What to Plant in Alaska in November
In Anchorage, November sits weeks after the first fall frost (September 22 to October 1) and months before the next one, so the open-ground season is…
Gardening in Alaska
Everything we have worked out for Alaska: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Anchorage, the last spring freeze runs May 3 to May 12 and the first fall freeze runs September 22 to October 1, USDA zones 1a-8a, 917 growing degree days in the year.
That is little accumulated warmth: tomatoes need a tunnel or a greenhouse here, whatever the frost dates suggest. Garlic does well: 34.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Alaska: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
What to Plant in Alaska in May
By early May, Anchorage gardeners are still inside the frost window (last spring frost falls between May 3 and May 12, per NOAA), so the ground itself…
What to Plant in Alaska in March
In most of Alaska, March means frozen or snow-covered ground, so nothing goes into the open garden yet.
What to Plant in Alaska in June
June is Alaska’s green light month. With the last spring frost typically wrapping up between May 3 and May 12 at the Anchorage reference station, the…
What to Plant in Alaska in July
July in Alaska falls squarely inside the frost-free window that runs from the first half of May to late September, so the direct answer is simple: this…
What to Plant in Alaska in January
Nothing goes into open garden soil in Alaska in January, not even in Anchorage, the state’s mildest inhabited pocket.
What to Plant in Alaska in February
February in Alaska means one thing outdoors: frozen, snow-covered ground from Ketchikan to Fairbanks.
What to Plant in Alaska in December
In Anchorage, the ground in December sits frozen solid under months of snow, and the answer to what goes outside is nothing.
What to Plant in Alaska in August
August in Alaska is harvest season, not planting season, but the window isn’t closed yet either.
What to Plant in Alaska in April
April in Alaska is a preparation month, not a planting month, across nearly all of the state.