GARDENING TIPS FOR CALGARY’S UNIQUE CLIMATE

After a long winter, the arrival of spring deserves the red carpet treatment! There’s no better way to embrace the season than by getting down and dirty in your garden, terrace, or balcony, nurturing your green oasis in the heart of Calgary. From planning to planting, we’ve got you covered with expert tips to make your garden flourish.

Planning Your Garden

Before you get carried away buying plants, consider the conditions they need, the space available, the desired look, your budget, and unchangeable factors like sun exposure, wind, pets, and maintenance. Good soil is essential – avoid using garden soil in containers, as it’s too heavy and can harbor insects and diseases. Instead, replace last year’s container soil with fresh potting mix, and consider adding coffee grounds, tea leaves, and crushed eggshells for extra nutrients.

Calgary’s Alkaline Soil

Calgary’s soil is typically alkaline, with a pH of 7.5-8. You can test your soil’s pH using kits from garden stores or with a DIY vinegar and baking soda test. Alkaline-loving herbs, veggies, and perennials include lavender, parsley, oregano, asparagus, beans, garlic, Jacob’s ladder, bearded iris, columbine, daylilies, delphinium, hosta, shasta daisy, and yarrow. Fruit trees and shrubs producing fruit, like blueberries, prefer acidic soil.

Spring Garden Tasks

Now is the time to divide or thin out perennials, except peonies, which are a fall task. Remove dead wood from shrubs and roses, but wait until after lilacs have bloomed to prune them. Remove crossing and rubbing tree branches.

Seed Sowing and Container Planting

It’s too late to sow seeds outdoors now, except for sweet peas. Most annuals and perennial seeds should be sown in doors six to eight weeks before transplanting. You can plant containers and pots, but watch the weather, as delicate an nuals like begonias can’t tolerate low temperatures. Pansies, however, are foolproof. Acclimate newly purchased annuals by moving them inside and outside for three or four days.

First-Time Gardeners

If you’re new to gardening, try a container planting with a dracaena spike for height, geraniums as filler, and lobelia as a spiller. Deadhead spent blooms, and give lobelia a hard haircut in late summer.

Growing Your Own Food

Gardening is a perfect opportunity to grow your own food and spend quality time with family. After the May long weekend, you can plant seeds to avoid frost damage. Ensure your garden receives at least 6 hours of sunlight daily and consider placing it near a fence for protection against severe weather. Take into account the sunlight and available space in your backyard to determine whether a container or gar den bed is the most suitable option. Consult the information on the seed package for guidance

Getting Your Garden Bed Ready

Begin by breaking up the soil and incorporating compost to enrich it with essential nutrients. Aim for an optimal com posted manure content of 10-30% of the overall soil volume. Vegetable compost should be added yearly, while animal composts can be applied every three years, as they contain higher salt concentrations.

Planting Seeds

Plant seeds according to the spacing and depth guidelines on seed packages, and buy starter plants for varieties with longer harvest dates, like tomatoes and peppers

• Spacing - is important so plants don’t compete for sunlight and nutrients, place taller plants near the back.

• Depth - don’t plant seeds too deep or they won’t come up or might not be as strong when they do.

• Starter Plants - it’s recommended to buy plants for varieties with a longer harvest date: tomatoes and peppers.

• Tips - For salad greens sow the seeds thickly and harvest with scissors. When the lettuce is 4 inches tall you can cut what you want to eat as they’ll grow back for several cuttings.

See page 24 for the Calgary Horticultural Society Seed Chart.

With these helpful tips in mind, we hope you’ll be inspired to embark on your gardening journey. Begin modestly by planting a selection of your family’s most-loved vegetables, and relish the benefits of spending time outdoors and enjoying freshly harvested produce. For additional guidance, explore the City of Calgary’s website (calgary.ca/parks-rec-programs/at-home/gardening-beginner-vegetables) or consider becoming a member of the Calgary Horticultural Society (www.calhort.org).

Calgary Horticultural Society Seed Chart

Calgary has a shorter growing season. It’s recommended to buy starter plants, instead of growing from seeds, plants that take longer to mature like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and melons.

*Days to harvest is the length of time from the seeding/transplanting date until you are able to start harvesting your vegetables

*If you did not start your own seeds for the vegetables listed as transplant visit your local garden centre to buy some starter plants

References:

Bill Brooks, Calgary Herald, calgaryherald.com

City of Calgary, calgary.ca

Calgary Horticultural Society, www.calhort.org

Spring Showers - 2 oz

1.5 oz Buckle Vodka

.5 oz Elderflower Liqueur

.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

4 oz Prosecco

Add the vodka, elderflower liqueur & fresh lemon juice to an ice filled shaker and shake until well chilled. Strain into a champagne flute and top with prosecco. Garnish with a lemon twist.