When to Order Seeds?

Radishes

 I know this seems a weird question to many people. Of course, you get seeds just before you are ready to plant. While it is probably true that you can get some type of carrot seed anytime you want to buy it, you may not be able you got the variety you want. During the winter/spring of 2021 some seeds were very hard to find. Many popular varieties were sold out by February. Well that's no big deal, just buy another variety. Well if a variety is sold out that's probably because it's very popular. It's popular because it provides excellent yield, great flavor, or maybe both. It may be "new" and in short supply anyway. Seed is usually viable for at least a couple of years so order early.

I bought my 2022 seeds in November of 2021 from Johnny's Selected Seeds. One item I wanted won't be available until March of 2022. I ordered the rest and will get that one variety as soon as it's available. Fortunately, that particular seed doesn't have to be started in January or even April. It can be direct seeded so no big deal. But for the 2021 season I didn't order until January of 2021 and some of the varieties I wanted had already been sold out. I substituted for other varieties but I was not happy.

Green Onions

 Sometimes if you order your seeds all at once you will get free shipping  because you exceeded some dollar threshold. The companies that offer "free" shipping generally charge more for a packet of seeds so be careful when you order and look closely at shipping charges. And there are some that charge a premium price for shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, etc. Why does that matter. I tried to order a specific variety of pepper from a company. The seeds were expensive to start with plus they charged shipping. There was also a shipping surcharge for Alaska. That one packet of seeds would have cost me $21.50. But the seed packet price was $6.75. Needless to say I didn't order from that company.

Research the varieties you want to grow. Make a list. Go to several websites. Do the "baskets" and check on the shipping. Talk to your gardening friends. You can save a lot of money on seeds by shopping around. It just takes time. In the winter, what else is there to do. Just kidding. This is a shopping trip that you can do from you kitchen table.

Lastly, be wary of some vendors on Amazon. While Amazon stands behind their products sometimes the vendors don't send you the things you ordered. If you put cabbage, turnip, and kohlrabi  seeds next to each other you won't be able to tell them apart. Seed sellers can't either. Use a trusted source. Also if you order direct from the vendor on their own website you may get a better deal.

Have fun! See you in the garden!

The 2022 Season has Begun

 I know it seems early to be talking about the 2022 gardening season. Yet I have been studying seed catalogs for about 6 weeks. Have been deciding what to discontinue and what new things we should be the next experiment. Most of the last week has had single digit highs and below zero lows and I ordered seeds. Just about everything is on it's way for the new season. We will begin planting at the end of January and that's not very far away. Looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt again. The tentative schedule for 2022 plantings follows.

Jan 29        Petunias, lobelia, leeks, and onions

Feb 29        Peppers

Mar 19        Repot things planted on Jan 29.

April 9        Brassicas

April 30    Zukes

May 1        Begin hardening off, weather permitting

May 1-8    Till, potatoes and peas in the ground

May 15-21    Brassicas in the garden, peppers in the beds

May 22-28    Zukes in the ground and rest of the seeds planted.

May 29    Weeding begins

June 24    Harvest radishes and bok choi

Hopefully all will be well in 2022. Thanks for reading and stay safe. 

Award Winning Garden

 In 2019 and 2021 I entered crops in the Alaska State Fair. In 2019 the crops entered did quite well with firsts, a second, and thirds. There was no fair in 2020 because of COVID-19. In 2021 I also entered crops from the garden. This year there was a division champion, many firsts, two seconds, and an honorable mention. In the picture below the white ribbons and left are from 2019. The ones to the right are from 2021. The exquisite quilt was a gift from Donna Dooley who lives down the street from Bonnie and I. I thought it would be a great medium to display the awards. As you can see I will have to find a different way to display awards from next year, if there are any.

2019 and 2021 Awards

I have been asked by some why the awards are important. Isn't it enough just to provide food for those in need through the Lutheran Social Services of Alaska (LSSA) food pantry and other places? I have to say

"Red" Cabbage

that the awards show people receiving the produce that the food is excellent quality. Often food pantries and other places that feed those in need get the left overs, the expired or nearly expired foods. The garden provides fresh, excellent quality, fantastic tasting food for those served. Though I haven't talked with many I know the quality and freshness of the food is greatly appreciated by our clientele. The quantity and quality allows the food pantry and others to use at least some money in other areas of need than having to purchase fresh food. The garden also provides foods that are not usually available in pantries. Leeks, onions, and carrots are seldom seen in food pantries because even low quality produce of these varieties bring premium prices in the grocery stores and farmer's markets.

