Talk Dirt To Me

Gardening in Alaska presents big challenges, whether it's the extra effort in finding plants tough enough to survive our Zone 2-4 climate, communicating with like-minded Alaska gardeners, or keeping up with the latest trends, issues and solutions. We'll try to help with that. We'll also tour gardens from Homer to Anchorage to Wasilla to Willow whenever we get the chance, and post the best garden photos around. Presenting a forum about cold-weather gardening and for cold-weather gardeners is what we are all about. We hope you'll join us on the Talk Dirt garden blog.

Photographer and gardener Fran Durner (fdurner@adn.com) writes the blog.


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2009 Garden galleries

Images from a full year of gardening in Alaska.

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Columnist

Jeff Lowenfels

A member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame, Jeff writes a weekly column on gardening in Alaska.

RECENT COLUMNS

Time to turn your thoughts to house plants

Chase the winter gloom with holiday blooms

Lighting up is a must if you want to be a winter gardener

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Multimedia

Great Pumpkin Weigh-off

Primulas with Jane Baldwin

Healthy Gardening Part 1

Healthy Gardening Part 2

Gnome Man's Land

Alaska Future Farmer

Splitting dahlias with Amelia Walsh

2008 Anchorage garden tour

Deadheading and seed collecting

Lord of the gourd

Harvesting herbs from your garden

Bugs of summer

Topiary animals

Rock garden

Bugs of Summer: The good, the bad and the squishy

Recycle this!

Hardening off new plants

The Spring Garden

Municipal Greenhouse Gardeners

Pond Garden

Flower and Garden Show

Hummingbird sighting

Fair Flower Entries

Giant Cabbage Weigh-off

Garden clubs and associations

Alaska Botanical Garden

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Alaska Peony Growers Association

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North Root Big Lake Gardeners

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Archive

Moose-free garden? - 11/5/2009 8:23 am

Book review: Black Plants - 10/29/2009 3:46 pm

November Garden Calendar - 10/28/2009 2:49 pm

Fall means apples and winter veggies - 10/26/2009 6:12 pm

Botany of Desire airs on Wednesday - 10/25/2009 5:39 pm

Some changes proposed for muni Horticulture Section - 10/22/2009 11:47 am

Verna and Frank Pratt recognized - 10/20/2009 10:35 am

Birds are gardeners' companions - 10/18/2009 6:58 pm

Anchorage is one of the best cities for community gardens - 10/14/2009 3:18 pm

Fall colors Outside - 10/14/2009 11:26 am

Take advantage of the sun to mow your leaves. - 10/12/2009 4:09 pm

A gardener's conundrum - 10/11/2009 5:00 pm

Out of the office and in the garden - 10/1/2009 5:07 pm

October Garden Calendar - 9/30/2009 11:25 am

Yes Virginia, maples can grow in Alaska - 9/29/2009 4:21 pm

TREErific tree tour on Wednesday at UAA - 9/28/2009 2:26 pm

Dig, bake and eat potatoes in Palmer Friday - 9/24/2009 4:09 pm

Still time to harvest - 9/23/2009 4:52 pm

Termination dust signals the end of summer - 9/22/2009 4:04 pm

I know you have photos, I know you do... - 9/17/2009 8:41 pm

More mushroom walks this weekend - 9/16/2009 8:47 am

Gardening grows camraderie - 9/15/2009 10:43 am

full archive »

Compost bins available again

Posted by talkdirt

Posted: July 8, 2009 - 2:45 pm

View July Garden Calendar
View Garden Gallery
Submit Your Garden Photos!

Has anyone produced compost with their bin yet? How did it go? Please let us know.

If you missed the opportunity to buy a composting bin during the Muni-sponsored Dirt Day in May, another 1,000 bins have arrived and are available at the same price of $50. Information is available on the Anchorage Soil & Water Conservation District website, including a pre-order form that must be sent in with your check before pick-up.

The bins can be picked up at the Anchorage S&WC Woodlot at C St. and 100th Ave. during their open hours, Thursday through Sunday, 9am-7pm.

Speaking of the Woodlot, two sizes of wood chip mulch are available for free in unlimited quantities. There is a small charge for loading your pickup or dumptruck but you can shovel it yourself for free. Firewood is also available for free, first come, first served. If you are clearing your land of brush and trees, bring it to the Woodlot to help supply all that free material. The charge to drop off a pickup load of clean brush is $15. More info on their website.

And finally, looking for a place to drop off your grass clippings? You could leave them on the lawn to decompose naturally and add nitrogen to the soil. But if you must tidy up and you don't have a compost bin, Evergreen Nursery, off the Old Seward Hwy. south of Huffman, will accept your grass trimmings, yard waste and branches up to 2 inches for $10 a truckload. They then turn that around into locally made compost and mulch that is available in several blends and at different quantities and prices.