Thanks folks, yea my friends and neighbors were in awe of the tomato tree as well. Last years starts included 9 varieties in 6 cell cubes for a total of 54 plants with the purpose being, looking for some good outdoor types for up here. I had no intention of growing them all but figured if the folks who got them did well with them i’d give them a try in later years. I only kept back a half dozen for me and my kids, the remainder went to to the folks at Church. They were happy but life’s busy and most people never paid attention to who got what so that experiment was a flop. there’s very few successful tomato growers up here due to climatic conditions so those serious about it are all in greenhouses. The Celebrity strain is reputed to do well in some situations out side but at 70, im all but done experimenting so i just stuck with the greenhouse. As you can see it worked so why fix it? I’m sure i’ll start 50 more this year (all celebrity) and be real selective of the couple i keep!
As to pest, we have aphids, saw flies, slugs, some spider mites as well as the various pathogens but to us a really big pest is a momma moose weighing a half ton and dragging a calf along. You’ll notice 6 ft chainlink around my beds but flowers, strawberries etc get worked on sometimes.
@ninnymary In the greenhouse, tomato, cucumber, pole & bush beans, celery parsley and summer squash.
outside, winter squash / pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, beets, peas, kale, Brussels sprouts and lettuce. While responding to the questions and reading others comments i realize the only thing that sets Alaska apart from the rest of the country is the amount of daylight we receive. We’re colder and wetter than most local’s, we have a shorter season than most, we share the same pest and our operational cost are greater from having to ship stuff so far!
A wise Lady once told me, “if your not adaptable, dont take up gardening in Alaska and just because something works this year don’t count on that next year.”
We generally start starting starts, about now for some stuff but the majority of it begins late next month and into March, then most of it spends some time in the greenhouse before going outside. It’ll be very hectic around here by mid March.
The hectic isn’t all centered around the starts and planting, my amendment schedule is huge so bed preparation takes some time then the irrigation lines go in before outside planting starts around May 15th.
And
@thistlebloom, thanks for the follow. Your on my list as well!
