Thursday, September 4, 2014

some of my favourites!

So I've been gardening for a few years now, and I usually try something new each year. Sometimes I'll find something that I love in someone else's garden, or sometimes I just pick something out of the seed catalogue. If you're a fairly new gardener, I thought you might appreciate a few of my favourites!

1) I don't grow shelling peas - tried once, I hate shelling them. So I usually grow snap peas. This year I ran across a type of snow pea that is a triple-pea! It works as a snap pea (it never gets tough), a snow pea (because it's flat), and as a shelling pea if you let it get really big. And the best part about them is that they're very disease-resistant! I found that mine just gave and gave and gave - we had no lack of peas this year! And frankly, they're so huge that you only need a couple in order to get a full serving of veggies. My son actually told me "Mommy, I don't like peas anymore". That's how many we were eating. So, the title for BEST PEA AWARD goes to Oregon Giant!



2) Brocooli. I've wrote a few times about the surprising ease of growing your own broccoli. Normally I grow Gypsy broccoli because it is both cold-resistant and it doesn't bolt very easily in the heat. This year I found an article about Calabrese Broccoli - according to what I read, it's a very old variety that gives consistent and tasty offshoots all summer. So I tried it, and was I ever surprised! 

This is the size of an offshoot from Gypsy broccoli:


Now here's an offshoot from Calabrese broccoli! It's a big as the original head was!



And just to prove that it's NOT the original head, you can see in this picture where I've already made two decent-sized cuts from this broccoli, as well as all the smaller offshoots also growing. 



3) If you like yellow tomatoes, try a bush or two of Taxi tomato! Mine are so prolific it's not even funny. I've gotten about 30 lbs of tomatoes so far this year, and I'd say 80% of those have been from my 5 Taxi plants. Considering that I have 23 plants in all, that's saying something. About 1/5 of the plants have given me 4/5's of the fruit. So far. They're earlier than a lot of my red ones so I'm sure a couple of the others will catch up , but you really can't beat their productivity and sweetness. I haven't really found a red tomato that I love yet though. I've been planting Early Girl because they're reasonably prolific and early, but they don't taste like much. Do you have a tomato variety that you plant every year?



Saturday, August 30, 2014

Growing Hospitality



Over the few years, I've been blessed to see some of the amazing gardens that some of my local friends have put together. There's the one with the giant dill and sunflowers; the one with the orchard in the back corner; the one with such enormous (but gorgeous) trees that barely anything will grow; the one with an electric fence to keep the local fauna out...the list goes on! I always get some inspiration from every gardener with whom I speak, and more often than not, I get something else to take home too. Whether it's a few heads of dill, a giant zucchini, or a jar of newly-made pickles, it's always fun to come home with a garden offering. Hospitality seems to go hand-in-hand with gardening, but it took this little cutie from El Salvador to help me put the two together in my mind!

So how do you practice hospitality in gardening?

There's the obvious - inviting people over to your house. I love having people over in summer and plying them with rhubarb juice, pickles and relish from my shelves, as well as veggies and berries from the garden.

Sometimes I'll bring some fruit over to my next-door neighbours as well. My elderly next-door neighbour even got into it as she passed all her old Gem jars onto me so I could continue canning!

Others with overstock in their gardens have given me much as well. This year I received rhubarb from several strangers, and in the past I've picked apples at the homes of people who can't keep up with them, as well as raspberries. Several years ago my friend gave me her over-stock of beets, and my mom and I canned over 50 jars of beet pickles. We still have some around.

I have heard of people that do the "plant a row grow a row" program for the food bank, and there are others that help Operation Fruit Rescue save the fruit (mostly apples I bet) that would otherwise fall and rot. They donate 1/4 of the picked fruit to the local food bank.

