One Alaskans greenhouse

[Alasgun]

Said a little thank you prayer as i was shutting down the Toyo and walking out! It was a good year; sure seems to have gone by fast though?

Later in March i’ll dig a path from the house to the greenhouse and enjoy the Sun when she comes back around. That’s the time of year them two lawn chairs get the most use!

 

[Alasgun]

And just one day later we awake to the first bit of snow. I don’t expect this to stay but who knows.

The up-side is the weather is looking great for my Yak butchering project on the 19th!

* yesterday i mentioned my little time of reflection as i was shutting down the greenhouse. That time included some prayer time for a dear friend who will not be here to open her greenhouse next year and another fellow who’s chair bound with ALS. These are both folks who thrived on and enjoyed vigorous outdoor lifestyles for many years. Realizing how much older i am than both of them put it in perspective for me and gave me a greater appreciation for the things i hold dear!

The seasons change; like it or not, with us or without us!

 

[nanets]

Due to our short season and the challenges that presents, a greenhouse is essential if you want to reliably grow some things up here.
we grow tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans, bush beans, celery, parsley and summer squash in ours.
initially there were shelves around the sides and we placed smartpots on those shelves.
Well, pretty soon you’ve got everything jamming into the ceiling, making things difficult.
Last winter i upgraded by building the beds shown here. It accomplished a couple things beyond lowering the plants and now the irrigation is more user friendly, the crops have a deeper bed for a better root zone and it’s easier to maintain than with the bags. In the fall all the bags were dumped into brute containers and re-amended for the following year then the bags refilled each spring. Now i just apply the compost in the fall and walk away from it!

just some odd rambling here and a few pictures inside and out. In the spring it’s pretty loaded up till i move all the stuff on the sawhorses etc out to the beds. Then in short order it becomes it’s own jungle!

Wow these are nice. I live in Wyoming, where it is a challenge to garden, but I love growing things. So I'm trying. My husband said next year we will get a small green house so we can start plants early. Never had a green house before. I guess I will learn.

 

[akroberts]

Wow these are nice. I live in Wyoming, where it is a challenge to garden, but I love growing things. So I'm trying. My husband said next year we will get a small green house so we can start plants early. Never had a green house before. I guess I will learn.

You're going to be amazed by the difference it will make for a good headstart on the growing season. I have 2 now because one of my small ones got destroyed in the wind. I'm working on trying to figure out the best plan for next year's garden. Temu has raised metal beds and little greenhouse covers for them too. They're about $60.00, I think.

 

[Alasgun]

Welcome from Alaska; i understand your challenge; after spending 15 years in Western North Dakota. Upon seeing it for the first time; one of General Custers officers replied, “it looks like Hell, with the fire put out”!

This is better but there are still plenty of challenges AND the critters that eat your stuff are Bigger!

 

[Alasgun]

Deep stuff here!!!

While determining whether or not persimmons would work in my local, the vendor started talking about “heat units during the grocery season”! His concern was not based on winter hardiness but did we have enough daytime warmth to ripen the fruit.
Well, the geek in me plugged “heat units during the grocery season” into my search engine and what i found is most amazing. Not only does this site contain a wealth of grow/climate information but there’s even more information about invasive species AND pest management.
It’s all user-friendly stuff so try and wrap your head around things in your area that may interest you.

Using Heat Units to Schedule Vegetable Plantings, Predict Harvest Dates and Manage Crops

Authors: Nick Andrews, Small Farms Program, Oregon State University & Len Coop, Integrated Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University Publish Date: Fall 2011 f11degreeday.jpg Temperature controls the development of many organisms that don’t have complex thermoregulatory systems. This...

smallfarms.oregonstate.edu

 

[akroberts]

Deep stuff here!!!

While determining whether or not persimmons would work in my local, the vendor started talking about “heat units during the grocery season”! His concern was not based on winter hardiness but did we have enough daytime warmth to ripen the fruit.
Well, the geek in me plugged “heat units during the grocery season” into my search engine and what i found is most amazing. Not only does this site contain a wealth of grow/climate information but there’s even more information about invasive species AND pest management.
It’s all user-friendly stuff so try and wrap your head around things in your area that may interest you.

Using Heat Units to Schedule Vegetable Plantings, Predict Harvest Dates and Manage Crops

Authors: Nick Andrews, Small Farms Program, Oregon State University & Len Coop, Integrated Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University Publish Date: Fall 2011 f11degreeday.jpg Temperature controls the development of many organisms that don’t have complex thermoregulatory systems. This...

smallfarms.oregonstate.edu

I'm going to have to give that site a try.

 

[heirloomgal]

Deep stuff here!!!

While determining whether or not persimmons would work in my local, the vendor started talking about “heat units during the grocery season”! His concern was not based on winter hardiness but did we have enough daytime warmth to ripen the fruit.
Well, the geek in me plugged “heat units during the grocery season” into my search engine and what i found is most amazing. Not only does this site contain a wealth of grow/climate information but there’s even more information about invasive species AND pest management.
It’s all user-friendly stuff so try and wrap your head around things in your area that may interest you.

Using Heat Units to Schedule Vegetable Plantings, Predict Harvest Dates and Manage Crops

Authors: Nick Andrews, Small Farms Program, Oregon State University & Len Coop, Integrated Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University Publish Date: Fall 2011 f11degreeday.jpg Temperature controls the development of many organisms that don’t have complex thermoregulatory systems. This...

smallfarms.oregonstate.edu

This is why I moved away from 'days to maturity' references a number of years ago, it's just not a reliable gauge because of temperature variations. I guess it's averaged based on seasonal temp averages, but that's a good guess at best. I'm kind of amazed that dtm's still exist in gardening language when we have heat units, which is so much more precise and accurate.

 

[digitS']

Will those plants ripen a crop in my area in a growing season such as we have just experienced?

It's a very important question. Commercial agriculture has that question for new cultivars and companies need to provide that information. The list on the left of that webpage shows the minimum temperature conditions that different crops can grow. Tomatoes don't grow when it's as cold as broccoli can handle.

Oregon State University published that page in 2011. At that time, the Weather Service had an easy to find list of weather stations with information on their accumulated growing degree days. Not all that many were listed but many. Where that information is now, I don't know. I know where google tells us to find those accumulated growing degree days: Syngenta It's easy to use, at least.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Wow these are nice. I live in Wyoming, where it is a challenge to garden, but I love growing things. So I'm trying. My husband said next year we will get a small green house so we can start plants early. Never had a green house before. I guess I will learn.

you will for sure want to have it well anchored with those winds.