Getting Warmer? North Anchorage Garden Climactic Zone

MarahG

Gardening in North Anchorage Every spring I feel a hint of jealousy when my mother describes the new growth in her garden.  She lives in New York state where she enjoys a longer frost-free period and Zone 6a hardiness. Just like any northern climate, gardening in Anchorage has challenges. However, with careful site and plant selection, by the end of summer it’s not too hard to have an abundant garden that makes even a New York mother envious. Between the moderating effect of Cook Inlet’s water and the steep rise Read More …

Farming in the Rain: Sitka, Alaska

jdhandy

Sitka’s climate Gardening in Sitka’s climate presents several challenges. I would have to say too much rain and a lack of sunlight would have to be at the top of the list. We get a lot of rain in Sitka, some growing seasons more than others. Overcast days are plentiful throughout the growing season as well. Overcast days help to give plants a chance to recover after a stretch of constant rain. It’s important to give the soil a chance to dry out and become more stable and easier to Read More …

Homer–an Alaska Climate Profile

lldevita

Homer is on the southwestern edge of the Kenai Peninsula on the north side of the Kachemak Bay. The weather is effected by the close proximity to the Gulf of Alaska and other large bodes of water nearby. In the Homer area the summers are cool and moist, with relatively mild winters. It rains lightly throughout much of the season interspersed with some weeks of sun, so watering may only be needed occasionally. The probable growing season is from June to mid September. Reliably there are 113 frost free days, Read More …

Sitka, Alaska’s Climactic Zone

cmsanchez2

Sitka, Alaska is a part of the The Tongass National Forest- the largest temperate rainforest in the world. Cool days, frequent rain, and acidic soil that has a hi are factors to consider when gardening. Hardy crops thrive in Sitka as show by native, woody edible plants that fruit throughout the year: blueberries, crowberries, low bush cranberries. Hardy plants thrive. Tlingit and Haida potatoes have been planted and harvested for over 200 years in Sitka. You can read more about this history here Normals for years: 1981-2010 USDA Plant Hardiness Read More …

Girdwood, Alaska – A Climate Profile

ggphillips

Girdwood Girdwood is a small community located 48 miles southeast of downtown Anchorage. Because Girdwood is located in a temperate rainforest, its summers are often overcast, cool and the ground is wet year round. The annual temperature usually varies between 16 to 64 °F but sometimes dip below -9 °F or rise above 72 °F. The record low was -30 °F (January 1989) and the record high was 88 °F (July 1972). A gardener can expect a typical growing season of approximately 4 to 4.5 months. In a really exceptional Read More …

Starting bare root strawberries

lccarson

This summer I received 2500 bare root strawberry starts. With that, one must ask themselves what to do with that amount of starts and how to approach what to do with them all. These starts in particular come from a commercial variety called ‘Tribute’. This variety is particularly desirable because of the large yields of sweet delicious berries and are hardy enough to survive cold wet winters. This hybrid strawberry was developed by the University of Maryland for large crops with good disease tolerance. I began by pulling all the Read More …

Forging Friendships: Review of Jessica Walliser’s Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden

sshammond2

Have you every wondered if that unknown insect scuttling around in your garden is a threat to your carefully nurtured plants? Or how to keep ladybugs in your garden and decimate the aphids that cropped up in your ornamental flower bed? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by an onslaught of garden pests, but have been reluctant to rely on chemical pesticides? If you’ve needed an answer to any of these questions or have been seeking an introduction to alternative pest control methods, then Jessica Walliser’s Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Read More …

The search for local knowledge: the Homer Garden Club publications

lldevita

A slow start Last spring I moved to the Homer area with my family. It was late June by the time I got a chance to start a garden. I knew I was going to have a late start, but I have always had a garden, and I knew I could grow something in what was left of the season. I knew the season was going to be short, so I decided to focus my efforts in the greenhouse. I planted some beans and squash in six inch deep boxes, Read More …

Interior Gardeners: Like Ducks to Water

irene

Gardening seems to come as naturally to residents of Alaska’s Heartland as, well, as ducks take to water. After the long snowy winter, the bright spring days and luminescent nights of late April and early May inspire many of us to start seedlings on the windowsill and to clean up the garden (raised beds, old wheelbarrows and bathtubs, patio pots and hanging baskets), or whatever else our imagination and resources come up with as Places to Put Plants. The harvest may be small or it may be bountiful, it may Read More …