The Master Gardener Articles

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A Master Gardener’s Impressions of Anchorage, Alaska
Submitted by Johanna Keiser, Union County Master Gardener

Anchorage, Alaska was our destination for a two-week flying trip last fall.  As a Union County Master Gardener, I was interested in observing their planting and gardening practices. Their climate was quite different - average annual temperature- 35.7 degrees F. and typical summer high temperatures in the mid 60’s.  The longest day of the year in Anchorage is on summer solstice (June 20-21), when there is 19 hours and 20 minutes of daylights. The shortest day is in late December, with 5 hours and 29 minutes of daylight.

The growing season is about 120 days long, with the first frost-free day is at the end of April and the first frost hits in the middle of September. An average growing season is mid-May through mid-September. Changes in elevation of 500 feet in the “Anchorage Bowl” can shorten a growing season by one week on each end.

The parks with flower gardens in downtown Anchorage and the beautiful hanging baskets from their downtown street lights were impressive.  An employee is hired to take care of the baskets exclusively during the summer.  Many individual homes also had fine flower gardens.  Anchorage is also the site of a beautiful 110 acre botanical garden.  A one-mile trail leads through the garden with 480 varieties of plants. Other trails crisscross the grounds, which include perennial, rock and herb gardens. 

A forty mile trip north on the Glenn Highway led us to the Alaskan State Fair in the Mat-Su Valley at Palmer. The fair appeared to be about the same size as the Plain City Fair used to be.  The area has become the state’s major agricultural region. In 1935, the federal government located 200 farm families from the Depression-ridden Midwest. Some of these early farms remain around Palmer.

Excellent growing conditions of rich soil combined with long hours of summer sunlight results in some huge vegetables. Of course, they compete for the best as we do in the lower 48.  Some of the winners in the vegetable category of 2005 Fair were:  85 lb. cabbage grown by a ten-year old girl; 168 lb. watermelon; 942 lb. pumpkin; 90 lb. squash; 425 lb. parsnip; corn with a height of 13.3 feet; a table beet of 32.45 lb. and a white radish weighing 13.15 lb.  Viewing this display was quite an amazing site to this Ohio gardener!