Gardentalk – Ready, set, start your seeds!

Cucumber and pumpkin seed starts as seen under a LED grow light.
Cucumber and pumpkin seed starts as seen under a LED grow light. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Many veteran gardeners likely have already started their favorite vegetable seeds indoors. It’s still too chilly and the risk of frost is still too great to plant any seeds outside.

In this segment of Gardentalk that was originally recorded March 17 and aired April 2, Master Gardener Ed Buyarski explains that it’s still a great time to start herbs, which may take a while to germinate and grow into a decent size for planting outside. It would also be a good time to start onions, shallots, celery and parsley.

“Just because they are so slow,” Buyarski said. “Read the seed packets which tell folks how long — six weeks or eight weeks — before the frost-free date that people may want to wait to put their plants out.”

For those thinking about growing their other vegetables and produce this summer, Buyarski said potatoes are easy to grow in Alaska and usually produce a lot of food.

Other relatively easy vegetables to grow in Alaska include carrots, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, and all sorts of greens – like lettuce, swiss chard, kale and mustard greens.

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