Gardening in the Land of the Midnight Sun

Not all days are measured the same in the North. Winter days tend to be darker and therefore seem shorter as the Earth is tipped away from the Sun. Summer days however are filled with unending sunlight as the Earth's Northern Hemisphere is facing the sun for its longest duration, This creates a unique opportunity for growing many crops and vegetables in a short season.

Many gardeners in the north cannot even plant their gardens until after May 15th, and yet have no difficulty with yields or harvesting fully grown crops. Some choose to use starter plants in Greenhouses or indoors, but many plants will be successfully grown from just seeds in a short season primarily due to the large amount of sunlight they receive.

Crops are not limited to corn, beets, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, sunflowers, apple trees, berries, wheat, rye and many varieties of root vegetables, squashes, and traditional foods.

This last summer, we had a successful community garden which had over 30 plots which yielded a variety of food for its participants. We look forward to the next few months as our day light progressively become longer as we get closer to our planting season in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Happy gardening to all you green-thumbs out there!