Quirky Alaska Greenhouse Tomatoes

cmichetti

I have to admit, I didn’t like tomatoes before my husband built a greenhouse for me 6 years ago. He grew up on the sweet tomatoes his father grew in California and compared all others to those. I planted them initially for him, then I tasted my first homegrown cherry tomato and I was hooked. My unheated greenhouse is an 8×8 structure with clear Tuftex corrugated polycarbonate roof panels. My husband wanted panels that wouldn’t yellow and would allow the most light possible to pass. There is a 70 CFM Read More …

Crops in Pots – A Book Review

Elizabeth

Are you limited in available space to plant a garden, but still want to grow your own fresh veggies, fruits, and herbs? This book can help. Crops in Pots by Bob Purnell, describes how to plan, plant, and grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in easy-care containers. Book Overview The book is broken into three main sections: starters, main courses, and desserts. In all, it presents 50 specific project ideas describing how to grow fruit, vegetables, and herbs in various containers. Each of these 50 projects includes a list of equipment Read More …

“Outside the Box” Gardening

Bonnie

Some summers are meant for gardens that only a long Alaskan winter can inspire. They are well planned beauties that encompass every bit of space your yard (and sometimes the neighbor’s) can sustain. If you are like me and have just moved and are spending every waking moment working like a mad woman to get the inside of your home in order before the fish come in and the berries are on, smaller scale gardening is a must. The home we are in does not have any raised boxes, or Read More …

What deadheading means for your plants

jhoffman

Deadheading is a technique used to prolong flowering in some annuals. By removing flowers past their prime and before seed production, energy will be directed toward producing more buds. This ensures your plant will continue to flower for the entire season. In some cases, removing some of the extra buds can create larger blooms. Flowers do not necessarily have to be dead before removing. After blooming, the flowers can be cut for use in arrangements. If your flowers are outdoors, this is a great way to liven up your indoor Read More …

All About Potatoes – Lesson Plan

klodens

Materials: 10 – 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled on the bottoms and lower sides for drainage 5 bags of soil 20-25 seed potatoes (depending on # of students) After harvest: Large pot or crock pot depending on recipe Procedure: Students will each receive a seed potato to plant one at a time in the buckets with the soil provided. About 2 inches of soil at the bottom of the bucket, plant potato seeds and fill bucket with soil. Volunteer students can take this home and water them over the Read More …

Enjoying the Taste of Summer Throughout the Winter: Food Preservation in Southeast Alaska

Heidi Rader

by Katie Craney, an Alaska Master Gardener All of the hard work has paid off, its harvest time! I’ve found that I enjoy planting my garden just as much as figuring out ways to keep the freshness and flavors of summer and fall going through the winter. As a gardener and forager, I spend so much time planning and waiting for the right time to pick that I feel I owe it to myself to get the most out of every effort! It can feel a little overwhelming during harvest, Read More …

Importance of hardening off plants and soil testing prior to planting

Heidi Rader

By Natalie Jo Cossette, an Alaska Master Gardener The month of May rolled around and I was chomping at the bit to get into the garden. I tried to satisfy my urges with starting seeds in the garage under lights but it wasn’t enough. The beautiful weather called to me and I knew better than to put my plants outside before the last weekend in May. But the raised bed I’d constructed last year was ready and I hadn’t been able to have a garden for four seasons, so I Read More …

Love for the neglected Crabapple Trees: A lesson in pruning

Heidi Rader

By Andrea Hood, an Alaska Master Gardener My small yard is edged by two crabapple trees planted by the amazing couple that built this house so long ago. Every year, in spite of being ignored by the new residents and abused by snow hurled from the plows and occasional windstorms, they have produced small, tangy, beautiful fruit. This year, while they are sleeping, they will get some TLC. The idea is a bit overwhelming. They are now overgrown beautiful monsters. This is going to be a multi-year treatment plan. Sustainable Read More …

Alan Jackson was right, it is okay to be “Little Bitty”: A small garden plot in Alaska

Heidi Rader

By Andrea Hood, an Alaska Master Gardener This has been a growing season of revised expectations, and you know what? It has turned out just fine! Finding a great spot to garden can sometimes be a challenge. For those of us with the gardening bug, winter time is for dreaming of glorious spaces filled with fruiting vines, flower laden bushes, and vegetable patches overflowing with zucchini and tomatoes. In the spring, we receive or catalogs and make lists. All of those plans were shot earlier this year with news of Read More …