Then there are some more random acts of gardening hospitality - for example, last month I found a seedling on my doorstep, as did all of my neighbours! We have no idea who did it (although at least one person thought it was me. :) )

I decided the other day to propagate some strawberries from the oodles that I have growing in my yard. I planned to sell them for $2 a plant but I just couldn't do it - it didn't feel right to take money for doing what I love. So I've decided to still sell them for $2 a plant, but I'm going to give the proceeds to help refugees in Iraq. I'd love it if you would join me in sharing with God's people who are in need! You can donate online through World Renew (a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church and an excellent organization) or start your own garden-based fundraiser! Compassion Canada has a disaster relief program that uses local people from churches already in the area to help those in need. 

Maybe you can sell off some of those extra pickles. In fact, you should sell them to me. :)

So now I'm curious - what kind of gardening hospitality have you experienced or participated in?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Pickles!

So apparently I've been bragging about my mother's pickle recipe too much, because everyone wants it! As far as I know it's not a family secret, so here it is!

For the jars:
- clean cucumbers (the smaller, the better. If they're bigger than 1" in diameter, slice them lenthwise)
- dill (the heads are great for this)
- garlic (one clove per jar)
- hot peppers (optional)

Brine: 
12 cups of water
3 cups of pickling vinegar
1 cup pickling salt
1/2 cup white sugar

1) Sterilize your jars. There are a few ways to do this. 
    OPTION 1) Wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse, then keep in a hot oven until you're ready to use them. 
    OPTION 2) Pour boiling water into the jars, about half full. Let it sit until you're ready.
    OPTION 3) This is my lazy option for when I'm going to be using a boiling water bath anyway. Just stick the jars in the pot and bring to a boil. 

2) Sterilize your lids. Pop them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. 

3) Bring the brine to a boil and keep at a simmer until the jars are ready. 

4) Fill your jars with cucumbers, a head of dill, a small hot pepper, and one clove of garlic. 

5) Pour hot brine over cucumbers until you are halfway up the neck of the jar. 

6) Place jars in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. It's beneficial to put a pan with a bit of water in the oven, I believe it keeps the jars from cracking. 

7) Take jars out of the oven and let them cool completely. Make sure the jars are sealed before storing them. Give them at least a couple weeks to cure, then enjoy!


We buy the big bags of mini-dukes from the farmer's market in August, and 2 bags + one recipe of brine will give us 12 jars. However, my husband is a superstar pickle packer, so you might end up with a couple more jars and needing a bit more brine if you don't get yours packed quite as tight. If you want to add some fun stuff to your jars, we'll often add beans, carrots, and even snap peas to the jars just to make them completely full. 

Monday, August 11, 2014

And the verdict is in...

Yes, you CAN grow delicious apricots in central Alberta! 


Did you catch that? APRICOTS!! For real!






Two years ago I bought a Westcot Apricot tree on a whim, since it was 40% off and I wanted another fruit tree for the front yard. I was told by the nursery staff that it was actually possible to grow apricots in Zone 3. I was skeptical, especially since the first year the tree didn't even flower. However, it is a very lovely tree, fast-growing with attractive  foliage. The leaves at the tips are red and it looks quite gorgeous. Even with no fruit, I'd definitely love this tree.

So this year it flowered and even grew one solitary apricot. I waited until I was sure it was ripe, then I plucked it from the tree and sliced it in quarters for my whole family to try. I popped my quarter into my mouth with trepidation. 

Why? Well, you can't grow sweet cherries in Zone 3, you have to grow sour cherries. It's hard to grow sweet blueberries in Zone 3, but you can grow tart haskaps with ease. So I was positive that this apricot would be some sort of sour/tart variation on the juicy and sweet BC apricots. 

But was I ever surprised when the flavour that entered my mouth was just as (if not more so) juicy and sweet than any apricot found in a grocery store this time of year! Mind - and tastebuds - blown. It was like summer had entered my mouth and said hello. I think I might have groaned. It was amazing. 



Next year, if I get a few more, I might share a few. If you're really nice to me this year. 

On the other hand, if you'd like to grow your own so you don't have to be nice to me, here are some tips.

1) It doesn't require a pollinator plant, but it works MUCH better with. I have a nanking cherry bush next to my tree, but I believe a sandcherry is also an option. Check with your nursery staff. 

