Alaska News

Jeff Lowenfels: The outdoor growing season is here

Yahoo! Let the outdoor season begin. It's also time to hit the mail and answer some questions that might have a general bent.

First, yes, it is time to get peas in the ground, be they regular, snap, bush, pod or sweet. They can handle our still very cool soil temperatures. It helps to inoculate these seeds with rhizobia bacteria (available at local nurseries) as well as mycorrhizal fungi. Like mycorrhizal fungi, which also are useful on peas (because they provide the phosphorus needed to fix nitrogen), roll the seeds in some of the powder before planting.

Next, our old friend moss is rearing its head in lawns all over the state. This is to be expected as our lawn soils tend to be acidic and turn acidic with "use." To get rid of it, you cannot simply add lime to raise the pH. You need to first kill it. Iron-based products are sold to kill moss. It will turn brown and black and then will need to be raked up. Then you will need to apply lime over the next several years to raise the pH of the soil. Obviously, you need to get it tested to see how much lime you need to apply. Know that you can only raise the pH about one point per year, so don't apply it all at once.

I happen to welcome moss for its green color, its softness and the promise that one day there will only be moss in our lawns and I won't have much need for the Deere. To get rid of it in a large lawn is a tremendous amount of work and given the trend away from lawns (though silly, IMHO), why not let it go. Moss in a lawn in Alaska is nothing about which to be embarrassed.

Yes, Virginia (and others), you really do need a greenhouse or similar heat-retaining systems like cold frames, huge cloches and plastic coverings at night to get tomatoes to produce decent-tasting fruit, if not fruit at all, in Alaska. Night temperatures below 55 degrees prevent fruit from setting in all but the not-that-great-tasting Siberian and polar varieties. Alaska tomatoes do not come cheap. By the way, pretty much the same is true for peppers.

OK, here is an unusual one I have never been asked before. Having just discovered that there are male and female kiwi plants and that they won't flower and thus fruit unless you grow both in the same vicinity, do they have to be the same age?

The answer is no, they don't. However, if you only planted males the first go-around, you won't be getting much fruit by planting one female. The trick is to get females and one or two male plants. Make sure you buy your plants locally so you get varieties tested for hardiness here and read the label for its sex. These are climbers, so give them room and something to climb up.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ah, a reader wants to know what the deal is with "fall is for planting trees." How about spring? There is absolutely no reason you cannot plant trees in spring, or the middle summer for that matter. In fact, right now there are some bare root plants that are much, much less expensive.

In any case, make sure you apply the appropriate mycorrhizal fungi. Some trees require ecto and others endo. You can find out which your tree requires here: http://mycorrhizae.com/wp-content/uploads/Types-of-Mycorrhizal-Plants.pdf. Finally, do not replace the native soil in the planting hole. You can mix in a bit of compost if you want, however.

And, finally, a few cannabis questions: Is it time to start seed? Can it really be grown here outdoors or do you need a greenhouse? How big a container should you plant in and what tricks should be applied at starting time?

Yes, it is time to start seeds. You will need at least five-gallon containers to grow a decent cannabis plant. Sativa plants are taller than Indica plants and will have a larger root system.

Here is the rub. Cannabis grows best with 18 hours of light a day until the plants are ready to flower. This occurs when natural light is 12 hours or less and can take two months. So, our long days are terrific for putting vegetation on plants, but by the time we get down to only 12 hours of daylight, it is too cold. The bottom line is that most Alaska plants will need to come indoors to get the proper lighting to flower. I keep telling readers to get lights for our long winters. Here is another reason.

The two exceptions are "auto-flowering" plants -- which are specially bred to bloom regardless of light cycle and produce flowers in two to three months from start -- and a perhaps mythical Scandinavian breed that handle northern climates. You will have to wait until in-state sales are legal or get them free from someone who somehow has seeds locally, if there are such people.

Finally, no one asked, but I am answering that hardening off has nothing to do with outside temperatures. Advice to harden off all plants grown and sold indoors applies this week, too, just as it will next week and any week in the middle of the summer, for that matter. Do protect your investment. Harden off plants for four or five days before planting out.

Jeff’s Alaska garden calendar

Outdoor seed planting: Peas now. The soil is too cool for the rest of the garden.

Raised Bed Gardening: Thursday, May 14, 6-7:30 p.m. Selkregg Chalet/Russian Jack Springs Park. Raised beds can add a new dimension to your gardening experience and are especially useful for gardeners with limited space in their yards. Parents must accompany children. For ages 6 and up. Cost: $5. Register online at www.muni.org/Active, by phone at 343-6992 or 343-4217 or in person at Selkregg Chalet.

Composting 101: Wednesday, May 20, 6-7:30 p.m., Selkregg Chalet/Russian Jack Springs Park. The how, what and why of composting in Alaska. Parents must accompany children. For ages 8 and up. Cost: $5. Register online at www.muni.org/Active, by phone at 343-6992 or 343-4217 or in person at Selkregg Chalet.

Warning: Early birds do get the worm. Visit nurseries now, and join the Alaska Botanical Garden so you can be an early bird at plant sales (and get discounts at commercial nurseries). Find more information at www.alaskabg.org.

Northwest Cannabis Classic-Alaska: Saturday, May 16-Sunday, May 17, Dena'ina Center, I'll be joined by author Jorge Cervantes, aka George Van Patten, and Tom Alexander, America's first grower of sinsemilla. Find more information at www.nwcannabisclassic.

Jeff Lowenfels

Jeff Lowenfels has written a weekly gardening column for the ADN for more than 45 years. His columns won the 2022 gold medal at the Garden Communicators International conference. He is the author of a series of books on organic gardening available at Amazon and elsewhere. He co-hosts the "Teaming With Microbes" podcast.

ADVERTISEMENT