Planning Ahead To Extend The Season

June 20, 2013 Jim Lister

Now is the time to plan and build garden projects such as new raised beds, grow frames, hoop tunnels, etc for extending the growing season later this year or early next Spring…

Gardening in April

April 16, 2013 Jim Lister

The calendar may say April, but I still have at least a foot of snow covering my garden and our big Spring thaw is taking longer than usual this year. It is still too early to move any plants out to my greenhouse…

Seedling Progress

April 3, 2013 Jim Lister

I have about 35 tomato seedling potted so far and I still have a few left. I am always looking for cold climate varieties and many come from Russia and Northern Europe. I am also trying many dwarf or bush varieties…

Spring in Wasilla

March 31, 2013 Jim Lister

We are past 12 hours of sun in March and it is 40 degrees outside. That is plenty of light to grow plants - but the ground is still covered with snow and will remain frozen until May…

Indoor Tomato Update

March 13, 2013 Jim Lister

Just a quick update on my indoor Dwarf Tomato progress, The fruit is finally ripening and I tried my first fresh tomato last week. The taste was spectacular…

Winter Tomatoes Progress

January 29, 2013 Jim Lister

My indoor tiny tomato plants are setting fruit now - the last week in January - and I hope to get a decent crop soon…

Winter Salad in Wasilla

January 9, 2013 Jim Lister

I am trying out some dwarf tomatoes indoors under grow lights this winter. I have Red Robin, Tiny Tim, and Micro Tom growing in pots…

Alaska Grow Buckets - Grow Mix

June 3, 2012 Jim Lister

The grow mix must have a strong wicking property like a sponge. Soil or compost will not work. A soilless mix with the correct properties works much better…

Alaska Grow Buckets - DIY Video

May 29, 2012 Jim Lister

Here is a short video that I made showing how I build my simple Alaska Grow Buckets in about 5 minutes. Several buckets can be combined into a complete self watering container garden system. It's easy, and I believe anybody can grow some of their own food at home.

You can get FREE step by step instructions in an easy to follow, printable booklet at: alaskagrowbuckets.com The only tools you will need is an electric drill with a 3/4" step drill bit and a 4 inch hole saw that you can find at any home improvement center or online. Alaska Grow Buckets is no longer making our own kits. You can still order everything or just order the parts that you need at the Alaska Grow Buckets online store. We will continue to offer the FREE Alaska Grow Buckets Guide to show how to easily construct your system and you are welcome to print out and share our instruction guide with your friends. Alaska Grow Buckets work great for growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers.

First Spring Flowers

May 23, 2012 Jim Lister

Spring in Alaska is really quite short or long depending how you think about it. From the time our daylight exceeds 12 hours on March 21 and the snow begins to melt until the weather warms enough to set out sensitive plants can seem like an eternity…

Backyard Farming... Why Bother ?

May 6, 2012 Jim Lister

I enjoy cooking Real Food that is as fresh as possible and preferably home grown. That is why I have a garden…

Growing Food in a City

May 2, 2012 Jim Lister

People are growing fresh foods at home in cities all over the world. On a balcony or terrace, a building rooftop, porch, patio, or deck, anyplace they can set up some containers. You don't need a lot of space to grow fresh, healthy food…

Baking Bread From Scratch

April 18, 2012 Jim Lister

Since my yard seems to be the last place in Wasilla for the snow to melt each Spring, I decided to try my hand at something new yesterday and set out to bake some whole wheat bread from scratch. Now I have baked my own bread for many years, but this time I decided to try my hand at grinding my own flour…

4 reasons you should grow food...

February 22, 2012 Jim Lister

On a cold winter February day, when I should be clearing the snow from my driveway, I started reading my blog and thinking about what inspired me to become a gardener…

Fresh Garden Salad in December!

December 28, 2011 Jim Lister

Just a quick update about my winter salad garden. It is doing fine and I have been picking tomatoes and lettuce for about 3 weeks now.

It sure is nice to have fresh salad in December...

My plant rack is working well and I have been looking into a more permanent system that would be a self contained small plant stand with built in grow light and water reservoir. Maybe something akin to a small scale Alaska Grow Buckets system. But my simple setup has been working just fine.

So let it snow outside all it wants I am still gardening here in Alaska and that sure helps to beat some of the cabin fever that develops during our long winter season up here - and fresh salad sure is nice.