food gardening in Calgary

Poppy Post April 2017 Issue 40

Sat, 01 Apr 2017 19:15:20 +0000

]]>

Cheating Tips for Gardening in Calgary

Tue, 08 Dec 2015 03:46:46 +0000

Extending the growing season in Calgary can be done in a few different ways: overwintering, winter growing, winter harvesting. Some of these techniques may require the use of mulches, row covers, portable greenhouses, plant shelters, cold frames, hot beds so they are topics for another day. Overwintering refers to planting of seeds or bulbs in late Fall for the purpose of harvesting next spring or summer. Winter vegetable growing allows you to extend or “cheat” our short growing season by providing crops up to 3-4 weeks earlier then spring planting depending on the crop selected.

Here are our Top 8 Vegetables to grow outdoors over winter:

These winter vegetable seeds can be sown directly outdoors and will cope well with cold winter weather. The addition of 5 centimeters of mulch like dry leaves will help reduce the drying effects of frost.1. Onions and ShallotsFall planting of shallots and onion sets are easy to grow and will virtually look after themselves over winter. Onions have a long growing season and won’t be ready for harvesting until next summer, so you will need to plan carefully as they will still be in the ground when you start planting other crops in spring. 2. Garlic

Growing garlic couldn’t be easier and there are lots of varieties to choose from for Fall planting. Like onions, they have a long growing season and won’t be ready to harvest until next summer, but it is well worth the wait!

3. Spring Onions

Winter hardy varieties of spring onion make a tasty accompaniment to winter salads. They are a fairly quick growing crop and early Fall sowings should be ready to harvest by early spring.

4. SpinachPerpetual spinach makes an excellent ‘cut and come again’ crop that will produce huge yields of tasty leaves. Early Fall sowings will keep you supplied with tender young leaves throughout winter and with regular harvesting it will continue to crop well into summer! 5. AsparagusIf you have plenty of space then why not plant a permanent asparagus bed this Fall. Although asparagus beds take several years to establish, each asparagus crown can produce up to 25 spears per year and will continue cropping for 25 years. You will need to be patient with this crop as it will be 2 years before you can harvest them properly – but the promise of tender, home grown asparagus spears is well worth the wait.

6. Carrots and Parsnips

For an early crop of carrots, Fall planting will give your harvest a 3 to 4 week head start. While you may want to leave your carrots in the ground to harvest after the frost to allow the plants to convert some of their starch stores into sugar, your crop will be fully grown. Parsnips in particular benefit from this longer growing period as do carrots with the unpredictable seasons in our region, we all remember Snow-tember 2014. Root vegetables undertake this starch conversion to keep the water in their cells from freezing, the cells inside a carrot might have icy-cold water, but that water won’t turn into ice.

7. Bok Choi and Pak Choi

This traditionally oriental vegetable (bok choi or pak choi) can be harvested young throughout the winter as individual salad leaves, or let the heads mature and add the succulent stems to dishes like stir fries. Bok and Pak Choi are quick to mature and packed full of nutrients. Although they are often grown as a summer crop, they can still be sown in late summer for transplanting under cover in the Fall.

8. Kale

Kale is also another great candidate for winter harvesting if grown under row coverings. In fact, hard frost converts starches to sugar in the plant making kale a tad sweeter to enjoy. If you find kale, swiss chard, turnip, brussel sprouts, parsnips to be bitter tasting, try letting the plants get a touch of frost or two and the taste difference becomes quite noticeable.

So, don’t let your vegetable garden sit empty over the winter. You’ll be impressed come next spring.

]]>

Top 3 Mid-Summer Garden Activities

Thu, 09 Jul 2015 21:50:13 +0000

Midsummer is a beautiful time of the growing season. The primary activity to care for your garden will be assuring a plentiful supply of water for your plants. The golden rule of summer watering is to water thoroughly and deeply each time and to allow the soil dry out between waterings. Deep watering will allow the plant’s roots to grow deeper, where they are less likely to dry out, as well as help anchor the plant into the ground better.

There are a few other key activities to be doing in your gardens during July as well.

Deadheading

Continue to dead head (remove dead flowers) your annual plants to encourage continued blooming. The number one mission of any plant is to create seed to re-produce itself. As soon as the flowers have gone to seed the plant will slow down drastically or even die feeling like its mission is accomplished. Removing the spent blooms will signal to the plant to send more energy to produce blooms. Deadheading will keep the plant in constant production mode.

As deadheading redirects the plant’s energy from producing seed, to putting on new growth above and below ground the results will often be the emergence of new shoots from two or more buds rather than the previous one. This creates a bushier, stronger plant.

Allowing the flowers to go to seed will of course, lead to spreading of the seeds. While you may love your plant, your fellow community gardeners may not want it in their garden. You may wish to harvest the seeds to keep for next year or at home rather than have them dispersed throughout the community garden.

If your annuals have died off, pull them out and add them to the compost pile. Replant that spot with hardy annuals or perennials to last into the Fall.

Thinning

A crowded garden is actually less productive. All food crops do best with plenty of sunlight and air circulation, a crowded garden, denies all plants, especially the smaller underplanted crops from getting the resources they need to stay productive.

If your garden is overly crowded, now is the time to get ruthless. Cut away the spent foliage on all plants, or pull out and eliminate the plants that are in decline, especially if their productive days are over. Weaker plants are more susceptible to diseases, which can spread to other plants or overwinter in your garden, only to show up next season. By removing them at the first signs, you reduce the chances of that happening.

Thinning your veggies like carrots, radishes, lettuce and other greens is extremely important for the health of your plants. Do it when the greens are about 4″ tall and thin until they’re about 1.5 – 2 cms apart. You may need to do it again in about a month. There will need to be enough space between the plants to allow the plant or root to mature. Thinning also gives you the opportunity to hill around the carrots and radishes to prevent discolouration or ‘green shoulders’. Thinning of greens such as lettuce allows for air circulation around the leaves and this will prevent mildews and other fungal diseases.

Fertilizing

Fertilize June bearing strawberries after the harvest, and ever-bearing varieties half way through the season.
Succession planting of salad crops for continued harvesting throughout the summer. Sow seeds for cool-season crops directly into the garden by mid-July.
Get a second bloom from faded annuals by cutting them back by one half their height, then fertilize them with a liquid 5-10-10 fertilizer.
Fertilize container gardens regularly with a liquid all purpose plant food.

And of course, begin enjoying the harvest of your homegrown edibles and the beauty of your flowers!

]]>