Fairbanks: Gardeners, farmers feel effects of cool summer

newsminer.com • Gardeners, farmers feel effects of cool summer

Wendy Anderson, director of the Fairbanks Community Garden, said compared to previous years, crops are behind by three weeks.

Diane Claassen said her plot at the Fairbanks Community Garden is one of the gardens that is three weeks behind.

“Everything is stunted,” she said as she worked in her garden plot.

Claassen works at the University of Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and fields calls from people about their gardens. She said the most common problem early in the season was seeds not growing, but now she said she receives calls about plants with many leaves but no fruits, vegetables or blooms.

Cold soil plays a large factor in both problems, Claassen said. She instructed gardeners to replant their seeds. But now, the cooler temperatures are keeping the soil cold, which locks up phosphorus, a mineral needed for plants to produce more than just leaves. Claassen suggests spraying a phosphorus-rich substance directly onto the plants to combat the problem.

Gardeners also have had to get more hands on to help alleviate another colder-temperature problem: lack of pollination. Claassen said the cold has caused a lack of bees, which usually pollinate the plants. She said some gardeners have resorted to pollinating their plants by hand using paint brushes dipped in pollen.