No snow peas, a three-weeks-early harvest and a rare cantaloupe are some of the effects that Haines gardeners are seeing from the hot, dry summer.

“It’s been a strange year for gardening,” said Melissa Aronson, who frequently hosts “The Garden Conversation” on KHNS. “Let’s just call it ‘climate crazies,’ that’s what it is.”

This summer, Haines has sweated through record heat and a persistent drought. Last month was Alaska’s hottest month on record, and temperatures in Haines soared to 90 degrees for the first time since 1976. Before this week’s rainfall, Haines had recorded about 18 inches of rain below average since September 2018.

Low water levels at Lily Lake have exposed problems with the design of the main water pipeline, which has left the water and sewer department struggling to keep water flowing to the town. The borough imposed mandatory water restrictions last month, which prohibit the use of sprinklers in gardens.

Gardens this year were “fried,” said Aronson. “A lot of things bolted or matured early.”

“Everything came on fast and furious,” said Kate Saunders, who is also a commentator on The Garden Conversation. “Basically, my garden’s done at this point.”

Tomatoes and cucumbers had a “fantastic” season, Saunders said, but she has had to give up on broccoli and snow peas. Overall, she said, she’s had a good year. “My freezer’s full,” Saunders said.

Local gardener Betsy Van Burgh said that her gardening season also finished nearly a month early. The dry conditions had a mixed effect on her plants, she said. Tomatoes, peppers, and green beans thrived, but root vegetables and bulbs fared poorly.

“I’ll have to buy onions, possibly potatoes, which we’ve never bought before,” said Van Burgh, who said she relies on produce from her garden for food.

Leah Wagner, co-owner of local seed farm Foundroot, said the hot dry weather was a mixed bag. Though her crops had an overall lower yield, she said, there were some upsides.

“We definitely had some awesome successes,” including beans, summer squash, and “world’s fair-sized onions,” she said.

Wagner added that customers were buying seeds later in the season than normal. “People have been doing second plantings,” she said. “They’re buying a second round of certain things because they felt like they had time and space to do more.”

Conditions this season have led to some surprise bounty. Sally Boisvert, the owner of Four Winds Farm on Mosquito Lake Road, planted watermelon and cantaloupe on a whim. Though she intended to cover the plants with plastic and hoops, she said she never got around to it.

“Most years it would be like, ‘Oh, that was silly, Sally, you just planted some plants and they died,’” Boisvert said. But she was surprised to find that the plants flourished, producing five cantaloupes and one watermelon.

“The cantaloupes are delicious. They’re sweet and juicy and totally ripe,” she said.

But Boisvert said the surprise fruit wasn’t worth the damage to other parts of her garden.

“I would rather have a cool wet summer and be able to grow delicious carrots,” she said.

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