I'm in zone 5a right now and planning to move to zone 3.
The purpose of our move is to become more self-sufficient. "So why move from relatively lush 5a to practically tundra 3, then?" Well, our property has no sun. I've tried for years to grow food here (and succeeded - sort of - in a tiny 3x3 raised bed this year, placed in the ONLY decently sunny space in the yard) but honestly it's best suited for wild mushrooms. Which I'm afraid to eat, though it's tempting. We can afford a good chunk of sunny land in zone 3, though.
I was hoping to get encouragement. I've never lived up there. While my practical experience is quite low, I'm familiar with farming and gardening in this area and know what can be grown and (generally) how (like extending the season with hoop houses and such).
Everyone says "the season is SO short up there" so it makes me nervous. I'm hoping that the increase in sun will counter the move northward. Can the "usual" be grown up here, even tomatoes (which obviously will have to come from greenhouse starts)?
Also, I'm all about growing food but my daughter is really into flowers. Can sunflowers be grown? I've already looked up roses; it seems a few very hardy varieties (that flower just in June, not through the season) can be grown there.
I'm sure I can have a mini-orchard of apples (will look into varieties later); are there any other fruit-bearing trees that do ok up there? Cherries? Or berry bushes?
I am thinking I will "need" some kind of cold frame or hoop house or greenhouse. I wonder how expensive the latter two are.
The purpose of our move is to become more self-sufficient. "So why move from relatively lush 5a to practically tundra 3, then?" Well, our property has no sun. I've tried for years to grow food here (and succeeded - sort of - in a tiny 3x3 raised bed this year, placed in the ONLY decently sunny space in the yard) but honestly it's best suited for wild mushrooms. Which I'm afraid to eat, though it's tempting. We can afford a good chunk of sunny land in zone 3, though.
I was hoping to get encouragement. I've never lived up there. While my practical experience is quite low, I'm familiar with farming and gardening in this area and know what can be grown and (generally) how (like extending the season with hoop houses and such).
Everyone says "the season is SO short up there" so it makes me nervous. I'm hoping that the increase in sun will counter the move northward. Can the "usual" be grown up here, even tomatoes (which obviously will have to come from greenhouse starts)?
Also, I'm all about growing food but my daughter is really into flowers. Can sunflowers be grown? I've already looked up roses; it seems a few very hardy varieties (that flower just in June, not through the season) can be grown there.
I'm sure I can have a mini-orchard of apples (will look into varieties later); are there any other fruit-bearing trees that do ok up there? Cherries? Or berry bushes?
I am thinking I will "need" some kind of cold frame or hoop house or greenhouse. I wonder how expensive the latter two are.
that variety, been fairly hardy into the high 30's for me in the past!). Corn and melons may be tricky to figure out as well, but there's a melon called Cream of Sasketchewan, so it can't be entirely impossible. 
). Honestly, I'm planning on living in a yurt, and I don't know how that's going to work in terms of sunny windowsills. There is the dome but the light moves across the yurt constantly, as opposed to a windowsill that can count on a couple good hours of sun each day. I think the dome light will hit a particular area for only 30 minutes, say. Of course I could buy grow lights, but first I'll look into a cold frame or something like that (prefer non-electric solutions first, but I'm not above using electricity. You will not be parting me from my washing machine, for example).
