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 garden.
Plant early
Between snowmelt and planting time we often have a few weeks of dry cool weather. It is too cold to plant anything that is sensitive to frost, but root vegetables and especially onions can already be planted. These plants will not mind a bit of frost but will have a better start, before it is too dry to germinate.
Spinach, we actually plant in the fall, so it can grow during the cooler spring days. Planting spinach during dry spring does not give good results. Read more about growing overwintering spinach here.
Self-seeded plants also often do much better than planted seeds, so I actually plan to do a trial of planting all the cool weather crops in the fall to maybe get better results in sprouting. We will keep you posted.
Start seedlings
To have better results it helps to have seedlings to transplant instead of planting seeds. Especially if you have no way to water the garden, transplants might be a real help. However, those seedlings also need water to get established. Still, we find that we often do have better results. See here a schedule for when to start things for transplants.
Water
We try not water much during the whole growing season. We prefer to use mulch instead. However, in spring to get seeds germinated and plants established we do water the garden.
Our big garage roof gives us a lot of water during even a smallish rain. With a water pump and a hose that reaches to the farthest corner of our garden watering is not a huge task. Read more about watering the vegetable garden here.
Shade
Bright sunshine all throughout a spring day is often too much for young seedlings. Use shade cloth or frost blanket to give the plants the needed protection from the sun. Frost blankets can also be left on not just for shading during the day, but also to give the plant some heat during cool spring nights, it’s a win-win.
Mulch
Most of our garden is mulched with wood chips at all times. Mulch can not hold moisture that is not there, but it can keep the soil moist for longer. Young plants can be mulched soon after planting.
Don’t grow plants that can’t handle dryness
In our garden, we have stopped to grow broccoli. We grow some very early in the greenhouse but then when spring planting comes, broccoli is not on our list. These plants just go to seeds instead of forming a head for us. If you still want to grow them, you can, just water a lot.
We also seldom grow radish, again, you can but watering is a must. Otherwise, they will be small and taste bitter.
Carrots are also very difficult to start in dry soil, but we love them so much, that irrigating is worth it. Once they are up and growing, they do not need much attention any longer.
These are our tips to overcome the dry spring challenge in the garden. You might have some that we are missing. Please share in a comment below.
We invite you to subscribe to Northern Homestead and follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest for the latest updates.
A great trick for a dry area is to plant in a slight dip, or raise a little ridge around each plant so that any water you do give is focussed onto the plant roots, rather than dispersed all around the area. Also, check how deeply the water has penetrated. Especially when it’s dry and a bit dusty it can take a lot of water to get past the top layer. One trick to help with that is to put a tiny drop of eco washing up liquid or some other eco surfactant into the water. This cuts the surface tension to allow the water to get into the spaces in the soil more effectively. In practice at the community allotment, that just means distributing the washing up water around the site.
Thank you Tracey, great tips. I have never done the soap trick. Just water once briefly and give it a few minutes to steep and then water again more helps too.
Thanks, we are right below you in Montana. It is hard to keep the gardens watered. Some days I have droopy plants in the evening.
Hello!
I just stumbled on your page and am reading up a storm! I also live in the foothills of Alberta and am just starting to garden. I planted my first garden 2 years ago and it was a flop. But I’m trying again this year!! I’m curious…. what type of wood chip mulch are you using? And at what stage do you start mulching if you’ve direct sown seeds? I’m doing sure foot gardening style so am unsure how I’ll mulch but I think it would be a big help (my first season I didn’t mulch and found my soil to get so dry and crusty on top). Thanks so much for all of your information.. it’s so helpful to a new gardener like me!! The bucketloads of information out there makes it seem a bit daunting!
Thank you for your kind words. We usually mulch the garden before planting, so the soil is always covered. We use wood chips from a local tree care company that he can’t use otherwise. It’s a mixture of everything, twigs, leaves, wood, etc. For a super foot garden, I would suggest compost as mulch instead of wood chips, simply because you plant so densely, there is no room for chunky mulch. Simply add a layer of compost on top, in late fall or early spring. Plant into the compost. Since this season has already started, you can wait till the plants are a few inches tall and put come compost or grass clippings around the plants. I hope this helps, happy gardening!