While spring might bring the urge to get planting, it’s crucial to heed the advice of experienced gardeners like Jeff Lowenfels (Anchorage Daily News columnist) before you get planting. Whether you are a beginner or expert gardener, the Consortium Library can help you create the garden of your dreams. We have fantastic resources: newspapers, gardening magazines, books and online resources. If you can’t find what you need, ask at the Reference Desk and we will be happy to assist you.
Check out the resources below to begin your gardening journey.
Jeff Lowenfels in the Anchorage Daily News
Lowenfels’ most recent column says it is still too early to plant, “Soil temperature just as important as air temperature as you start planting.” The Consortium Library has online access to the ADN. To find it on the Consortium Library’s homepage, go to Databases, click on A from the alphabetical list, scroll down the page, and select Anchorage Daily News. If you want to read it like a newspaper, choose: image. If you want the articles without the formatting, choose: text. To find Jeff Lowenfels’ columns, enter his name in the search bar and hit search. He also has a podcast.
Magazines
Better Homes and Gardens
From the Consortium Library’s homepage, choose Journal Titles, in the search box enter the name of the magazine, and find the issues in MasterFile Complete.
Horticulture Magazine
From the Consortium Library’s homepage, choose Journal Titles, in the search box enter the name of the magazine, and find the issues in MasterFile Complete.
Sunset Magazine
Read their most recent gardening column, “Your Spring Garden Checklist” by Kristin Guy. To find it, go to the Consortium Library’s homepage, choose Journal Titles, in the search box enter the name of the magazine, and find the issues in MasterFile Complete.
Online Resources
University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service (CES)
The CES has resources on Alaska-specific programs, research, and articles on “agriculture and horticulture; health, home and family development; natural resources and community development; 4-H and youth development.” Check out their website on Gardening in Alaska or learn about Berries and Wild Edible Plants.
Books
Check out the display of gardening books as you enter the Library. You can find many more by searching the Library’s catalog, too. Here’s just a sample:
The Alaska gardener’s handbook
Lenore Hedla.
“Flowers, vegetables and other food crops, lawns and groundcovers, sunrooms and greenhouses, trees and shrubs.”
Alaska gardening guide
Ann D. Roberts.
“Alaska Gardening Guide is arranged in three parts; a section on planting basics for the beginning gardener, a more in-depth section dealing with specific problems encountered in the various areas in Alaska (like cold soil, premature bolting to seed, or heavy precipitation), and a final section packed full of techniques and tips for raising particular vegetables.”
Alaska’s wild plants : a guide to Alaska’s edible harvest
Janice J. Schofield.
“Profiles more than seventy wild, edible plants native to Alaska with color photographs and descriptions, and includes information on plant habitats, harvesting wild plants, and related topics.”
There’s a moose in my garden : designing gardens in Alaska and the Far North
Brenda C. Adams.
“What do you do when a young moose calf wants to dine on your freshly planted Siberian iris? How do you harness the wild beauty of the north for your own backyard? There’s a Moose in My Garden tackles these questions and more with practical advice from an award-winning gardener. Adams provides helpful tips for far northern gardeners on how to design and build beautiful and healthy gardens. The book outlines the entire planning and planting process, covering such aspects as low-angled sun, soft light, expansive vistas, and a cool climate.”
Indigenous food sovereignty in the United States : restoring cultural knowledge, protecting environments, and regaining health
edited by Devon A. Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover; foreword by Winona LaDuke.
“An anthology of essays, written from the perspective of practitioners from around the nation, that both identifies the challenges facing Indigenous communities in revitalizing and maintaining traditional food systems, as well as highlights the inspiring and successful food and health initiatives in Indian country.”