Gardening in Alaska

Ahh, the sun! All 20 plus hours of it. What do you do with all of that sunshine when it's out? One could go for a walk, run, play in the park, swim, hike, fish . . . garden. Garden? While the summer sun may inspire countless numbers to get out of the house and fix their adrenaline needs,  we like to add a little bit of good ole' fashion gardening to the mix.
When we decided to move to Alaska, we knew that having a garden would be a must-do. But, how do you raise vegetables in poor soil in a yard the size of a postage stamp, that you don't own, when summer temperatures rarely get above 65 degrees? You use containers. Through a combination of owner provided containers (7) and some custom-made cedar boxes made from fencing materials, we have managed to start quite the little garden. We'll see if we can get some harvests before the mid-night sun returns to its cozy orbit around  the rest of the globe.

This first attempt at an Alaskan garden includes: and herb pot with basil, oregano, parsley, sage; peas; spinach; salad mix; beets, turnips, parsnips, and carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, zucchini, dill, green onion, and swiss chard. So far, everything is growing great. We are really looking forward to the harvest, and we should be eating fresh salad and spinach in about a week. Until then, we have relied heavily on the local farmer's market.  Next year we plan on growing a bigger variety, and a greater quantity.