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…
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Gardening in Interior Alaska at the edge of a lovely lake at latitude 65 degrees, Zone 2b, is filled with great rewards and challenges. Succeeding in the face of challenges sweetens the benefits and rewards of gardening in an extreme climate zone. The growing season is short, requiring frenetic gardening activity in a few short…
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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…
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My wife and I purchased our first home in August of 2016 located in Fairbanks, Alaska. The property included 10 acres of land. Most of the land is treed but the backyard area included a cleared space that is large enough for a garden. This was our first opportunity to create our own organic garden.…
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By Sarah Richards After years of daydreaming about having a farm of our own, the day is finally upon us. Toting a little log cabin, our partially cleared acre is surrounded by the hushed boreal forest. We call it Alaska Tiny Farm. My husband and I live here with our daughters (ages seven and five),…
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This past year I bought my first home and it came with a fenced-in garden and some raised garden beds. I was ambitious to plant a garden this year, although gardening is new territory for me. I have to admit I did not put the time and effort required into my garden. After the initial…
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The hare population seems to be booming in Fairbanks. This winter, some hares were able to walk right over the fences and completely girdle some fruit trees by eating the bark Girdling happens when the phloem, the inner most layer of the bark, is removed from the tree. The job of the phloem is…
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Well, it is now nearing August and my first Interior Alaska garden is thriving more than I ever imagined it would. I planted a little bit of everything to see how it would all do. My most thriving vegetables happen to be my lettuce and snap peas. I planted the last week of May, and…
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I love trying new things and learning. More importantly, I love learning alongside my students. This was my second year of teaching in Nenana. I teach Life Skills and Art in grades 9-12 during the day and after school I run our 21st Century Community Learning Center where we have 4H, Art, Science, Homework, and…
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