Burpee catalog - harbinger of delicious veggies, or cruel hoax?

Once upon a time, I was a halfway decent gardner.  July through late September would bring us baskets of tomatoes every week, more pumpkins and cucumbers than you could shake a stick at.  However, that was a few grow zones away. 
     I've been getting conflicting reports from green-thumbed locals and long-time transplants.  Some people say you can't grow tomatoes here without a greenhouse (which isn't going to happen for us).  Others say that you can spit a seed at the ground and come back a week later with a wheelbarrow for the veggies that will result.  Now, obviously, agriculture happens here - we do have plants.  I'm just wondering if amateur gardeners can do much of anything with regular seeds.
     I plan to try some container gardening, and maybe a bit of planting in the yard.  So we'll see. 
    Anyone reading along from the Anchorage area - do you have a garden?  And if so, how does that work out for you?