2) It's recommended that the tree be in a sheltered area. Mine's in the front yard and the wind tunnels right up our street in a storm, so I can't say it's exactly sheltered, but it seems to be ok. It does list towards the house a bit though. I should probably get a better stake than the tent poles I'm currently using. 

That's it! Thus far it's been my easiest tree. Yippee!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Turn those weeds into food!

Turn your weeds into something great! 

At it's simplest, composting requires very little - put your weeds, kitchen scraps, straw, dead leaves, and whatever else you have around your yard into a pile. Make sure it's somewhat wet. Turn it with a pitchfork once in a while. And eventually, it turns into the perfect fertilizer! If you want the process to go a little faster, here are some tips: 

1) Put it somewhere hot. I've made the mistake (twice) of putting my composted in a far corner of the yard so it didn't look hideous. Since those corners were shady, I didn't get much for compost. Now that I have my rotating composter, it's small enough to easily fit on my deck which is the hottest spot in the yard. I can get decent compost in a couple weeks now, instead of a couple years! 

2) Turn it, but not too often. The hotter your compost pile gets, the quicker it will break down. So you want it to get nice and toasty instead. You also want to make sure that your ingredients are all composting together, so you have to mix it once in a while. But when you mix it, the pile has to heat up all over again. So when you remember, give it a mix. Once every couple weeks should do it!

So here is my patented (or not) 4-step process to composting:
STEP 1: Insert weeds and a little water.

STEP 2: Rotate or turn when you remember. 
STEP 3: Dig your compost out with your bare hands.  Gloves shmoves.

STEP 4: Admire your lovely compost, then put it in the garden!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

I'm so blue-ue-ue-ue-ue, I'm so blue I don't know what to do!

Old McChristie had a farm, EIEIO. 
And on that farm she had a haskap, EIEIO. 
With a blue berry here and a tart berry there, 
     here a berry, there a berry, everywhere a honey berry.
Old McChristie had a farm, EIEIO.

My haskaps grew so much this year that I'm starting to wonder what I've gotten myself into with all this perennial fruit in my yard! I've probably picked close to 8 cups thus far and these haskap bushes will get MUCH bigger than their current size over the next few years. I hope by the time they get too much to handle, my boys will be old enough for a little bribery to entice them to pick the berries for me. :)

What's a haskap, you ask? Well, let me enlighten you.

Haskaps are a bush in the honeysuckle family that bear blue berries (you may have figured the "blue" part out by now...). I believe the original plants were from Siberia so they're intended for cold climates. I liken the taste of the berries to be like a tart blueberry - kind of like the difference between an Evans cherry and a Bing cherry. They're pretty easy to grow, but if you want fruit, you'll need two different breeds for cross-pollination. The ones you pick up at the greenhouse aren't that great - I have 2 bushes in the backyard that came from the greenhouse and the harvest is piddly compared to what I'm already getting from my front yard plants! Here are the ones you want to look for: 
1) Borealis is kind of squishy and a little sweeter so it's good for fresh eating. 
2) Tundra is a little tougher, but they grow insanely low to the ground so they are tough to pick. 
3) Berry Blue or Berry Smart Blue make a great pollinator.



The only drawback in my opinion to these tasty little gems is that they hang from the underside of the branches, making them very difficult to pick. In fact, the "tundra" plants seem to be quite flat bushes, and a lot of the berries are right along the ground. I find myself doing some new and interesting yoga moves in my attempt to get all the berries off the bush. If you're feeling old and decrepit or your knees crackle like a fire on a winter's day, I recommend getting raspberries instead!


They do make for tasty baking! My middle son thought there was jam in the muffins I made with the berries the other day. Nope, no jam my dear, just fresh haskaps! If the current picking of berries makes it beyond tomorrow morning, I'm going to try them in the dehydrator. Best berries ever!


Saturday, June 14, 2014

It's in my blood!

I come from a long line of Mennonite farmers, on both sides of the family. My mom's early years were spent on a peanut farm in Paraguay and my dad grew up on a farm near Tofield. Some of my earliest spring memories are of my parents planting up our big garden in the backyard, of my dad digging up the soil, and of course, of screeching at any worms he came to show my sister and me.

