Gardening is not an exact science. Nor is it a complete crapshoot. You can hedge your bets by choosing plants wisely. Those that are labeled dwarf varieties, like Sugar Ann peas or the word "early" will give you every indication that success will be yours.
Here in the Far North, where the growing season is short and unpredictable to say the least, you need to harbor every single advantage to make your flower and vegetable gardens as productive and satisfying as you possibly can. And you can. Trust me.
For those of you who are starting your seeds, I know that you now have auxiliary lighting in place and or clean windows and are ready to tackle the wondrous task of starting your own seeds. For those of you who will, wisely, buy your flowers and vegetables from any of the excellent nurseries locally owned and operated, this will be a guideline for tried and true plants that will lead you in the right direction for success.
You will need four packs. Please do not ever again in your life use a six pack. They are, quite simply, too small. They will crowd the root system producing a weak seedling that will not realize its fullest potential. Use either soilless seed starting material or a nice potting soil ( I have used Whitney Farms successfully for years and years, it is, according to the label, organic, and that is an important piece of the puzzle for me.).
Fill your four packs with the seed starting material of your choice and thoroughly wet with warm water, letting the excess water drain out. Now fill a flat with them so you can easily move them around. Sow two seeds into each cell, this will allow for lack of germination. If both come up, choose the strongest and cut off, do not pull, the other.
Another method is to use a four by four shallow container and fill that with soil and sow the seeds by broadcasting over the surface, cover with a fine layer of more soil and water gently. You will get a load of plants this way. When they have germinated and have developed two true leaves you can separate them and plant individual seedlings into four packs where they will develop a nice root system. You need to be quick if you use this method because if the seedlings get too large you will be tearing at the roots, thus slowing their progress to glory.
Keep the surface evenly moist, a dry surface will stunt, even kill, the very young seedlings. You need to be on this daily, sometimes more often. If you are using the window and the sun if very bright the surface will dry out that much faster. Be vigilant.
Now, you are ready to make choices from the seed rack. O, lovely seed racks. They have blossomed all over town so make your choice. They are usually stocked with plants that will work here. Why wouldn't they be? That would be poor marketing. But I must say that you really can't go wrong with Denali Seeds, they are just so very Alaskan.
Annuals are plants that last one year. They will bloom their hearts out to achieve their end result: throwing seeds for next years crop. Those blooms are what we are after. They will provide early and long lasting color. Annuals are just excellent stuffed into containers (be creative, just be sure to have drainage holes) and tucked around your perennials. They can be cut for bouquets, which will encourage more blooms, unlike perennials. Many of them smell heavenly, and they are as tough as nails.
Alyssum: Usually white you can also find pink, white, rose, violet and blue. This smells like honey and fills in an empty spot rapidly and elegantly. Use it in a hanging basket. If it starts to get straggly as the season progresses, just cut it back and it will take off again.
Bachelor Button: Plant these really close together so they can hold each other up. Use a mix and get pink, red, blue, white and mauve.
Brachyscome: "Swan River Daisy" makes an excellent filler for baskets. Ferny leaves and blossoms in blue, white, purple, sky blue and violet.
Candytuft: Also available in mixed colors, this lovely does so very well in a container where its delicate bloom can best be appreciated. Nice scent and makes a dandy cut flower.
Cosmos: No garden should be without these flowers that absolutely love living in Homer. Again, plant them close together and they will withstand winds and rain. They bloom later in the season and make a striking eye-catching display. Plant them where you will see them from all angles.
Linum rubrum:A deep satiny red five petaled bloom on ferny foliage that has a spreading habit and achieves about 18-inches tall. I like to plant about a dozen of these in a clump. They fill out wonderfully and look ever so elegant. They can anchor a corner nicely.
Godetia: These bloom late, just when everything else is looking ratty and tatty, these will burst into bloom and you will wonder how you ever lived without them. If you choose to stuff them into a container, where they will look wonderful, set the container back out of the way until they come into bloom or else you will be looking at that container all season wondering when something is going to happen. These do very well tucked around perennials.
Malva: The Far North's answer to hollyhocks. They achieve huge height and need to be clumped against a wall or fence. Resist the urge to line them up against that wall, or lined up they will look....
Lobelia: That classic hanging plant in baskets. You can't have enough.
Marigolds: French, Signet, African: There is a marigold for every taste. And you can't kill them. They will take heat, cold, dry, wet, wind. Perfect for the mailbox planter on a gravel road.
Note: I am out of room so this will continue next week to be followed by biennials, perennials, tubers and bulbs. Goodness, so many plants so little space.
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
