Howdy!

Alaskan

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
1,127
Reaction score
3,183
Points
195
Location
Kenai Peninsula
Nice to be here.

I have been on BYC and BYH but never got around to getting on here.

There were a HUGE list of questions suggested...

But... I am thinking maybe I should start a journal page to run through that huge list.

So briefly, Howdy from Alaska..

Spring here... so oodles of snow still coming down and in the near future.

What can I say.. warmer weather (20s and low 30s) equals gobs of snow.
 

Britesea

Sustainability Master
Joined
Jul 22, 2011
Messages
5,676
Reaction score
5,732
Points
373
Location
Klamath County, OR
Welcome to Sufficient Self! We are on the dry side of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon at just short of a mile up. There are records of snow every month of the year here, and very little rain, so gardening is more of an art than a science, lol. I am slowly developing an array of crops that give us a fairly reliable harvest in a 90 day window. This year, I'm trying some leeks that supposedly only need 75 days, and some winter squash that was popular among the Ute Indians in Utah (pretty dry there, too). Some tepary bean landraces- maybe be able to select for early finish and extra drought resistance, and I have some tomatoes that are so early that the volunteers that popped up in the garden in June gave me tomatoes before the greenhouse grown plants that I got from the nursery. Also gonna try Painted Mountain corn for masa for tortillas. As I understand it, the reason it does well even in mountainous short seasons (like us!) is that the plants are quite short, and the ears have a small core, so it is able to put more time into actually growing the kernels (not a real high yield, but ANY yield is a win, here). I also have seeds of Black Tail Mountain watermelon, which is supposed to be good for northern climes, but I haven't grown them yet, as well as Tommy Apple melons, which are the only melon that ever gave me a harvest here. Now if I can just get some chickens that will actually go broody and take care of sustaining the flock, I'll be happy.
 

wyoDreamer

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
Sep 29, 2014
Messages
1,798
Reaction score
2,443
Points
267
:welcome
Welcome from Wisconsin, and I get ya on the weather. We are having a warmish spring, but we got snow last night. It will be in the 50's this weekend again, but only 34* here today.
 

Lazy Gardener

Super Self-Sufficient
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
4,626
Reaction score
5,876
Points
292
Location
Central Maine, Zone 4B
We don't get weather swings here...

Pretty stable actually.

A 10 degree shift for us is seen as big.

Right now we are in low 20s.
You have me totally perplexed. Day/night temp shifts... seasonal temp shifts? You are in Alaska, yes? I do believe you benefit from warmer climate being brought up by the ocean currents. What is your lattitude? I'm 44.6 here. Winter lows here can go to minus 20*F, but the last 2 winters, we've only seen -10 for lows. Current day highs have been anywhere from 15* to 48*. Night time lows are single digits to mid 20's. Frost usually out of the ground around April 15 - 21.
 

Alaskan

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
1,127
Reaction score
3,183
Points
195
Location
Kenai Peninsula
Our swing from low to high today (in town) was 13 to 29. Hummmm

So I guess I should have said a 20 degree change is seen as big.

Ok... that makes more sense...

But anyway... very stable temps, I am right close to the ocean... 15 minute drive away, but up at 1,300 feet elevation.

Latitude 59!

But we tend to just sit in a temp range... so at 13 min to 29 max for a week... and then maybe higher or lower... but then stick there for a week.

None of that crazy Texas nonsense where you are broiling... then you see this wall of dark come running towards you... then pouring rain... then sleet.

The lowest it has gotten since I have lived up here (just over 20 years) was -20 for lows... but again... it just sat there for a couple of weeks... then a bit warmer for a few weeks... you get the drill.

And being on the coast warmth is a thing we don't get.

We see days that hit 60 as high summer. Some years we get 4 days of summer, some years 2 weeks, and one year we had about 6 weeks!

Anyway... makes the snow melt sloooooowly.
 

JanetMarie

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Jun 29, 2018
Messages
548
Reaction score
1,078
Points
192
Location
SW Michigan
WELCOME Alaskan! Interesting reading about your temps. I could definitely tolerate a top temperature of 70F.
 

Alaskan

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
1,127
Reaction score
3,183
Points
195
Location
Kenai Peninsula
We don't get weather swings here...

Pretty stable actually.

A 10 degree shift for us is seen as big.

Right now we are in low 20s.
 

Alaskan

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Mar 16, 2021
Messages
1,127
Reaction score
3,183
Points
195
Location
Kenai Peninsula
Oh... planting here is May... and nothing that likes heat can go into the ground without a greenhouse.

Peas and lettuce though, are very happy.
 

Latest posts

Top