I didn't have much interest in gardening when I was younger, although I did enjoy picking chokecherries and noshing on those weird mouth-drying berries. 

One time I tried growing flowers from seed in my bedroom, but their colossal failure to grow useful stems convinced me that I had the very opposite of a green thumb. 

But somewhere along the way I discovered that I wasn't as black-thumbed as I thought...that somewhere inside me lay a long-latent green thumb. I started with houseplants and graduated to small potted tomatoes. Then through a sees of rental houses I started growing ever larger gardens. I even took a botany class in my second-last semester of university, and discovered to my chagrin that it was way more interesting than my chosen specialization! Oh retrospect, how I love thee.

Along the way I discovered the joy of making things grow. I'm an avid reader so much of my gardening knowledge comes from books, but I couldn't have done it well without my dad. His way of gardening hearkens back to the days before square foot gardening, raised beds, permaculture, and all the other gardening gimmicks shouting for our attention. He (mostly) just puts seeds in the garden and waits for them to grow. And grow they do. Cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, dill, potatoes, zucchini and even corn, they all grow and produce a wonderful harvest. He gardens because he enjoys it, and he makes it look easy. 



So on this Father's Day, and his birthday, I'd like to take a moment to say Thank You to my Dad. Thanks for teaching by example, for answering my questions, for not saying "I told you so" when my experiments go awry, and even for letting some of my crazy schemes influence your own gardening style. 

Happy Father's Day, and Happy Birthday Dad!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

lazy greens

I'm here to attest to the lazy way of gardening. You know how in late summer, the lettuce gets really nasty-tasting and goes to seed? Well, if you just let those seeds do their own thing, you won't need to seed lettuce the following year! I grew sorrel about 4 years ago, and every year it grows back in abundance. It's the first thing growing in the garden that we can actually eat (aside from the ubiquitous chive), and it has a nice tang to it after too many months of eating packaged greens. I've also found spinach and regular lettuce popping up in the garden. And instead of fretting about rogue plants, all I say is "Hey! There's a party in my mouth and you're invited!"

Thursday, May 22, 2014

And now something completely unrelated to gardening...

Today I read something from the Voice of the Martyrs weekly report that just stopped me in my tracks, and I had to share. It may be unrelated to gardening but it is definitely something that I think is important. Something we, in our comfy North America, need to know about what happens to mothers in other parts of the world.

SUDAN: Pregnant Woman Sentenced to Death for 'Apostasy'

Sources: Middle East Concern, World Watch Monitor


A 27-year-old pregnant woman has been charged with apostasy, a crime punishable by hanging, after refusing to recant her Christian faith. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a doctor, was also sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery, as her marriage to a Christian man is not considered valid. Under Sudanese law, Muslim women may only marry Muslim men.

Since Meriam's father was a Muslim, the authorities regard Meriam a Muslim as well and, therefore, do not recognize her marriage to a Christian. Meriam's father has been absent from her life since she was six, and her Ethiopian Orthodox mother raised her as a Christian.

Meriam and her husband, Daniel Wani, have a 20-month-old son, Martin, who is currently in her care at the prison. (The couple is expecting their second child next month.) She was sentenced with crimes of apostasy and adultery on May 11th. Although given three days to recant her faith, the young expectant mother calmly told the judge at a hearing days later on May 15th that she remains a Christian. Her death sentence is reportedly to be carried out two years after giving birth to her baby. Martin's custody would then be granted to the government. The lawyer acting for Meriam is preparing an appeal which must be submitted within 15 days.

Prison guards and other prisoners have reportedly abused Meriam while she is in prison. She is also being denied medical treatment, including prenatal care for her unborn child. Furthermore, Muslim scholars are visiting the prison with the intent of pressuring Meriam to return to the religion of her father.

