Pushing the Zone in AlaskaAnchorage, Alaska, has a pretty short growing season, which is cool (55-65 F) and tends to be overcast much of the time. So, having a greenhouse would be great. Not having enough room for one on my urban lot, I fortunately discovered raised beds, and to extend the season, hoop beds. Hope you will enjoy my journey into new gardening worlds.
Plan Well for Your First Pond or Plan on Redoing It the Following YearI imagine that some people build, or have built, ponds and get it right the first time. I suspect that most of us build one and then learn all about the issues we should have looked into before the big outlay. I had my entire back yard landscaped, including a 2800 gallon pond with waterfalls, with hardly a thought. Oh my, what a mistake. The following article shows the errors, the afterthoughts, the redux, and the final product. Still not perfect, but as good as could be done within the original parameters.
Composting over Winter in Cold WeatherComposting can be a challenge in Alaska, where the weather is cool in summer and very cold for a long time in winter, but I think I have finally found a wonderful solution so I won't have to pitch out my kitchen scraps all winter and will have a hot compost ready for spring. Note black compost bins buried in the snow.
