Gardening

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Alaska-hardy vines are magical, practical

There are sensible reasons to plant vines in your garden. If you don't have much space, they grow up, not out. But the main reason to have vines is the magic. There's something mysterious, even enchanting, about how they climb fences and trellises -- grasping, twisting and twining over and around everything in their way, including other plants, reaching for -- what? It's all very Zen.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Gardening: Time to target dandelions is now

Dandelions are among the first plants to green up in spring. This is significant because the lawns and gardens they invade have not. They are easy to spot, and we have a terrific window of opportunity to work on these invasive weeds.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Poenies were made for Alaska

They're badly designed -- over-long stems, way too skinny to hold up the huge blossoms -- and a bit pricey, but for glorious beauty and infinite variety, every garden needs peonies.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Berry update: Where to buy

Bill Yeagle of the Alaska Botanical Garden says there are berries in town worth buying.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Don't be tempted to start planting outside yet

The big temptation when night temperatures seem to stop dipping below freezing is to plant everything outdoors. The experienced Alaska gardener knows this is a big, big mistake.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Carrots grow well in Alaska, with special attention

Eliot Coleman's enthusiasm for growing carrots in cold climates planted the seed. During his visit here last month, the extended-season guru raved about how great carrots grown in cool weather taste -- the colder it gets, the more sugar they produce, he said. Coleman claimed the ones he grows in Maine are so sweet children demand them.

Second UAF greenhouse tunnel collapses

Another high-tunnel greenhouse has collapsed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, but apple tree research shouldn't be affected, officials say.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

A quick guide to Alaska-suited perennials

Now that you've chosen the site for your fast and easy veggie plot, you're ready to plan the rest of your yard -- always keeping in mind that you have a busy life and limited time.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Organics is a gardening 'craze' that's totally sane

While Alaska gardeners may dabble in crazes, our big movement is organics, and based on my observations, we are at the forefront of this movement. Compost, compost teas, animal and plant meals for fertilizers, no rototilling and a grudging willingness to accept dandelions and clover in lawns seem to be prevailing.

Breaking the sod: Tips for first-time gardeners

There's a problem with many gardening books -- even the good ones: they're scary. Anyone who would like to have a garden but already has a full life -- can be forgiven for shying away from dense chapters on digging up the backyard, building raised beds, the chemistry of organic soil amendment or the care and feeding of compost piles.

JEFF LOWENFELS

As snow melts, assess plant damage

I see the paths in the wet snow. People are going out into their yards to check for winter damage as a result of the record snow of 2012. Of course, it is better to wait a bit for the lawn to dry out, but I suppose we can't help ourselves.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Expect visiting speaker to debunk gardening myths

Another public conference heralding the approach of the gardening season happens next Saturday. It's put on by the Anchorage Master Gardeners' association, which sounds a bit daunting but shouldn't. Many of the presentations are aimed at home and weekend gardeners, including beginners and those of us who buy most of our plantlets at local nurseries, rather than growing them from seed.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Keep off the grass as lawns emerge from snow

The only excuse to walk on your lawn until the snow melts and it dries out is if you have to go and get the bird feeders and the bird seed and make sure they are put away in a bear-proof location.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

A little community spirit would supplant red tape

Fact: There are not enough community garden plots in Anchorage to meet the current -- and increasing -- demand. Fact: There is a big, new, community garden at the corner of Bragaw Street and the Glenn Highway that has been sitting unused for three years. Question: What's up with that?

JEFF LOWENFELS

Spring means let sun start seeds

This is the week there is officially enough natural light to start seeds without having to resort to also using artificial sources. Mind you, this applies mostly if you have windows facing south, but you take what you can.

Community garden space renewals due soon

Remember a green earth? Brown soil? Remember flowers and vegetables actually growing outside? Excellent. Then get your mind around the fact that next Saturday, March 31, is the deadline for renewing your lease on the community garden plot you had last summer.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Wanted: Weather, plant observations

A couple of weeks ago I used the word "phenology," which is the study of animal and plant life cycles in relationship to the weather or, more precisely, the climate.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

The versatile berry tastes great, helps garden

This is a time for dreaming. As the days lengthen into spring, while we're pulling out the bulbs and choosing this year's lettuce varieties, it's time to dream of new adventures in food and flowers.

JEFF LOWENFELS

In theory, snow should mean warmer soil

So the big debate these days is the impact of all this year's snow on the garden season. It is, of course, impossible to tell exactly what the impact will be, but there is some science that helps us make some pretty good predictions.

GARDENING ANCHORAGE

Near-record snowfall might delay gardening season

At the Master Gardeners' Rondy table last weekend, among the peat and pots at Alaska Mill and Feed, up and down aisles of yard tools in hardware stores all over town, the joke is the same: "Looks like it'll be July before we get out in the garden this year. Ha ha ha."

JEFF LOWENFELS

Smart gardeners embrace fungi

I spend an awful lot of time on the road during the non-gardening season promoting "Teaming With Microbes" and trying to convince gardeners not to use chemicals. As a result, I get to meet (and re-meet) lots of really interesting, knowledgeable people.