweet–Gardening in Interior Alaska

sranft

It may seem that growing a garden in Interior Alaska is very challenging given the extremes in our temperatures. However with the proper varieties of plants and gardening techniques, combined with our long days of sunlight and warm summer temperatures, gardens thrive. The USDA growing zone in my north Fairbanks area is Zone 2b, it is a short season, so any techniques to lengthen the season and warm the soil can make a huge difference. Although we have long days of sunlight here, I do struggle with getting enough sun Read More …

Seward Climate – So, What’s Normal?

nmurawsky

General Climate On the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones map, Seward is in zone 6b. However, there are many micro climates within the community. My garden is approximately six miles north of the nearest weather station at the Seward airport where “normals’ are for years 1908-2011. See link here. Generally, the sun warms the airport/downtown area early in the morning. But in the afternoon, the area cools off much earlier because of the wind off of Resurrection Bay and shade from the mountains to the west. My garden is shaded longer Read More …

Windy Mountainside Gardening in Anchorage

jcooperc

Wind is Always a Threat Gardening in my mountainside neighborhood is a challenge just like so many other places in Alaska. In addition to the cool temperatures and neighborhood moose and rabbits, I have quite a bit of wind to contend with. We chose our property because of it’s remote location about fifteen minutes southeast of downtown Anchorage. Once off the highway it’s another ten minutes of climbing, winding roads. It’s a really quiet setting most days but occasionally the wind picks up outside and pummels the yard and house Read More …

Mild and Wild: Soldotna’s Climatic Zone

mamillay

Soldotna is a great place to grow cooler weather plants and vegetables. As a USDA Hardiness Zone 4a (-30 to -25 degrees F), we can grow a number of cold resistant fruits and veggies very well. From my experience and that of other gardeners in the area, kale and rhubarb do very well here. Not only is the climate relatively mild in the summer with long days and the temperatures hovering just under 60 degrees, it is located close enough to the ocean to benefit from fantastic natural fertilizers – Read More …

Gardening in the Golden Heart: Fairbanks Climactic Profile

sshammond2

Called the Golden Heart City, Fairbanks is the second largest city in Alaska, and is known for short, sunny summers and long, harsh winters. Gardeners in the Fairbanks area can expect the outdoor growing season to be from early June to mid-to-late August. Some years the weather is favorable enough to begin outdoor growing in mid-to-late May, however, unpredictable, late frosts and even late snowfalls encourage local gardeners to be cautious and not to begin outdoor planting until early June. This short outdoor growing season requires Interior gardeners to be Read More …