Anchorage Daily News

According to the statistics, food gardening is going to be way up this year. The sales of vegetable seeds are at least 35 percent higher than last year.

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GARDEN CALENDAR (3/19/09)

ALASKA BOTANICAL GARDEN ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCE: April 3-4, featuring Paul Stemets, master mycologist. Space is limited for this must-attend event. Go to www.alaskabg.org.

CLASS ON VERMICULTURE at Alaska Mill and Feed: March 28. Learn about worm composting from a master gardener. Bin styles, setup and successful production will be discussed. 10 a.m. Free. Class size is limited. Call 276-6016 to sign up.

FLOWERS TO START: Lobelia, snapdragons, carnation, Verbena, Pelagonium, gladioli.

HERBS TO START: Lavender, lovage, lemon balm, oregano

VEGETABLES TO START: Tomatoes if you have a greenhouse

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The reasons are not hard to find. First is the economy. More people are staying home instead of vacationing, taking what the media is calling "staycations." Many are planting gardens because they plan on staying home all summer. Those of us who have gardens know gardening is fun, relaxing and gets the family outdoors.

The second reason for the growing popularity of gardening is that many Americans are going to try to grow their own food because they think it will be cheaper. While there will be plenty of what I call "$40 tomatoes," most will save some money over the long run.

Third, more and more people are concerned about what they buy at the store. These folks want to know where their food comes from and how it is grown. They don't want sugar substitutes they wouldn't eat sprayed on their strawberries. They don't want peppers laden with poison. They want food they can trust.

All of these are great reasons to grow some of your own food, but as noted last week, you have to start seeds in Alaska at the proper time or else end up with spindly plants because they have been in pots too long, or miss an opportunity because you won't have enough time to grow them. Check the calendar that accompanies this column. It will tell you when you need to start what.

A few caveats: First, unless you have a greenhouse or an unbelievably sunny bay window, you will still need lights to grow healthy plants, at least through March. Most things will do OK without lights starting in April, but even then you might consider using lights as well.

Anyhow, this is March and it is time to start some of your favorites. Garden thyme is one that really needs to be started now in compost or humus. Outside, this is treated as a perennial and only lightly harvested the first year. Here, go for the whole plant before frost kills it off this fall. The seeds are small and should be sprinkled on the surface and only lightly covered. Once they germinate, they are slow growers and they do take patience. It is quite a ways yet until you can plant outdoors.

Onions need to be started now if you are growing from seeds. If you want to wait, you usually can find "sets" or "starts" in April that are already growing. These are shallow-rooted plants and should be monitored carefully so they get enough water.

It might be a bit early to plant chives if you don't use 4-inch or larger pots, but I like to plant them along with onions. The seeds germinate in the dark, so make sure to cover them with soil and consider covering the pot with newspaper. As with onions, their roots are shallow and plants will need to be watered a bit more often than many other plants you grow.

Now is a great time to get garlic from the supermarket and try potting some up. Look for cloves that are already showing some signs of sprouting and pot up one clove per 4-inch pot with the tip just below the surface of the soil. If yours grow, transplant outdoors after hardening off when the last frost has hit.

For those who don't have lights, now is the time to at least go out and buy a few seed packets. April is only a couple of weeks away!

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at teamingwithmicrobes.com or by calling 274-5297 during "The Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays on KBYR AM-700.

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