Calgary Gardening Adventures

Monster Bee - Bumble Bee Queen

2011-08-13T11:31:00.003-07:00

Two years ago while wandering in the garden I heard what sounded like an abnormally low and loud buzzing from a flying insect. I then watched in disbelief as a bee about 4 cm long buzzed around the flowers! Having grown up in a rural setting on the Canadian prairies, I have seen most noteworthy common insects. Never in my life have I seen a bee larger than the typical +/- 2 cm long variety. This bee was at least twice as large! Since then I have not seen a bee like this. Until today.

I managed to get a few fuzzy photos of the creature. I'm guessing this much be either a relatively new species to the Canadian prairies, or a very rare one at least. The bee is on Delphinium flowers about 3 cm in width. I estimate the bee to be about 3.5 to 4 cm in length (depending if you include wingtips).

UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from the Home Bug Gardener, the bee in the photo looks likely to be a queen bumble-bee. I later discovered my next door neighbour has a bee nest under her back step, the possible bee colony location for this queen. The bees are frequent visitors in particular to our oregano plant, where I typically see at least 10 bees feeding at any given time. However, the queen is rarely seen, this is only the second time in the last two years I've seen her.

In other news, we have been enjoying garden produce all summer, especially lettuce, spinach, volunteer lamb's quarter and chervil salads (I also include radish leaves, though the rest of the family does not care for them due to the small fuzz on them). Most plants are recovering from the hail except maybe the potatoes.

Saskatoon and False Solomon's Seal Berries

2011-08-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

On an urban foraging outing today I gathered some wild Saskatoons. It is a bit early as the few that were not under-ripe were barely ripe. The best picking will be in a week or two. We compared the taste with a commercial variety and find the taste much stronger (and a bit more tart) in the wild berries. I'm guessing that one wild berry contains more nutrients/anti-oxidants/etc. than a single commerical berry, even though the commercial berries are larger. The commercial berry is quite bland, watery and sweet tasting in comparison.

There was a lot of False Solomon's Seal (Maianthemum racemosum) growing among the saskatoon berries. When picking the low Saskatoon berries it could potentially be easy to accidentally pick a False Solomon's Seal. The berries look similar at this time of year on quick glance. So I did some quick online and book searching to check if it is poisonous (as I may take the kids next time). My book source [1] does not indicate edibility, but a few online sources indicated they are "edible, but no palatable" and high in Vitamin C [2], [3].

Also, "the fruit is said to be laxative in large quantities when eaten raw, especially if one is not used to eating it, though thorough cooking removes this laxative effect. Young leaves are edible, raw or cooked. The young shoots, as they emerge in spring, can be used as an asparagus substitute. The young shoots and leaves are cooked and used as greens. The root is edible cooked. It should be soaked in alkaline water first to get rid of a disagreeable taste. It can be eaten like potatoes."[3] Medicinal uses are also listed at the link.

So it appears the occasional False Solomon's Seal berry will not do much harm if not too many are eaten at once.

[1] Wildflowers Across the Prairies, Field-Use Edition, F.R. Vance, J.R. Jowsey, J.S. McLean, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1977.

[2] Northern Bushcraft, list of website references, accessed August 7, 2011.

[3] Montana Plant Life , accessed August 7, 2011.

When it rains it... hails!

2011-08-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

We usually get at least one hail storm each summer. Fortunately this year it was later in the summer than usual. Unfortunately the hail was a bit larger and longer duration than usual, plus we had two big hailstorms in three days (August 3 and 5).

Most plants have a varying degree of leaf shredding. The potatoes, lettuce (except for the ones I managed to cover with plastic during both storms), swiss chard and rhubard got the worst of it and the others faired quite well and I think will recover fine. I don't think the potatoes will grow much more this year.

Companion Planting & June Garden Update

2011-06-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Something I need to learn more about is companion planting. I find in the rush of spring planting , the thought of suitable companion plants is often overlooked. However, I did manage to plant lettuce and radish together (see photo below), which I now discover in hindsight are good companion plants. Reader's Digest has a good companion planting list which confirms this.

I planted some spearmint among the raspberries and rhubarb, though these are not listed together in the above list. In hindsight, I should have planted the mint in a container to keep it from spreading. But does not appear to be germinating, which may be due to use of seed several years old.

I gambled and planted the potatoes early (above photo), first week in May, as well as several other veggies. This year we were fortunate to have the last heavy frost on April 30, well before the average last frost date of May 20. Now to see if we have a below or above average hail year...

