Greenhouse effect

Kristen Seine/For the Frontiersman

The temperature hovers around zero. Commuters slog their way over icy and snowy roads, often traveling in the dark both to and from work. People scurry in and out of buildings, bundled head to foot in parkas and boots.

Finally, time to start gardening!

"The days are getting longer," said Ken Ray, owner of Northern Lights Nursery in Wasilla. "Think Spring!" Ray, who on Wednesday was out planting fuchsias himself, acknowledges that as days get longer, most gardeners are "anxious to get out there and get started. Everybody's getting spring fever," he said.

Of course Ray, who has been operating his greenhouse for almost three decades (he estimates 27 years but said, "I've stopped counting Š it may be more!), has the benefit of a large-scale commercial greenhouse operation when planting his 63 varieties of fuchsias.

Not everyone has access to a heated, lighted greenhouse, but even if your "operation" entails no more than a windowsill, it's still definitely the season to get your gardening act together.

"It's time to be shopping for seeds," Ray said. He adds that it isn't too late to shop from seed catalogs. Many local greenhouses and stores also offer a wide selection.

And according to local pros, while certain plants will always be Alaska favorites (think giant cabbage!), there is an increasing selection of plants to choose from.

"We're always looking for new and rare plants to grow," said Rhonda Williams, owner of Recluse Gardens on the Parks Highway.

When asked if she has any favorites or is looking forward to anything new or exciting this spring, Williams (who specializes in rare perennials) named several plants not usually considered "Alaskan" standards.

"Artichokes are doing great," she said, noting that the type she grows is an annual that produces fruit its first year. "And a lot of the hearty fruits are doing well, like the Elmer Swenson grapes."

Grapes? In Alaska?

"It's all a matter of getting the right kinds of plants," Williams said, adding that new breeds are always coming available. "Alaska is even a little behind the times," she said. "Some of the European countries, their climates are as 'horrible' as ours Š and they're growing all kinds of things."

Williams notes that seeds need three things to grow: heat, moisture, and light.

"Seeds need at least 16 hours of indirect light a day," she said. "If they're under a direct light, they can get by with maybe eight hours."

So if you don't have a heated greenhouse - 70 degrees is the ideal temperature for germinating seeds, she added - you may need to hold off a month or so, until days are longer.

If you're willing to invest a little money, there are grow lights and heat mats available, "like a heating pad, but made so they can get wet," Williams said.

"Plants will germinate a lot faster with bottom heat," she explained.

Also, you can get a simple shop light with a full-spectrum gradient light bulb and put it right down next to the plant, Williams said.

"Almost touching the leaves. Then move them up as the plants grow," she said.

Williams suggested gardening novices look at the pamphlets available through the Alaska Cooperative Extension. "They have a lot of information about growing seeds," she said.

Knowing when to plant is both an art and a science. "Don't start things too early," is the advice Cathy Herrin of Wilderness Nursery on Trunk Road. For those unsure of what or when to plant, the nursery now has a Web site that offers several articles on planting, as well as an online catalog (www.wildernessnursery.com).

But even the pros have their misses as well as their hits. Some greenhouse wouldn't say in advance what they'd be highlighting this spring, just in case all didn't go as planned.

However, Wilderness Nursery is is planning to feature New Guinea impatiens that can handle a little more sunlight, a Nemesia hybrid with bright-yellow flowers, and "a few new pansies and some vinca vine to finish off the new varieties."

Their Web site adds a disclaimer, however, "Let us hope the sun shines and we have a nice warm spring. No promises from us!"

"Everything's got its schedule," said Michelle Adeszko of Bushes and Bunches Greenhouse in Palmer. Adeszko says with a laugh that she tries to wait until the "last possible second" before having to heat up their large (and therefore, expensive) greenhouse.

However, she said now is the time for planting things like herbs, pansies, tomatoes and peppers if you're going to start them from seed. As a matter of fact, she said, don't hold off too much longer or you'll almost be too late.

"It's time to start your tomatoes," she said. "March first is the deadline for those Š I won't start them any later than that. At least if you want any tomatoes before the end of July! It isn't any fun to put it all that work for only one tomato!"

And if you haven't got a greenhouse, or even a spare windowsill? You can always let the pros do much of the hard work for you. Those that aren't open year-round will be opening up for the season, usually by March 1st. Many, like Wilderness Nursury, let you order hanging flower baskets and other items online in advance.

And most greenhouses welcome browsers and "window shoppers." As Wilderness Nursery's web site states, "Sometimes it is just nice to walk in out of the snow and see something green this time of the year."

€ Helpful Web sites:

Wilderness Nursery: www.wildernessnursery.com

Alaska Cooperative Extension: www.uaf.edu/coop-ext/publications/pub_toc.html

Alaska Master Gardener Association home page: www.corecom.net/~gardener/