Dr. Sue Ann Bowling is an Associate Professor of Physics at the Institute. Nasturtiums can be started indoors in individual containers, but they will also bloom readily from seed over most of Alaska south of the Brooks Range. I have thought for years that one way of mapping cold spots and heat islands would be to record the first date of frost in the fall at a large number of places and plot the results on a map. Doing this with thermometers presents some problems. Plants of the same variety, however, will freeze at nearly the same leaf temperature, at least if they are similarly watered.
Nasturtiums freeze readily, and are widely grown in Alaska.
If you want to participate, plant some nasturtiums in the most open, level spot you have available, and keep them well watered. Keep them well watered, and when the nighttime temperatures start to drop, do not cover or protect them in any way. Send the information to me at the Geophysical Institute, UAF, Fairbanks, 99775-0800. In the description, I need to know the distance and approximate height of the closest trees and buildings, the slope of the ground, and whether the nasturtium patch was higher or lower than its surroundings. Sometime next fall I'll map the data, and probably publish the maps next year in spring, when it's time to think of gardens again.