Future posts will include a scan of the garden layout for this year. Overall the plantings are more of the same that was planted in previous years. I did not plant peas this year as they did not do so well in the last two years. Most plants are doing well except the beans, which are struggling with poor germination and insect (or bird?) nibbling.

Rhubarb is up!

2011-05-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

The rhubarb is up, beginning the push upward around May 5 for 2011. For comparison, previous years as follows:

2010: April 16
2009: April 25
2008: April 15

Definitely a late start this year.

Last fall I pulled out the low producing strawberries (originally transplanted from neighbour). The berries were very small (a few mm at most) and sparse. Today I transplanted some larger/higher producing strawberries from another neighbour. Nice rains this evening to help them establish. Now to figure out what all to plant this year...!

Local Calgary Area Farms

2011-03-20T19:38:00.001-07:00

For the most part, the garden produce from the backyard is a supplement to regular purchases from the local Co-op grocery store. However, I have been seeking alternative local sources for certain bulk purchases, mainly grain and meat.

The following is intended as a mostly personal reference summarizing local Calgary area farms that sell produce through non-retail outlets such as direct to consumers and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's). I will include links to Farmer's Markets in Calgary, but not include individual links to the farms at the markets as they are likely already listed online.

Community Supported Agriculture

A comprehensive list can be found at the following link:

Community Supported Agriculture in Alberta

Some of the farms include:

Oxyoke Farms (near Linden, AB)

Thompson Small Farm (near Sundre, AB as of MAR 2011, formerly near Carbon, AB)

Organic Grain Suppliers

Local Organic Spelt Growers - Page with additional links specifically related to Spelt Growers

Organic Agriculture Websites - links from the Alberta Government

Calgary Farmer's Markets

A list of local farmers markets can be found at (needs updating):

Calgary Farmers Markets

Another list of Calgary and area farmers markets, may be outdated plus has annoying pop-up ads:

Calgary & Area Farmers' Markets

Below: Some Calgary Farmers Markets near north Calgary with websites:

Blackfoot Farmers Market

Calgary Farmers' Market

Kingsland Farmers' Market

Thorncliffe/Greenview Community Association - Outdoor Farmers Market

Usually has some local Hutterites selling veggies in the parking lot in July and August.

This page is intended mainly for my own reference and will not be comprehensive. My interest is primarily ordering cuts of meat and organic grains directly from farmers, so that is the focus of the list. I will update it from time to time. Let me know if you see any errors or have discovered a farm that should be added.

Black Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) - Alberta Invasive Species Series

2011-01-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

Catching up on some contemplated summer posts that never materialized, the following describes my encounter last summer with the intimidating (cue scary music): BLACK HENBANE (Hyoscyamus niger), also known as Stinking Nightshade . Both names sounding quite ominous. And for good reason.

I encountered a patch of these evildoers in West Nose Creek Park. Not knowing what they were at the time, I took some photos and did some research. The plants were hard to miss, standing up to four feet tall!

As someone who grew up on the prairies and never having seen this plant before, I figured such a large and obtrusive plant must be an invasive species. This narrowed my search considerably. Once identifying the plant, I washed my hands after learning of its toxic nature.

Black Henbane is classified as "Noxious" by the Alberta Invasive Plants Council [1]. Some interesting characteristics of the plant are summarized below (from [1]):

Annual or Perennial
Reproduces by seed only (see photos below of seed pods)
Native to Eurasia
All parts of the plant are poisonous to animals (including humans)
A single plant can produce up to 500,000 seeds per season
Seeds are typically viable for up to four years
Prefers sunny areas

Proliferate Seed Pods (above)

West Nose Creek Park (natural area), above

I notified the City of Calgary about the weeds presence and offered my volunteer labour to help remove them. Being such a large bushy plant, I envisioned that hand removal would be quite easy with a pair of rubber gloves and garbage bags. But then what to do with the remains to prevent further spread?

I received no response from the City, but a few weeks later the plants had been removed and the City had done some spot spraying for invasive weeds, primarily Yellow Clematis (Clematis tangutica) which has really taken hold in the park. I'll be keeping my eye out for their potential return.

[1] Black Henbane - Alberta Invasive Plants Council

Local Organic Spelt Growers

2010-11-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

I am researching options for purchasing local organic spelt. My gut reacts strongly to consumption of regular wheat, but I have discovered spelt has no such ill effects.