Please bring this shocking and heartbreaking case to our Lord in prayer, asking Him to powerfully intervene. May the charges against Meriam be dropped so that she may return home with her husband and child. In the meanwhile, ask God to be especially near to Meriam and little Martin during their time in prison. Pray that the prison guards and authorities will extend compassion and kindness to this mother and her young child, while also providing needed medical care for Meriam's unborn baby. Ask, too, that the Lord will grant peace to Daniel and other concerned family members so they may rest in the knowledge that He is very mindful of their plight and promises to lovingly hold Meriam and Martin in the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:15-16). Finally, please intercede on behalf of the authorities involved in this case, praying that God will open their eyes to the truth of His Word.

To learn more about Sudan's persecuted church, please visit www.persecution.net/sudan.htm.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Oh spring, thou art most lovely

Spring, spring, it's a beautiful thing!

It's my favourite season, hands down. After a long cold winter nothing is better than seeing the buds come out on the bushes. And since I LOVE change, I appreciate that there's always something new and different in spring. Yesterday I thought my daffodils were dead, today I discovered them popping up amongst the strawberries. A week ago my haskaps were dormant, now they're putting out leaves and blooms. Of course, there's still the occasional snowstorm to contend with, but I content myself in the knowledge that it will soon melt and provide water for my garden. 

Oh, and did I mention the lack of mosquitoes? It's nice to eat outside without the outside eating you!

What do you love about spring?

Haskaps

Crocuses - the most fragile flower but the most welcome one!

Up come the tulips!

Nothing smells better than a bed made with line-dried bedsheets.

Rhubarb! Need to find some good recipes this spring.

The first asparagus spear! I wonder if we'll have enough this year to pick some for a meal?

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Fertilizer fun, part 2

I thought I'd finally continue the thread that I started LAST April, the one about fertilizer use and how the overuse of fertilizers in our farming practices are wreaking havoc on the planet and the people who live on it. Overuse of synthetic fertilizers doesn't just affect those big commercial farms however, we small scale gardeners are also at risk of using way too much of the stuff. Synthetic (chemical) fertilizers do nothing for your soil, they can burn your plants, and overall they make your soil an inhospitable place for all those little worms and microorganisms that your plants need to be naturally healthy and productive. 

Ok, so you're ditching the miracle-gro, what do you use instead?

The first thing you need to do is get some great compost! Compost is your best friend when it comes to building up your soil and providing nutrients for your plants. You can make it yourself, which is of course the most economical way to go about getting food for your plants, from your plants. I bought this rolling composter last summer and have been amazed at how quickly all the plant material I put in gets turned into compost. Plus, my kids love rolling it, so they think they're playing with a toy and I don't have to turn the compost. Win-win!

You can also buy compost, although you need to be careful that you're not buying composted cow manure from cows that ate grass drenched with herbicides, because chemicals will often persist in the manure and may kill some of your plants. Of the kinds of composted manure that are readily available in the store (including Canadian Tire), sheep manure is apparently the best. 

If you've already composted like crazy and are looking for something a little more like a "fertilizer", try one or more of these amendments*:
a) Lime: increases PH of soil and adds calcium (and other nutrients depending on the type of lime)
b) Bone meal: helps with root development
c) Blood meal: provides nitrogen. If I have plants showing a nitrogen deficiency (yellowing older leaves), I sprinkle a little bloodmeal around the base of the plant and water it in. 
d) Fish meal: all-purpose fertilizer, and you can often buy this in liquid form.
e) Eggshells: great source of calcium! I dig these in when I plant my brassicas (kale, broccoli, cabbage) and my tomatoes.
f) Kelp: high in potassium, which is what is needed for fruit growth. Also has lots of trace elements.
g) Greensand: high in potassium but releases slowly so it's a great long-term amendment.

