I have an admission to make. I have been traveling the past month, checking in on the weather so I would know what to write about. I hope I didn’t cause any confusion.
Part of the trip involved a conference in Iceland, a somewhat Alaska-like place, only much smaller and full of extremely warm, accessible and delightful neighborhood volcanic pools in which to relax. I surely got an idea of what Alaska might look like if we were required to rely on our trees as their early Viking settlers did. Fortunately we have solar power to replace our dwindling natural gas supply, though I would take warm water any day!
Anyhow, nothing brings me back to the realities of Alaska like a freak snow dump. Like most of you, I can only hope our October surprise was a one-off occurrence. If we get many more of them this winter, I might just find my way back to Iceland along with a bunch of you!
When it comes to snow, at least I did try and warn readers before I left to put roof-supporting 2x4s in outdoor greenhouses and metal tool sheds to prevent snow from caving them in. I am not sure I insisted that every home in the area develop some sort of snow rake to knock wet and heavy snow off of limbs of trees so they won’t snap. A really long 1- or 2-inch wood dowel should be kept with the snow shovels for use when this happens again, which it probably will.
It is not just trees that need help when it snows. If you get a chance when some of this dump melts, you might want to wrap your younger shrubs with burlap (available at Alaska Mill and Feed) so they will stay upright. And, those hedges we are so proud of might need tying up. Surely you should keep an eye on them and knock snow off of them as well with your snow pole.
Driveways and walkways should be marked with stakes (tomato stakes will do) so you know where your paths are and where to pile snow as you keep them clear. My measurements indicate the ground has only frozen down an inch or so, making it relatively easy to still install them. And, of course, the snow is deep enough to hold them. If you play in your winter yard, consider staking the garden beds so you won’t damage perennials therein.
Then there is the debate over what to use to melt snow and provide traction. It appears that cat litter is a good, safe alternative to more caustic salt when it comes to traction. Coffee grounds work well, but you will have to drink a lot of coffee if you can’t get some buckets from a favorite coffee joint.
You might consider installing heating cables along the eaves of your roof and even on your gutter downspouts. They now sell roof rakes at local hardware stores in case you want to go the manual route. Let’s hope you won’t have to use one, though this past dump makes that unlikely. Better prepared than sorry.
Finally, as you go about knocking snow off trees and clearing it off walks and driveways, appreciate that the white stuff is the poor person’s fertilizer. This first snowfall deposited between 2 to 12 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
Put in better terms, 10 inches of snow delivers 0.05 to 0.1 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet depending on the atmospheric conditions that put nitrogen into snow (and rain). This is equal to 2% to 5% of your yard’s nitrogen needs. Generally this would not be enough fertilizer for your yard, but given we live in Alaska where we experience nine months of snow and where we usually get much more than a mere 10 inches, it will be enough so you never need to apply fertilizer to your lawn, trees or shrubs.
Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar
Alaska Botanical Garden: Snow or not, there is always something going on at The Garden. Become a member and get advance notice of classes and more. Or check out www.alaskabg.org weekly.
Houseplants: Give yours a turn once a week to prevent “rubber necking” into the light. Better yet, set up your light system so they get an ample supply.
Poinsettias: They are back! They hate drafts and should never be allowed to dry out.