What do *you* grow on your Alaskan Homestead?

[Kristianna]

I am just wondering what people do grow in alaska.

I think that the climate I currently live in is *very* similar to Southcentral Alaska's climate and growing conditions (minus the hundred pound cabbages, LOL).

k

[Jenny]

Our growing season is really short --- averages about 90 days in our area, but much longer and warmer in places like Fairbanks. Our summers are usually cool and rainy. We've never been able to do much successive plantings, except for radishes.



Spuds grow GREAT! ;D Also things like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips (for the greens and roots), rutabagas, beets. Lettuce grows good, but not the iceberg kind. We like to grow greens we can eat raw in salads, and can for the winter, so we grow lots of collards and kale. With our summer days being light 24 hrs. a day, spinach, as delicious as it is, goes to seed too fast. Watermelon berry leaves taste a lot like spinach (raw and cooked), so we use that instead. Carrots grow well, and some kinds keep all winter in the root cellar. Celery grows too slow, so I grow it in coffee cans so I can bring them in when it gets too cold at night. They never get very big, so coffee cans are fine. I dry the celery or use it right away. I mostly use wild cow parsnip in place of celery for cooking. I don't use it raw.

Those are all the things we usually grow, then sometimes we grow other things. Different kinds of onions, with differing success rates , and we grow some herbs each year. Dill is something I like to grow every year since we love pickles. Also garlic. We tried pumpkins, squash and zucchini a few years, without success. Finally found out what we were doing wrong, so will try again. We want to try some fruit trees. Almost forgot about Chuck's favorite --- Rhubarb! Several other things, but that's the main stuff we've been growing.

We were planning on taking the Master Gardener class from the extension service this year, but the timing didn't work out. I think that would be very helpful. Anyone ever taken it?

What's everyone else growing?

Jenny
Alaska HOMESTEADING Journal

[lori]

Jenny, I have taken the Master Gardener course when I first moved here 8 years ago. I am fortunate to live near the Mat-Su college and was able to go there. If you get the opportunity, take it. You get a wealth of info, and I came away with several three ring binders full of info on things like the best varieties to plant, from A-Z literally. Plus, one of the things nice about the class is you are sopposed to share what you learn to others... you could do that here very easily, you already are!

[matata]

Jenny, what area of AK do you live in? You mention that your growing season isn't the same as in Fairbanks.

Has anyone grown potatoes in barrels? We even use to do this using sawdust instead of dirt. To do it correctly we had to start really early in the spring. You start out with about 1/3 of the barrel full of dirt or sawdust then place the taters in and cover them up. After the sprouts get about 8 inches or so...you add another layer of potatoes and more sawdust and just keep layering as they grow. Then after the barrel is full just let it grow. You do have to add plant food when you grow them this way. Then at the end of the year, you just tip the barrel over and dig out your taters. This gives you a variety of sizes from big bakers at the bottom and small newbies at that top. This is a good experiment for those kids that like things like this.

[Washkeeton]

Thanks for that idea. I love it. Would make it really fun for my son to grow the taters. I put them in a raised bed and grew both regular ones and red ones. Came out with about 15 to 25 lbs of each. Was really nice to have fresh from the garden taters. Loved them. MMMMMMMMM

[matata]

One thing I do is in the early spring I buy local taters from the store to eat and I peel them real deep and just plant the peelings. It's another way to grow taters and still have some to eat for dinner. I plant my taters in big pots right now. We are renting and there is no space to put a garden in the ground, so I plant everything in pots. This past summer we had tomatoes, potatoes, green beans <I grow the pole beans>, peas, carrots, and pumpkins. I also had chocolate basil, sweet basil, thyme, lemon thyme, parsley, dill, sage, and bee balm. I have been planning what to grow this year and this weekend my granddaughter <who is 3.5> and I will be starting our pumpkin seeds. She's all excited about that! )

[Jenny]

matata said:

Jenny, what area of AK do you live in? You mention that your growing season isn't the same as in Fairbanks.

I'm sure behind on answering questions on the forum

We're in South Central Alaska, but it's a really high snow area. We usually start putting ashes on the garden to melt the snow right about now, even though we still get quite a bit more snow. We sort of break even, and sometimes if we don't get too much more snow, we even start losing some on those sunny days getting longer now. By the time the garden dries out enough, it's usually the last week of May before we get anything in the ground. Overall, our summers here are wet and cool, although we do get a few days with highs in the upper 70's Sometimes as high as 80 ;D We've had hard frosts killing most of the less hardy garden goodies by mid-August, but usually not until mid-September. A few years ago we were still eating fresh cauliflower and broccoli into late October, but that's sure nothing we can count on. If we get 100 days in the garden, we're happy. Sure wish we did have a growing season like Fairbanks. But, to off set it a little, we start seeds in the house in April, and try to use row covers in the fall.

Every year I say I'm going to grow herbs in pots, but just never seem to get around to it. Matata, (or anybody else) how about starting a thread and give us the "nitty gritty" on your herbs and how you grow them.

Thanks,

Jenny