Contributed by Jennifer Castro, Alaska Grown
It's a little too early to begin most of your starter seeds, but there are several things you can start doing now to prepare for a successful growing season.
1. Acquire Supplemental Lighting
Even though we are getting more daylight in Alaska, it is still not enough right now for most of our seeds. We recommend that you add supplemental lighting into your indoor growing space until you are ready to transplant your seeds outside.
2. Order Your Seeds
Make sure you get your seed orders in soon so you will have them in time for our growing season. If you plan on planting vegetables, make sure you order enough seeds for fast-growing produce such as lettuce and spinach which can usually be planted multiple times during the summer.
3. Create a Planting Timeline
Depending on what you are growing, some seeds and varieties grow faster than others - in some cases by months apart. Sort your starter seeds by their germination and maturity dates. Ones that take longer (70+ days), you'll want to start in April.
4. Design and Plan Your Seed Starting Space
We suggest putting any of your seed starters near a south facing window so they can get as much natural daylight as possible. Determine what you are going to initially plant your seeds in. You can use anything from an egg carton to a yogurt cup to an actual seed starting kit which are available at your local gardening stores.
What plants grow well in Alaska?
Leafy greens, spinach, kale, carrots and broccoli do very well in most regions of our state. Corn, peppers and tomatoes grow well in a greenhouse environment.
If you have any questions regarding variety information or general production practices, please reach out to your local extension service or the PMC at 907-745-4469.