So far we have been purchasing organic spelt from the Daybreak-Scheresky Mill in Estevan, Saskatchewan (via a health food store in a small Saskatchewan town where the in-laws live). I have been wondering what other options may be out there and cost comparisons, since we use a lot of it. If anyone has info further to what is listed here, please let us know.

I contacted a local Calgary bakery and they said they source most of their spelt from Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Other sources I have found, so far, via the internet includes:

Grainworks Inc. (Kincaid, SK)
A family farm moved in 2001 from near Vulcan, AB to SW Saskatchewan (near hamlet of Kincaid). They sell various organic products including spelt.

Gold Forest Grains (near Edmonton, AB)
Do not currently grow spelt, but plan to in the near future.

General Directories of Organic Farms

Saskatchewan and Alberta Organic Farm Directory (no spelt growers currently listed)

Calgary Area Organic Crop Growers Directory (no spelt growers currently listed)

Alberta Virtual Farm Tour (no spelt growers currently listed)

This page will be updated as I discover more related info.

Above photos are of the family farm I grew up on in Saskatchewan.

Harvesting After Frost - Coriander and Wheat

2010-11-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hard frost has hit, but gardening work continues for a while longer. Compost has been spread on the garden (note to self, take frequent breaks to save the back). Leaf raking in process.

Neighbour's Mountain Ash (aka Rowan, Genus: Sorbus), not sure which species. The photos were taken during a brilliant rose-coloured sunrise. The photos are shown as-is, unedited.

Harvesting continues. The coriander (cilantro) is at perfect harvesting conditions, falling off the plant with relatively little effort (relative to the wheat harvesting).

Below is Threshing Box Experiment #1 for the wheat. Should be self-explanatory from the photos.

I have not got around to winnowing the grain yet. Not sure if there is really any easy way to do this. No matter what method, it is time and labour intensive at this scale. Harvesting machines rank high on the labour-savingness scale. So far my other half has been meticulously separating the hulls from the grains during the occasional movie watching.

Utrecht Blue Wheat (above) after hard frost. Quinoa behind and on the right.

First Moderate Frost

2010-09-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Looks like we beat the average first frost day of September 14 again this year! Although not as impressive as October 1 last year, the forecast is looking good for the next week.

So far only the Amaranth has taken a hit. Everything else appears to still be growing. So I guess this is a "moderate" first frost, no "heavy" killing frost yet (unlike Edmonton, sorry guys). According to Environment Canada, measured at the Calgary ariport (same elevation as the Middle Earth Garden), we had -0.5 C on September 18. Everything survived this first light frost. Last night was -1.1 C.

The Amaranth doesn't seem to have any seeds yet, that I can find. I will take a closer look tomorrow. So may not get any Amaranth seeds this year. This spring was exceptionally slow germination, starting them inside would help alleviate this risk.

Harvest Time

2010-09-19T10:31:00.001-07:00

Potatoes of Unknown Variety gradually being consumed. We dig them as we eat them, since no cold room or root cellar for storage.

I'm currently researching when best to harvest the Amaranth (above) and Quinoa (below). Teresa provided a good reference regarding when to harvest at Salt Spring Seeds.

August Garden Update

2010-08-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

My neighbour called this a Himalayan Orchid but a web-search suggests it is more likely a Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), also known as "Policeman's Helmet". This eager volunteer plant migrated over the fence from the neighbour's yard.

Considering that it's growing in a pile of rocks, I suspect this may be a good candidate for the next revision of the undesirable Alberta invasive species list. A brief web-search confirms its invasive nature including seed pods that explode, spreading seed several meters! OK, I'm going outside to pull it right now. It has an attractive flower that belies its evil intent to take over the world.

My guess: Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) caterpillar. Found August 21 on an apple tree leaf 2 blocks from our home. This seems late in the year to find this caterpillar, since this reference mentions "This species has only one generation per year, usually appearing in mid-May and flying to late July depending on latitude." Maybe they are trying for a second generation? Or wrong species? The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail apparently goes for 2 summer generations in the warmer eastern climates.

The annual Zero-Mile-Diet-Applesauce-Making-Festival gets ambitious this year. A little too ambitious for one weekend in retrospect, but it's satisfying to survey the full freezer afterwards. No canning this year, too busy with baby to take care of. Our favourite tree is about a 5 minute walk from the house. It's one of many to choose from within similar range.

