This summer, many people are thinking about ramping up their food production. It’s a healthy activity you can do at home while social distancing. It can give you a sense of security and control at a time when you may feel like you don’t have any. Judging by demand for seeds and other agriculture supplies, people are planning on growing big gardens. If you’re hoping to ramp up your production to make a bona fide contribution to your diet, first make a plan.
I created a completely customizable Google Sheet to help you do this, at bit.ly/3cCwuKz. Based on the size of your family and preferences for various vegetables and berries, the sheet will help you calculate how much row and square footage you’ll need to grow enough food to reach your desired goals.
In the Google Sheet, yields per square foot are very roughly based on vegetable variety trials at the Fairbanks Experiment Farm (afesresearch.uaf.edu/publications) as well as other sources. Yields vary significantly depending on variety so you should peruse past variety trial reports to select top performers. I also added 25% more square feet to hedge against less productive gardens, unexpected weather and, well, all kinds of other things like moose.
A few crops listed in the Google Sheet, including tomatoes and cucumbers, should be grown in a greenhouse to maximize their production. Other crops like winter squash, basil, zucchini and corn need some type of soil warming and/or air warming contraption, such as plastic mulch to warm the soil or a hoop house to warm the air and soil.
Here are some season extension ideas at youtu.be/qzx7Vvise4I. I’m planning on copying the simple hoop house Emily describes and shows us in the video. She estimates that it only cost her about $200 or $300 to make. Although some crops all but require some type of warming boost, many other cool-season crops will certainly benefit from the warmth as well. I wouldn’t plant things like spinach, swiss chard, or cilantro, to name a few, that tend to bolt in a hoop house or greenhouse, though.
Another important aspect of scaling up is planting seeds. While not an absolute must, if you’re expanding your production and have the time at home like most of us do right now, it can offer a huge cost savings. This is a nice calculator for figuring out when you should start what: bit.ly/2VIhOCJ. It’s not perfect for Alaska, but it’s a start. For instance, some crops listed in the calculator, like melons, watermelon and pumpkins, simply won’t mature in our short season in Alaska unless you start them much earlier and/or plant them in a greenhouse or a hoop house. It’s already too late to start some things, but prime time to start many others. If demand for seeds and seed potatoes is indicative of demand for plants, there is a real chance that greenhouses will sell out this spring.
For more information on gardening, be sure to check out UAF Extension’s publications on the topic at bit.ly/2wI4F3Y. If you’re a beginner, start with “16 Easy Steps to Gardening.” If you’re new to seed starting, be sure to download “Seed Starting and Transplanting.”
Terry Reichardt and her family have shown it is entirely possible to grow, hunt, fish and gather nearly all of your food in Fairbanks. See bit.ly/3czJbWl. With nowhere to go and nothing but time, it might be more achievable for the rest of us.
Heidi Rader is a tribes Extension educator. She can be reached at 474-6620 or hbrader@alaska.edu.
