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.

July at an end

It's the end of July. The days are getting shorter, though we really don't notice yet. The weather has been very good for gardeners. There has been lots of sun and pretty much normal rainfall for July. Still have to water but certainly not as much as last year. We finally have the weeds "under control" and can start focusing on increasing our crop.

Turnips

Turns out, as usual, the turnips are doing quite well. The harvest has been more than 850 pounds to date. The tur

nip patch is now empty. I will fertilize the area again and plant a second crop. Last year was the first time I did this but I didn't fertilize again. The turnips were small but plentiful. Hopefully with the additional fertilizer they will do better. If the frost holds off till the middle of September we should do well. The harvest so far is much more than the two crops last year.

I changed the variety of broccoli (arcadia) and the heads were much, much better. However there doesn't seem to be many subsequent smaller heads. Will have to w

Washing Station

ait and see with the broccoli. I could certainly have more food if I just planted more cabbage or sprouts. Not sure of the best solution. Will kick it around for a while and see what shakes out.

Zucchini

We did a little experiment with the zucchini this year. I had about 25 seeds left over after the initial potting up and starting the plants. The week we put the squash plants in the ground I germinated the "extra" seeds between moist paper towels in a plastic bag. Once they had a root we took them out and put them in the ground. They did indeed grow just fine. We are harvesting summer squash from those plants just like we are from the seedlings we planted. Now you cannot tell the difference between the "regular starts" and the germinated seeds. The zukes so far is just shy of 200 pounds.

A little update on the potatoes. They got planted too close together so last week I went through and thinned them. I removed every other plant and now you can't tell I even took any out. I probably should have waited a couple of weeks and then could have had a crop of new potatoes. Oh, well! They are just beginning to blossom and that's always a good sign. Look forward to the harvest in October.

The only thing in the garden this year that seems to be having difficulty is the beets. They are sparse and slow. Same thing happened last year. I will have to do some study and try to figure out what the problem may be. Won't certainly have a resolution to report on until next summer about this time. But I will definitely write it up next year.

All is well with the garden. The Lord has definitely blessed us this year. Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Really, June Is Nearly Over

 

Turnips

It doesn't seem possible that June is nearly over. Where has the time gone? An update is in order. The kale and collards have been brought into plain sight. They were so overgrown by grass and weeds it was difficult to tell things were really planted in the space. The cabbage is doing very well. The Brussels sprout were nearly done in by some neighbors escaped live stock (partridge). But they are growing and we will see what happens. The turnips should be ready in two or three weeks. The beans are up but don't look great. The leeks and chard are doing very well. The peppers are in varying stages of maturity but that's the way they always seem to be. Actually everything is doing pretty well just slower than I would like, but that's the way it always works out.

Kale & Collards

In the picture above are the turnips after doing most of the weeding. To the right are where the kale and collards live. The picture to the right shows what the kale and collards looked like after the weeding was done. There is quite a difference.

We will have the first radishes tomorrow, June 29. With a little luck we will harvest the first zucchini this coming weeks as well. We will also harvest the first pok choi at the end of the week.

Oh, and the seed potatoes I got this year were quite small but they seem to be doing just fine. They may have been planted a little close together but that will just mean  smaller potatoes at harvest time.

Since we are harvesting the radishes we will also be planting more. Same with the pok choi.

The Apple Orchard

Orchard Planting

There are two apple trees in front of the parsonage (State Fair and Norland) that were planted by Pastor Ottum while he and his family lived there. These are mature trees that bear between 150 and  300 pounds of apples each year. These trees need to be pruned severely to make them easy to harvest and better producers. Each year I work on them a little more.

There are two trees inside the garden fence (State Fair and Carroll). I grafted them onto hardy root stock the spring of 2017. They were about 18 inches tall when I planted them. One was pulled out by vandals late in October of 2017. I put it back in the ground but the ground was  mostly frozen. This tree did not survive. The lonely survivor will bear some fruit in 7 or 8 years. The survivor is about three feet tall now.

Blossoms Closeup

Five trees north of the garden (Norland, Zestar, and Prairie Magic) will produce a harvest in 3 to 4 years. If they all survive and produce well we could be harvesting 300 to 400 pounds of apples in the coming years. Three of the "orchard" trees did produce some apples in 2018. The Prairie Magic has very tasty fruit. The trees had a bad year in 2019. June and July were very dry. I did not water the trees and they suffered from the lack of water. The only apples on them were very hard and very small.

Parsonage Apple Tree 2018

The orchard is fenced the same as the garden to keep the hungry moose out in the winter. They don't seem to bother the trees in the summer time. The fence is 7.5 ft. tall so should keep them out.

As expected only one of the trees has any blossoms in 2020. The Prairie Magic has blossoms but it's too early to tell if there will be any fruit. Hope springs eternal. The blossoms on the parsonage trees are sparse this year as well. Hopefully we will still get some apples from the trees. If not the goal of 4500 lbs for 2020 will be very difficult to reach.

Sometime in the future I may try my hand at making cider. There should be plenty of apples to press. This is another investment in equipment so only time will tell.

June Already?

Where does the time go. I have been going to do an update and all of a sudden it's June. All is well at the garden. The brassicas are in the ground and doing well. The turnips and peas are up. Green beans just showed yesterday. But the first thing up this year was the Swiss chard. No onions or carrots up yet but I am hopeful. Planted 70+ zucchini this year and they seem to be doing fine. At least they all appear to have new growth which is a good indication they survived the transplant. The peppers are doing well in their mini green houses. Planted two varieties of radish this year. One was the standby, rover, from Johnny's and a wasabi radish that was gifted to me by a friend. It's green and should be interesting. Still have to finish planting the potatoes and the fava beans are yet to go in the ground. With luck all should be done by Sunday. 

I did a little experiment as well this year. I had some zucchini seeds left over so I put them between a couple of wet paper towels and put them in a plastic bag. I knew they would sprout. My wife put the sprouted seeds in the garden. Will see what happens with them.

Wash Station

Had a couple of repairs to the irrigation system to make and added a sprinkler head. Everything is working well. This was one of the best things I did in the garden.

I modified a work bench that was donated. Shorted the height. Flipped the boards on the top and added a screen that we have used to wash the veggies. I also installed a slanted "runway" to channel the wash water away from feet and legs. Hope it works better than the two tables.

Shooting for 4500 pounds this year. Hope we can do it.