Jeff Lowenfels

Anchorage, United States

Writer and Colunmnist at Anchorage Daily News

Best selling author, lecturer: Teaming With Microbes,Teaming With Nutrients ,Teaming With Fungi and NOW Teaming With Bacteria!!

Featured in: Favicon

adn.com

independent.co.uk Favicon

yahoo.com

sfgate.com Favicon

apnews.com Favicon

chicagotribune.com Favicon

chron.com

mercurynews.com Favicon

baltimoresun.com Favicon

miamiherald.com + 101 more

Articles

Keep your eyes on the flies and your garden calendar as the season approaches

2 weeks ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

Somewhere along the line while I was writing these columns, a calendar was added. This was mainly so I didn’t have to write a new column every year telling readers it was time to start the sweet peas or cosmos or whatever. Ann Landers taught us that we can’t repeat columns, so this was the solution. Of course, the calendar itself has the information you really need, the who, what, when and where. The column? Well, it turns out I need to have one in order to be able to post a calendar.
Just because there’s no snow doesn’t mean you should jump headlong into yardwork

3 weeks ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

As I write this over the weekend, there is no snow on our back lawn. The sun has been shining, and judging from recent emails, many yardeners are eager to get started. Several of you have asked whether it’s advisable to mow the lawn. Normally, I would say absolutely not — don’t even walk on it until it dries out in early May. However, this year is different.
Be a ‘real’ gardener: Start plants from seeds now

4 weeks ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

You know my rule: You are not a real gardener unless you start and grow at least one plant from seed for your yard. Another of my rules also comes into play now: Until April 1, you really don’t have enough natural light to properly start and grow seedlings. This week, those two rules intersect. It is time to consider starting seeds. What to try? At the top of the list should be tomatoes. These fruits are so easy to grow.
What would a Mount Spurr eruption mean for our lawns and gardens?

1 month ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

I am getting a lot of questions about the increasing possibility of a volcanic eruption and what ash will do to our yards. If I remember correctly, last time Mount Spurr blew it was winter, and there was a nice, white snow on the ground. The eruption turned Anchorage completely gray, but that summer the minerals in the ash started to do their thing. Two things come to mind first, however. I write these columns Saturday mornings on the weekends before they appear.
Consider forcing rhubarb now by creating your own cloche

1 month ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

As you can imagine, I visit all manner of gardens wherever I go. I learn a lot from others’ efforts; gardeners are always friendly, and you can learn much about an area from its gardens. So it was on a trip in Ireland that Jude and I visited a spectacular garden with a dozen of what looked like upside-down stone vases with lids.
‘The groundhog was wrong’: An Anchorage winter without snow

1 month ago | adn.com | Jenna Kunze |Jeff Lowenfels

Winter, everybody agrees, has been weird this year. From December through February, Anchorage received less than 5 cumulative inches of snow, transforming what’s often a pillowy white landscape into a ruddy brown one. And with it, local behavior. Residents have had to pivot — in garden care, vehicle and ski trail maintenance, recreational activities, winter gig economy work and energy bill payments. Some Alaskans lamented tough challenges brought on by a lack of snow.
How to properly dispose of fallen branches, and other tips arising from our snowless winter

1 month ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

When it comes to getting rid of all the twigs that grace our yards due to the Big Winds, common sense tells us burning is a big no-no. There is no snow cover and we could have a huge fire. It isn’t going to be any better this spring, so I have been thinking what can we do to minimize the plumes of smoke that arise from yards all over town when spring hits. Any one of these would be as likely a source for “the big one” as lightning. Actually, it is against the law to ignite these burn piles.
Rime ice or hoarfrost? The difference is in how they form.

1 month ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

The other day I posted a bragging-type sunset picture taken from our backyard and posted it. Someone skipped the killer reds and oranges and noted all the pretty white snow covering everything. I had to point out that we have not really had snow all winter; what they were calling snow is really something known as rime ice. Rime ice? Wait, wait! Is this a Lowenfels nerd column about what we have always called “hoarfrost,” which he is now calling rime ice? Actually, no.
Starting strawberries from seeds is possible but may not be worthwhile

2 months ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

During almost 50 years of these columns, I don’t think I have ever suggested starting strawberries from seed. One of the main reasons is because you need to start them this time of year if you want to have proper-size transplants. And, you know how small those seeds are. The seedlings are too. I figure it is just so much easier to buy plants in the spring from a local source or, if you are lucky, get some plants from a neighbor or friend’s established patch. Still, you can grow your own.
In an abnormal winter, an indoor grow light system can be even more valuable

2 months ago | adn.com | Jeff Lowenfels

Did you read this week that there is a 50% chance of an eruption on Mount Spurr in the immediate future? It seems to me those odds are much better than the odds for a decent snow accumulation. Go figure. I am just as confused by the lack of snow as you are. Didn’t we come up here to fish for salmon and engage in winter activities? Now both are moving toward extinction. It is a good thing we discovered that gardening is the best thing about living here, huh?