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| April 27th in Gakona, Alaska. |
Plants Growing Inside In April Bring Pungent Aroma Of Warm Earth
Outside this window, the snow is still thick on the ground in the Copper Valley of Alaska at the end of April. But indoors, carefully-tended zucchinis sprout in potting soil that was purchased at a Home Depot in Anchorage.The smell of dirt is one of the things that Alaskans miss most during the long winter months. The Alaskan outdoors during the 8 months of winter has almost no smell -- other than hydrocarbon emissions wafting through the breeze in the larger cities. The actual terrain that makes up our world -- dirt, plants, trees, flowers, berries -- is completely covered for the entire duration of winter. In a way, it doesn't really exist until spring comes.
Smells -- especially fresh, natural smells, like trees and dirt -- require warmth. And warmth comes in June. For Alaskan gardeners, the earthy aroma that emanates from their hopeful little pots of seedlings is a sign that spring is coming, and that the underlying earth will be laid bare and burst into life once more.