Alaska imports more than 90 percent of its food, but with Covid-19 interrupting supply chains, especially to remote regions, people in the state are reacting by starting gardens and advocating for more locally grown food, reports Miranda Weiss in FERN’s latest story.
Their timing may be good, due to global warming. “Temperatures here are rising twice as fast as in other parts of the United States, which means tragic consequences for many communities in the state,” Weiss writes. “For farmers, however, global warming has meant an increase in the growing season by up to 31 days and the ability to plant crops, such as fruit trees, that thrive in a milder climate.”
The story says, “Farming has been budding from the fjords of southeast Alaska to the Arctic. In the interior, where winter temperatures can dive deeply below zero, tomatoes are grown nine months of the year in greenhouses heated by natural hot springs.”
But it’s not just farming ventures. An extension agent quoted in the story says that nearly 500 people recently registered for a regional online gardening course that offers basic tips.
Read the full story at FERN.