*List summarized from "Organic Gardening for the 21st Century" by John Fedor. For more details, check the book out of the library!


~~~~~~

The other night I mixed up my own granular fertilizer mix using "Green Earth Bone Plus", "Earthsafe Kelp Meal" and "Earthsafe Blood Meal". The contents may vary by brand so you probably don't want to cut and paste my formula if you're not using those brands.

Basic All Purpose Fertilizer: 
1 part Blood Meal, 4 parts Bone Meal, 12 parts Kelp Meal 
          for an NPK ratio of 1.9 : 3.2 : 1

High Nitrogen Formula (for leafy veggies, winter squash, and corn):
1 (and a bit) part Blood Meal, 2 parts Bone meal, and 6 parts Kelp Meal 
         for an NPK ratio of 2.4 : 3 : 1

When I transplant or seed outdoors, each hole gets some of this and some worm poo, and we're off! I also usually purchase a small container of an organic liquid feed for my tomatoes that I use every few weeks during the summer.

And that's it! I hope you find this helpful in your journey of moving away from chemicals in your home garden. Feel free to comment here or on Facebook if there are other things you use!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Gardening Quiz

What kind of gardener are you?

It's been a sunny week in the end of April, all the snow is gone, and the soil is just starting to warm up. Do you:

a) seed your peas and spinach?
b) plant out your broccoli starts?
c) transplant your tomato seedlings?
d) rejoice and pull out the kiddie pool?
e) nothing? (duh, everyone knows you don't plant until the May long weekend.)

If you're thinking WWCD (what would Christie do), here's my thoughts on the subject. :)

If you chose (a) and/or (b), you are a risk-taking gardener! But not a super crazy one. Did you know that broccoli plants can survive temperatures of up to -4 degrees C? In fact, last year mine were out in late April when we had a snowstorm, and they survived (under their lightweight row cover) with very minor frostbite. 

If you chose (c), I hope you have a greenhouse! I planted mine out in early May last year, but it had been mid-20s for a week and I was still taking a risk with those tender tomatoes. Then again, in central Alberta, you are always taking a risk with your garden! I distinctly remember a July or August snowstorm one year when I was a kid. 

If you chose (e), you might be surprised to know that our average last frost date in Edmonton is May 10, which is 2 weeks earlier than the long weekend. You can certainly wait until the long weekend to plant tender veggies like peppers and tomatoes, but most other plants and seeds can go in the ground much earlier. And if you are dying to get gardening after seeing snow for far too long, this might be just what the doctor ordered for your sanity!

So, in short, here's what I plan to do when this most recent snow dump melts (and baby stops nursing long enough for me to get outside)...

1) Rejoice!
2) Dig some compost into my raised beds.
3) Harden off and transplant my broccoli, parsley, and possibly my cabbage as well.
4) Seed my spinach, peas nd kale. as soon as the soil is not super waterlogged.
5) In the next couple weeks I hope also to seed my beets and carrots. If baby allows!


Sunday, March 2, 2014

Who wants to save money?

Wondering if a garden is worth it? This might convince you. 

My garden is not gigantic, nor do I spend all my time in it, carefully tending the plants. It's a mid-sized, semi-neglected garden (due to having children and working part-time!). Last September I snagged the prices of some of the more common produce that you can buy organic (which is what we normally buy), and I kept a pretty careful count of how much I harvested. It drove my family crazy ("WAIT! Don't eat that before I weigh it!") but it was worth it for a one-time accounting of the produce coming out of that nice black dirt. 

Ready for it? dum da da dum...

Zucchini: $75.60 (40 lbs x $1.89/lb)
Beans: $17.96 (4.5 lbs x $3.99/lb)
Tomatoes: $211.47 (53 lbs x 3.99/lb)
Winter squash: $64.22 (38 lbs x $1.69/lb)
Carrots: $24.90 (10 lbs x $2.49/lb)
Cucumber: $14.76 (4 lbs x 3.69/lb 
Strawberries: $42.85 (10.74 lbs x $3.99/lb)

So that's $451.76 before taking into account the apples (2 young trees), honeyberries (6 bushes), and raspberries. Oh that's right, and we also had lettuce, chard and kale (which are VERY expensive to buy organic), broccoli (8+ lbs), snap peas (3+ lbs), garlic (18 large heads), and cabbage (4 heads). 

So if you have someone in your life that thinks gardening is a waste of money/time, show them this! It doesn't take a ton of time to reap big dividends from a basic garden. 

Happy planting!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

