The Passionate Gardener

Hi everyone,
I would like to share with you an annual event put on by several local garden enthusiasts. these gardeners start seeds very early and nurture them for several months.   I’ve got lots on the go already, including tomatoes, peppers, artichokes,  and many flowers.    I plan to sell many of them at the Calgary Area Hippie Gardeners’ Plant Sale.
This is a great local group of gardeners who try to grow in organic methods and avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides.
Come check it out Saturday, May 4th, 2019 from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Dalhousie Community Centre in Calgary.
Here is a link to the Facebook event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/421260261982690/

I think every new gardener makes a terrible mistake at one point.  We return from the garden centre, laden with beautiful young plants that we can’t wait to plant.  Unfortunately, the next day after planting, they have all died. What went wrong?

The plants needed to be hardened off before they were planted.  The term “hardening off ” refers to getting tender greenhouse or indoor plants used to the harsher outdoor conditions before they are permanently outdoors.  In the greenhouse, conditions are perfect for young plants.  The humidity is high, the wind is low, and the light is bright but not burning.  Adequate water is always available.

The great outdoors is not necessarily set up to nurture young plants.  Cold, heat, direct sunlight, and wind are all damaging to plants that have not yet adapted to this.  Gardeners must take on the job of slowly adapting plants to outdoor conditions.

Step one: Observe conditions outdoors.  If the temperature is less than 5-10 degrees Celsius, it may not be worth bringing the plants outdoors at all, because the cold can weaken them, and they won’t grow at all.  It may be best to leave them indoors in a bright sunny window.

Step Two: If it’s warm enough, choose a proper location.  On the first day of outdoor life, plants should be kept in a shady and protected spot.  Remember, a shady location outdoors is still exposed to more sunlight than most indoor locations, because there are no windows to block the light.  The wind is also a problem, so choose a spot that does not get wind.  If necessary, a cardboard box can be used to

Gardening season is officially here in Calgary, and every day I see more people ready to purchase soil for their new raised or in-ground beds.  They are often looking for the cheapest place to buy “top soil” and so I felt this post is timely.

First, a definition: What is top soil?  According to Better Homes and Gardens “Topsoil is the top layer of the earth’s surface. Topsoil is dark in color and high in organic matter, which makes it very easy to till and fertilize ground for growing plants. It is scraped from the ground  and sold in bags or bulk, often called “black dirt”.”  I thought this was an interesting definition, and it touches on the points I want to make.

Top soil is not always dark in colour or high in organic matter.  In the Calgary area, top soil is usually what is scraped off by developers as they create new neighbourhoods, and may not be very high in organic material at all.  (It may also incorporate a lot of the sub soil, as our top soil is not always very thick.)  As the soil is processed, the soil biology is destroyed, and many of the volatile nutrients, such as nitrogen, are lost to the air. What is left is generally very high in clay, and fairly low in organic material or humus.

This is in a local garden. You can see the clay that has baked in the sun, and the weeds that are trying to grow.

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When my children were small, I always used them in my explanation of garden design for my clients. I would say “ Suppose my children snuck into your garden one night and cut off all the flowers. Your garden should still look good. If we design using foliage first, the flowers will be a bonus.” 
 We are so fortunate that plant breeders have worked so hard to create perennials, trees and shrubs with amazing foliage colours and textures, neat and tidy habits and interesting features such as attractive bark or long lasting seed heads. It’s important to use these features to full advantage when designing the ornamental garden. Plants that are perennial (live more than one season) typically don’t have a long season of bloom, because the plant is not trying to go to seed as quickly and prolifically as possible as annuals (plants that only live one season) do. This means that choosing all your perennials based on their flowers may not lead to the best possible garden.

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