The question isn’t whether you should try growing tomatoes, it’s which kind to try first
Tomatoes are the easiest of fruits to produce from seed, which may be why there are literally tens of thousands of varieties.
Gardening
Pass cold nights thinking about dahlias, begonias and gladioli
These plants are are foolproof and easy to grow. Try them this year.
January seed catalogs are here - it’s time to start planning for spring
There’s everything from hardy vegetables to fruit trees and flowers. Just remember, Alaskans buy local when we can (and keep those invasive plants out).
2018 was the year gardeners drew a line in the soil
Flowers, trees and public gardens are a necessary part of the fabric of Alaska life and for once, gardeners stood up and were counted.
Gift idea for your family ‘yardener’? A robot lawn mower might be perfect.
Some come with GPS. Some have headlights. At least one will run its battery low, go back to its base, charge up for an hour or so and then go out and finish mowing.
Big earthquakes, like gardening in the North, bring Alaskans together
Jeff Lowenfels tells his gardening friends Outside that the 7.0 earthquake actually created a feeling among Alaskans not unlike the feeling gardeners experience when they are around other gardeners.
Here’s our first-ever gardening column with an earthquake angle
Have you ever wondered how trees react to a quake like the one(s) we just had?
Yes, live Christmas trees are fine. Yes, you must recycle them.
But cutting your own tree on public lands is not such a good idea.
How an effort to fund Anchorage’s downtown flowers for the long-term fizzled
After decades of budget battles, gardeners, city staff and downtown businesses worked together to raise money for an endowment fund for flowers. Gardeners only found out recently that it never went anywhere.
Don’t let Alaska’s climate stop you from growing citrus from seeds
There is a way to get these seeds going that really speeds things up.
Indoor plants need fresh air too. Here’s how to give it to them.
A reader wants to know a bit of the science behind why plants need good air circulation.
Alaska-grown poinsettias are among the nation’s best
Alaska gardening: All manner of new varieties with different-colored and -patterned flowers will be introduced this holiday season.
With bears still awake, it’s too early to put out bird feeders
A lack of food will help get bears into hibernation mood.
Snow or not, it’s time to turn on grow lights for your indoor plants
Alaska may end up with a permanently warmer climate, but we will still experience the annual loss of daylight that announces the approach of every winter.
How to use the extra gardening time we’re getting this season
I am actually getting email questions from readers in the Lower 48 who are trying to figure out how to deal with the less temperate weather they are experiencing.
Putting scores of idling school buses next to an organic botanical garden is a bad idea
Another bad idea: spraying glyphosate in green belts to get rid of invasive mayday trees.
Video tour: A Spenard garden, from spring to full bloom
Relive summer one more time with this look at a fantastic floral garden.
Gardeners, forget the what-ifs and take advantage of this weird and wonderful fall weather
Gardeners, imagine all the things we could have been doing if we'd known how long the warm days and nights would continue.
Skip the leaf raking and get your yard ready for winter
The rule is to plan on snow sticking for Halloween, and if I remember, it is pretty cold that night as well.