A Seeding Calendar for the Curious


A friend asked to know when I start my seeds, so here it is! I base my seed-starting times on the "weeks before average last frost date" chart in the Square Foot Gardening book. I have them permanently in my iCalendar so I never forget when it's time to get started!

Lots of people do things differently, like starting tomatoes way earlier, but this seems to work for me. I don't have any grow lights and put everything in my south-facing windowsill, so I don't like to start too terribly early. My plants still get "leggy" but if I turn them every couple days, they seem to get a lot sturdier. Anyway, based on the average last frost date of May 10 in Edmonton (NOT May long weekend as so many suppose!), here are the dates around which I generally try to start plants. It's not an exact science - I haven't had time to start my "feb 15" stuff yet, and it's obviously almost a week later. It'll happen. Also, this is not an exhaustive list of plants, since I don't grow everything. 


Early February: seed onions inside

February 15: seed broccoli, cabbage, parsley inside

March 22: Seed first lettuce inside

March 26: Seed tomatoes and peppers. (I usually start a few of my tomatoes earlier than this)

April 5: transplant broccoli and seed peas/kale/spinach OUTSIDE. (Obviously this is dependent on the absence of snow. But broccoli can withstand up to -4 degrees C so don't be too afraid to put it out! If it snows, just put a row cover on it. Mine got frost-bitten last year but they all survived.)

April 19: Seed beets/carrots/lettuce OUTSIDE, transplant lettuce

April 25: Seed squash inside 
(this includes all pumpkins, zucchini, etc. Theoretically you can start them earlier but it's not really worth the counter space they take up, since the bigger they are, the longer they take to get growing properly after transplanting in the garden.)

May 3: Seed cucumbers inside

May 10: Transplant tomatoes, squash, and onions OUTSIDE, seed beans straight into the ground OUTSIDE. (only if it's warm; beans will rot if the soil is cold and soggy)

May 17: Transplant cucumbers outside

May 24: Transplant peppers outside

That's it! I hope you find that helpful.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Start 'er up!

I was mulling over a conversation I had the other day with a friend who wants to start gardening. I was showing her my seed-starting stuff and my specially mixed potting soil and she was very excited to get started. But after she left, I realized that I forgot the one piece of advice that every gardener tells someone who's just starting - 

START EASY! 

So here's my not-really-sage advice. Feel free to ignore it, but I'm pretty sure it has merit.

1) Make a SMALL plot. 

Whether this is digging up your current soil or putting in a small raised bed, do it small. I promise you that the first year, you will have a TON of weeds (unless you buy weed-free soil from the greenhouse, but that's kinda pricey). You WILL regret digging up half your yard at one time, unless of course you love weeding so much that there's nothing else you'd rather do all summer. I, on the other hand, must also keep small boys from maiming each other while maintaining my garden, so I'm VERY glad I started with two raised beds and added more in subsequent years. 

2) Make a SMALL grocery list. 

Go into your first garden knowing that what you're going to plant is probably going to work out. For example, if you plant eggplant, celery, cauliflower, and peppers in your garden, you may have some success. But frankly, in central Alberta, you'll probably just get leaves and immature veggies. On the other hand, if you put in carrots, lettuce, zucchini, and a few tomato plants, you'll probably feel so happy at the end of the summer that you'll be dying to put in more garden space for next year! This will also help convince those skeptical spouses/children/neighbours. When they see that stuff is actually growing and that you really can eat it, they'll probably give you the green light. Heck, they'll probably give you next year's grocery list. :)

3) Buy transplants. 

Yeah, I know it's more expensive. But seriously, if this is your first crack at gardening, it makes sense to avoid the sometimes-finicky seeding part. Let the pros do that and then reap from their labor by buying a nice big tomato plant. Take the year to learn how to feed and water your plants. Those things are rather important. And you'll feel AMAZING when your neighbour compliments you on your tomato crop. Next year, you can grow it from seed with the confidence that you actually know how to keep it alive in the summer. 

If I've forgotten something, feel free to comment. But I hope that helps!