GREENHOUSE EFFECT

If the warm weather and sunshine have you just now thinking about greening your thumb, the professionals have you beat.

“A lot of experience has helped us develop our schedule. We start the seeds the first of the month so they are ready for planting in May,” said Sarah Bean, half of the husband and wife team that runs Arctic Organics in Butte.

While the weather may seem a bit variable yet, Bean said the seeds are ready to be planted in a greenhouse as soon as temperatures no longer drop below zero. The greenhouse is kept at a balmy 65 to 75 degrees courtesy of one gas and one wood stove.

The seeds will grow inside until the middle of May when the hardening off process begins. The Beans take the seed trays outside to an area protected against strong winds but natural enough to toughen up the seedlings before plating in the field.

Bean said the starts go into the field as soon as the ground is dry enough to not destroy it with the till. This is usually around May 1, but Bean said, “We are watching, watching, watching, and then we just hit the ground running.”

Because of the short growing season here, people who depend on selling what they grow need as big a head start as possible, said Paula Giauque, owner of Alaska Nugget Farms. With more than 60 acres of vegetables, Giauque takes a more regimented approach.

Giauque started planting seeds Wednesday. The sides of the greenhouses at Alaska Nugget Farms can roll up to harden off the plants without taking the trays outside.

After four weeks in the greenhouse, the seedlings are transported to the field. As soon as the ground is dry enough — usually between May 1 and May 5 — the plants hit the dirt no matter what the temperature is. The plants she grows are designed to handle cold weather, she said, and are even able to recover after heavy frosts.

“We take gambles. We may lose some. We have been transplanting when it’s been spitting snow and rain,” Giauque said. ”But as soon as we can get them in the ground, that extends our season.”

Giauque said Alaska Nugget Farms used to seed directly in the field, but starting in the greenhouse has extended the growing season by two or three weeks. Additionally, they only plant healthy seedlings, optimizing the space in the field. Now, the operation transplants everything except its crop of carrots. Once in the field, both Alaska Nugget Farms and Arctic Organics will start the first harvests toward the end of June. Leaf and romaine lettuce from Alaska Nugget Farms will start showing up at local grocery stores soon thereafter. Customers of the community who subscribe to Arctic Organics produce boxes will start seeing deliveries around the same time.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.