It is January in Alaska. A new year and a new garden to plan. “Gardening begins in January with a dream…” I have already placed a few seed orders and will be trying out some new tomato varieties in 2013. Since my space is limited by the size of my greenhouse and the hoop tunnels in my garden, I have decided to try out some of the smaller dwarf tomato varieties. Inspired by the Dwarf Tomato Project started in Australia. One source that I recommend for dwarf tomato seeds is: Tatiana's TOMATObase and I am anxious to see how they do in my garden.
I really enjoy having some fresh vegetables in the middle of our long Alaska winters and I don't see why any serious gardener would stop growing food when the snow falls. The added color along with the light is a welcome bonus to our monotone winter landscape.
One of my summer garden problems has been overcrowding in my greenhouse as many indeterminate tomato plants grow up to the roof and require pruning along with poor air circulation and high humidity that leads to fungal disease. I hope to add more ventilation to my greenhouse also. Removing excess humidity is as important as removing excess heat.
I am trying out some super-dwarf tomatoes indoors under grow lights this winter. I have Red Robin, Tiny Tim, and Micro Tom growing in pots. They just started flowering and hopefully will be setting fruit soon.
I am also growing some salad greens indoors again under my florescent grow lights and have lettuce and kale ready to harvest. I have been using a lot of kale lately and really like adding it to my recipes. The trick for cooking kale is to give it extra cooking time to become tender. I love cooked greens with bacon and vinegar. I also add finely chopped kale and broccoli to chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes then puree along with some half & half and shredded cheddar cheese for a great broccoli-kale cheddar soup.