This time we also picked some sort of prairie cherry (with pits) from the neighbour's yard. It looks and tastes somewhat like a Nanking Cherry. It is likely one of the fruit bushes listed on this page. The bushes had no thorns, which I thought the Nanking Cherry has, but I could be wrong.

The Utrecht Blue Wheat heads are now turning blue (though it's hard to tell due to high exposure and contrast in the photos). Due to wet conditions this summer and possibly for want of a longer growing season, the wheat is still quite green. I've started to cut it and hang it in the garage to ripen and avoid possible frost tonight.

The "West Central Garden", showing marigolds, beans, cilantro and carrots.

Bean harvest is turning out really well this year. The carrots that did germinate are doing well. We will start harvesting the potatoes soon. We have virtually no raspberries or strawberries yet; not sure if it's the variety, weather or improper care. They are not very established yet, so we will see if they improve yield next year.

July/August Update

2010-08-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

Above: Unknown potato variety and Utrecht Blue Wheat. The wheat heads have begun to form but are green at this stage and not yet "blue".

Delphinium (transplanted from neighbour last year)

Amaranth R158 (Amaranthus cruentus) has decided to grow after all, though still slowly. The R158 variety is described as "developed by Johnny's Selected Seeds and Rodale Research Centre. The leaves and seed heads are mostly red. It is early and heavy yielding." The grains are rich in protein (16 - 18%). Amaranth is believed to be a domesticated form of Pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus). It was historically grown in Central America as long ago as 4000 BC [unreferenced wikipedia info, to be confirmed].

Carrot going to seed in its second year. The carrot was found in the garden this spring left behind from last year. It was transplanted to an appropriate location so we could collect the seeds.

Mystery volunteer plant/weed in compost pile.

Close-up of the mystery weed flowers.

[UPDATE: Appears likely to be Common Hemp Nettle or Galeopsis tetrahit identified by Dave the Home Bug Gardener, see comments below]

Possibly some kind of volunteer Wild Mustard (possibly Brassica kaber)? I was debating letting it go to seed and try eating the seeds, but I changed my mind and pulled it. I might try if another one pops up. I think this is the Mystery Weed posted previously.

Calgary and Alberta Gardening Blogs

2010-07-11T10:04:00.001-07:00

This reference page will include some other gardening blogs I have encountered and occasionally revisit. The geographic range will extend to garden locations primarily in Alberta, but may also include some from Saskatchewan (the homeland) since the climate is somewhat similar.

I should mention that Cold Climate Gardening has an excellent gardening blog directory covering much of North America. This directory includes some good blog summaries, organized alphabetically by state or province. I will be much more brief.

Calgary Gardening Blogs

Teresa's Garden Blog

Balcony Gardener

Red Deer Gardening Blogs

Alberta Home Gardening

Edmonton Gardening Blogs

The Far North Garden
Gardening and edible landscaping in cold climates.

Gardening with Latitude
Reviving a forgotten garden at the 53rd Parallel.

Gardening Zone 3b
An exploration of naturalistic gardening. Gardening for the appreciation and encouragement of nature's diversity.

The Home Bug Garden
A rumination on backyard biodiversity.

Kevin Kossowan
From the: Cellar, Wild, Garden, Local Farm

Saskatchewan Gardening Blogs

A Prairie Journal In Saskatchewan

If I have left someone out it is not because I do not enjoy your blog, but rather because time limits me from keeping up with too many. Please do not take offense!

This page will be updated as I encounter new local gardening blogs.

June Garden Update

2010-07-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

Most plants, especially those planted directly in the garden this spring, are a week or two behind due to some cool wet weather from end of May to mid-June. But with some recent hot weather, some are picking up the pace.

Unknown variety of Potatoes (above). This is what they looked like before planted (below).

They were received from friends of family in a small town in Saskatchewan who have been growing them for years. They have no scab and looked healthy, so thought we'd give them a try.

The R158 Amaranth seems to be growing very slow most likely due to poor soil conditions. In hindsight I should have dug out some of the heavy clay and planted the seedlings in a planting soil mix within the clay. I did not spread much compost this year due to short supply (it's amazing how much the volume reduces as it digests!). This section of garden was recently overturned sod that has a high clay content and likely low soil nutrients.

The Temuco Quinoa is also growing slow, most likely due to poor soil conditions.

