Planting seeds into something that feels more like dust than soil, is a common thing here in Alberta. With over 300 days of sunshine a year we do not get much of rain at any time. Spring, however, often feels especially dry. Here we share how we deal with the dry spring weather challenge in the ...
Growing
To Till or Not to Till the Garden
To till or not to till the garden is a question gardeners in the past did not have. Growing up on a homestead, our garden has been always cleaned up, fertilized with composted manure, and turned over. We did that every spring. Teens and young adults in our rural town would form work crews to help to ...
Do Not Use Weed Control Fabric in the Garden
Just to roll some Weed Control Fabric (aka landscape fabric) out in your garden and not to worry about weeding anymore sounds good. Stopping weeds without dangerous chemical, and doing it for many years - some give a 25 years guarantee, wow! But is this true, does it work as promised? Here are 3 ...
When to Plant What – And Why Not To Follow the General Rule
When to plant what? - The answer to that question in our area seems to be very simple: on the May long weekend. This has to do with our last frost day, which is around May 25, and the Canadian Victoria day, a holiday that happens to be around the last frost day. Many gardeners here have followed ...
Growing Food – Onions
If you are into growing food – onions is a great plant in your garden. We definitely recommend growing onions even though they are not on the dirty dozen list of foods that are contaminated with pesticides the most. So if there is no room in your garden, or you struggle to grow a good onion, you can ...
Growing a Greenhouse Garden
Growing a greenhouse garden in a cold climate is like moving a portion of your garden south. There are many greenhouses to choose from for different uses. A greenhouse garden is a busy and fun place. If you only used your greenhouse to start plants in the spring, consider extending the use to a ...
High Pressure Aeroponics Guide
Recently we described our NFT downspout hydroponics system which you can read about here. Now imagine having a large box for the plant's roots that are now suspended in the air, and the nutrient-rich water solution is being sprayed onto the roots in a form of a fine mist. What you will get is called ...
Varieties of Berries for Zone 3 Garden
Berries are the best fruit cold climate gardeners can grow. Berries are the category of produce where we can shine. We grow many berries in our garden, but there are more varieties of berries for zone 3 garden that can be grown. Why grow berries Of all the fruit to grow, berries are the best ...
Starting Seeds Indoors
Winter in our area isn't over yet. The last frost day is still more than two months away. But spring is coming and with it the next growing season! Starting seeds indoors is the start for a new garden season. Why start seeds indoors? Why we do things depends on what we want to achieve. What is the ...
Spring Indoor Seed-Starting Schedule
There are different ideas about when to start seeds indoors. Some gardeners like to start very early, and others like ourselves follow a later indoor seed-starting schedule. In this post, we want to take a look when and why we start seeds following this schedule. The Seed Starting Schedule Plants ...