Contents(actual subheadings in book’s table of contents do have page numbers)Dedication Acknowledgments Foreword Preface (Yes, There are Vegetables in Seward’s Icebox) Part One: Alaska Gardening BasicsChapter 1: Subarctic Gardening 15First the Bad News — Then the Good News — Dividing Alaska —Hot Springs — Major Population Areas — Southcentral — Interior — Southeastern — Organization — Resources for Gardeners — Alaska Cooperative Extension — Master Gardeners Chapter 2: Plant with a Plan 25Garden Location — Sun Exposure — Windbreaks — Slope — Terracing — Soil Types — Making Your Plan — Crop Rotation — Irrigation — Subsurface Irrigation — Deciding What to Grow — Conventional and Wide-Row Planting — Raised-Row Planting — Cultivation — Completing the Plan — Selecting Your Seed — Chapter 3: Assessing Your Soil 44Permafrost — Ground Ice — Soil Types — Heavy Clay Soils — Light Sandy Soils — Silt Loam Soils — Other Thin Soil Types — Double Digging — All About Soil pH — Taking a Soil Sample — Collecting the Sub-Sample — Drying the Samples — Mailing the Sample Chapter 4: Improving Your Soil 54Changing Soil pH — Choosing a Lime Source — Raising pH — Lowering pH — Plant Nutrients — Nitrogen — Non-Legumes — Using Legumes — Legume Inoculation — Nitrogen Cautions —Phosphorus — Potassium — Calcium and Magnesium — Sulfur — Chemical vs. Organic — Chemical Fertilizers — Organic Fertilizers — Manure — Types of Manure — Other Organic Amendments — Fertilizer Recommendations — Application Methods — Green Manures — Composting in Alaska — Compost — The Compost Enclosure — Building the Compost Pile — Using Compost — What to Compost — High Speed Farm-Scale Composting — Mulches — Earthworms Chapter 5: Off to an Early Start 83How Early is Early? — Sorting Seeds — Germination Testing — Preparations for Seed Starting — Containers — Flats — Labels — Soil — Damp Off — Sterilizing Garden Soil — ‘Soilless’ Mixtures — Treating Seeds — Sowing Seed Indoors — Providing the Basics — Water — Heat — Air Temperature — Light — Reflectors — Lamp Types — Light Intensity — Fertilizer for Seedlings — Transplanting — Conventional Method of Transplanting — Dry Method of Transplanting — Garden Timing — Hardening Off Seedlings — The Starter Solution — Setting Out Your Seedlings — Direct Seeding — Succession Planting — A Final Reminder Chapter 6: Storing Your Harvest 107How to Waste a Garden — Disposal of Excess — Storage Methods — Harvest Hints — Preservation Methods — Packing — Whole Plant — Refrigeration — Canning — Hot-Water-Bath Canning — Pressure Canning — Headroom — Spoilage — cont.Pickling — Drying — Blanching — Freezing — Freezer Burn — Freezer Containers — Dry, Cool Storage — Waxing — Root Cellars — Jellying Chapter 7: Putting Your Garden to Bed 123Fall clean-up — Nettings — Improving Your Soil — Winter Protection — Cover Cropping — The Final Tilling — Maintenance — Tool Storage — Taking Inventory — Planning Next Year’s Garden Continued... |