Habaneros

Prior to 2019 I was reluctant to enter anything in the Alaska State Fair because of my lack of experience and I did not think the produce was award worthy. I was blown away in 2019 when I won awards. I was amazed at being awarded division champion in 2021 for a lovely "red" cabbage. I am aware that the exhibits at the state fair are beauty contests. However, in most cases the 

Leeks

beauty is much more than skin deep. Pretty food is also most often tasty. It shows good care and hard work in growing winning entries. I look forward to the garden producing more award winning crops in 2022.

2021 The Year of COVID-19

Potato Harvest

Onion Thinnings

Using the protocols of masks and distancing we were fortunate that no one working in the garden during the 2021 season got COVID. Actually the pandemic might have been a boon for the garden. We had more volunteers than ever. People came for a half hour or for many hours a week for many weeks. A very special thanks to all the volunteers of 2021 from January to October.

"Red" Cabbage

Radishes

In January of 2021 we planted petunias, lobelia, leeks, and peppers. In March these all were repotted. The lobelia and petunia seeds are really tiny so they were just sprinkled on some media to sprout and begin the process. They really grow slowly. These were made to put in baskets that we hang on the garden fence. The peppers were started about 3 weeks to a month to early so they will be planted later in 2022.

Turnips

The spring was quite cool so the planting was what I thought was late. However the first radish harvest was almost the exact day of the previous year. The final harvest for 2021 was 4,948 pounds. Smashing the old record of 2019 by about 800 pounds. I was truly amazed. So while the summer was generally cool the garden still flourished. Everyone is looking forward to 2022 and hopefully a new record harvest.

Zukes

 

We had a couple of turnips this year that were nearly 5 pounds each. They were not woody at all and tasted excellent. There were also a few carrots that were nearly a pound each. Many of the potatoes were more than a pound and a half. You have to love the long summer days in Anchorage. The plants just keep making that sugar. All day and nearly all night making things sweeter and sweeter. That's one of the big reasons our produce is so tasty.

Carrots

2020 Over?

  

This is a post I wrote at the season end in 2020 and never published. So will do it now and put a few more out about 2021. Sorry for be so neglectful of this blog. I will try to do better in the future. If you are interested in helping with this blog please let me know.

As 2020 comes to an end I have been once again neglecting this blog. Seems July was only yesterday but alas it was four months ago. The garden did flourish this year. The goal of 4500 pounds did not happen but with nearly 3800 at the Lutheran Social Services Food Pantry I would call the season a success. Next year hopefully we will do better. Since the gardens inception in 2015 we have grown more than 8.4 tons (16,800+ pounds) of produce. With a little luck we can go over 10 tons in 2021.

The biggest crop for the year was turnips coming in at more than 1100 pounds. The biggest surprise of the year was dill. That harvest was nearly 26 pounds, that's a lot of dill. We did have some vandalism this year that effected the harvest. With the location I guess it's to be expected but is was still distressing.

There won't be any fava beans planted in 2021. They have not be very successful for 2 years now so they are going to go by the wayside. Next season pole beans will be tried in there place. We will have to sacrifice some of the pea space for the beans. We will see if the substitute works out okay. I'm also going to put in a horse radish patch. Haven't decided where to put it yet but it will be enclosed so the roots don't escape into the rest of the garden. I will be changing the cultivars of carrots and beets in 2021. This change is based on results from some tests done by the Cooperative Extension Service in 2019. The change could increase the yield by as much as 20% with no sacrifice and quality or taste.

I'm also thinking about building two more elevated boxes. The elevated boxes are much easier to maintain than the main garden so the increment of work is not appreciable. They work really well for some of the crops and having 8 will allow for more "rotation" of the things that get grown in them. The onions do much better in the boxes than being direct seeded in the garden. The soil is probably too cold for good germination. The boxes are also every easy to make into a mini-greenhouse. All you have to do is put some hoops on and cover with plastic.