We are now half way through our growing season here in Alaska. It seems like yesterday when we planted, and I’m sure it will seem like just a few days and we’re harvesting and done. I just thought I’d give you all an update on what’s happening there. If you’d like to watch the YouTube tour of my garden, you can view it here.

Potatoes: The potatoes are growing so well. The past couple of years have been hard as we had our soil nutrient levels off and we got very few potatoes. We usually grow plenty to last for an entire year including seed potatoes for the following spring. But not the last couple of years, so this year I am so excited, the plants look so healthy and happy!

Carrots: The carrots this year are about half great, and half ok. One end of the garden doesn’t seem to be doing well, and it’s the opposite end from what we’ve experienced in the past. But they are all growing, and the harvest should be good.

Beets: I have grown beets off and on for almost 25 years. One year, not too long ago, I got a fantastic harvest. It made me think I could grow beets. Not so this year, yet again. I do have some growing, but definitely not enough to preserve for the winter. I’ll have to get some from a local farm.

Greens: We have so much lettuce in various varieties. They are growing so well, and we’ve been eating salads every day or two for the past 2-3 weeks. I love the fresh greens of summer and wish I could produce them on a larger scale all winter.

Onions: The onions sprouted before everything else, mainly because I used bulbs. They have the same issue as the carrots, one end is doing fantastic, the other end not so fantastic, but still good. We’ve started to pick off a few green tops here and there for salads and things.

Cauliflower: I haven’t grown cauliflower in a few years as I just wasn’t having much success, but this year they are setting heads and doing great. I’m excited to get a few meals out of those as I didn’t plant a ton because I hadn’t had very good success in the past few years.

Cabbage: Cabbages are growing, but ever so slowly. They haven’t really started to set heads which feels a little late to me, and the plants aren’t as big as I would have thought they should be. I almost wonder if it’s the heat we’ve had this summer. I’m hoping they get bigger and are just slow.

Broccoli: All my broccoli bolted except 2 plants this year. This was extremely frustrating. We did eat the little shoots for quite a while, but I have given up and let them go to seed. On the plus side, the flowers are attracting a ton of bees, which should help the garden in other areas. I did get 2 good heads thought, which were delicious.

Zucchini: The zucchini took forever to take off, but they are finally producing flowers. Male flowers, but it’s a start. I had almost given up on them when they started to take off. Hopefully we’ll get a few good ones for breads and relish.

Rhubarb: The rhubarb has grown so well this year, we’ve made the BBQ sauce, pies, crisps, and syrups. I love rhubarb. I’m glad it grows so well here.

In the Greenhouse:

Tomatoes: The tomato plants are huge and have tons of tomatoes on them. Some are finally starting to turn red. We are all so excited for the first taste of homegrown tomatoes in the next week or so.

Green Beans: These were such an afterthought, but I picked a large handful the other day and we had roasted green beans, and they were fantastic. There are a bunch more to pick today, and I am excited they did so well.

Cucumbers: I have never grown cucumbers before, and this year has had a good learning curve. I don’t know that we’ll get very many cucumbers, but they are growing and I finally have a few female flowers that I’ve pollinated, so fingers crossed!

Peppers: I need to figure out the aphid thing a little bit earlier next year. My peppers are finally aphid free, but they aren’t putting on any more flowers. We have gotten 4 jalapenos and have a couple more still growing. Each of the bell pepper bushes has 1 pepper on it, so we’ll get a couple of those.

Herbs: All the herbs are growing great, there’s Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, and Chocolate Mint. The oregano I didn’t get harvested soon enough and it’s all gone to flowers, but they’re beautiful. I have used a ton of Basil and it’s just loving the greenhouse heat. The only herb I think might do better outside is the parsley, it grew way better last year outside.

Test Plot: I planted some seed just a few weeks ago in an extra bed, Spinach, Leafy Greens, Radishes, Dill, and Celery. The leafy greens haven’t sprouted and the celery hasn’t either. Everything else is growing well and I should have enough to harvest in a couple of weeks, except the dill.

Berries:

Strawberries: They are growing great, producing a fair amount of strawberries, and the mice and birds are really enjoying them. I have been able to beat them to the ripe berries only a couple of times.

Raspberries: The raspberries are growing like crazy. I have more new shoots than I’ve had in a while, and the berries on last years canes are growing great. They’ will probably start ripening in a week to 10 days, and then we’ll have a ton of raspberries to do things with. I am excited as this is one of my favorites!

Blueberries: I planted 2 varieties of blueberries, a Polaris and a Haskap. The Haskap didn’t produce berries this year as it needed a second plant, which I planted this spring, but it hasn’t done well. I think it’s finally starting to recover, but we’ll find out next year. The Polaris are producing a ton of berries, which should be ready in the next 2 weeks or so.

Gooseberry: I have never seen a gooseberry before I bought a bush. The berries are starting to turn read, which I assume is a good sign! I am excited to try this new berry this year.

Currants: I planted one of my two current bushes, and the berries are turning red. The other one still needs to get planted sooner than later so it can develop a good root structure before winter, but I still haven’t gotten to it.

And that’s what we’re growing. Lots of work, but lots of enjoyment and good food. Here is that link to my YouTube if you missed it above.