The amaranth and quinoa seeds are from the last Seedy Saturday exchange table. Interestly, they were left at the table by a local garden blogger, whom I asked last year about where to obtain some amaranth and quinoa seeds! There are some excellent posts on Teresa's blog on how to harvest the amaranth and quinoa seeds I plan to reference.

Approximately from bottom to top of above photo: volunteer Chervil forest, Peas, Beans, volunteer Dill, experimental bird scaring device (some seedlings have been disappearing), Potatoes...

... Dill, volunteer Carrot, Potatoes...

... Brussels Sprouts, volunteer Spinach, Utrecht Blue Wheat, Quinoa (left of wheat)...

Delphinium (left), volunteer Oregano and Strawberries (behind).

Volunteer Chervil thriving where even the dandelions hardly survive.

Volunteer Chervil "forest". Chervil has a pleasant licorice flavour.

Bee House

2010-06-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

I may or may not have some native bees nesting in my recently constructed bee house/nest. Or more accurately a small bee apartment complex.

The house design was inspired by some links I came across:

Nests for Native Bees - Invertebrate Conservation Fact Sheet

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Backyard Wildlife Habitat Tips

It simply involves drilling some holes of variable diameter and depth into wood. Since we have lots of dead birch stumps lying around, I thought I'd give it a try.

I was surprised to recently learn that most native bees do not form hives but live a primarily solitary life.

I will be keeping an eye on these homes to see what eventually emerges, though I may easily miss that event. Not sure if they are actually bee nests, or some other insect who prefers this convenient shelter in the dead paper birch stump.

Native Plants - May Flowers and Unknowns

2010-05-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

A pleasant May Long Weekend spring walk through a mostly still native grassland urban park resulted in sightings of various native prairie plants (to add to the native plant feature series):

Saskatoon bushes (Amelanchier alnifolia) in bloom. We hope to plant some in the yard eventually if we can manage to find/make some room.

Golden Bean aka Buffalo Bean (Thermopsis rhombifolia). The flowers were used by some native peoples as a source of yellow dye to colour skin bags and arrows. The growth of the flower indicated the time of year when the buffalo were considered fat enough for hunting, hence the name "buffalo bean". The buffalo did not likely eat the flower, as all parts are toxic. [1]

[1] Wild Flowers of Edmonton and Central Alberta, France Royer & Richard Dickinson, 1996

I need to get the 'Calgary and South Alberta' edition, though many plants likely span both books.

Two unknown fossilized plant species discovered in stones removed in local road construction projects. Not sure if this species is still around, not likely I am guessing! I will see if I can find a local palaeontologist that may be able to help.

Spring Seeding

2010-05-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Spring seeding is complete, as of last Saturday, May 22, 2010. This year there was no indoor seed starts due to busyness with new baby and loss of spare room from the same event. All seeding was direct outdoors.

Utrecht Blue wheat under glass to help warm the soil. Lovage in bottom left of above photo planned to be removed and passed on to friends. The lovage takes up too much space and we hardly use a fraction of it.

New strawberry starts from neighbour adding to the existing strawberry bed. Oregano (bottom right in above photo) unexpectedly came up from last year.

2010 garden layout (above).

2009 garden layout above (forgot to post last year).

Now we wait for the rains and warm weather!

Rhubarb is Up!

2010-04-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

I use the rhubarb as an informal gauge as to whether spring is progressing quickly, slowly, or average.

In previous years the rhubarb has started it's rebirth on April 15 (2008) and April 25 (2009). With only a three-year track record, it's hard to say if it's early or average timing, but most likely average since spring 2009 was generally on the late side.

It's located on the north facing side of the garage so somewhat less affected by early Chinooks (shaded soil there taking longer to warm up than soil in the sun). With today's high reaching around +18 C after a cold week, the temperature in combination with daylight hours seems to have convinced it to wake up.

Heirloom Wheat Varieties

2010-04-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

At Seedy Saturday a few weeks back I bought some heirloom (heritage) open-pollinated wheat varieties for some trial plots in the garden this year. Although I grew up on a farm and have some basic knowledge of how the stuff grows, I have not attempted to grow grains on a small scale before (except some very small plots many years ago).

This will prove especially interesting when threshing time comes. Machines have been invented to thresh grains for a reason. From what I've read in the history books (and seen in developing countries), it can be a lot of work! Fortunately I've read about some methods for small scale threshing that I'll have to experiment with and that should for the most part eliminate my concerns. More on that in future postings.

Growing ancient varieties of plants seems to be a fad of late and I think a worthy cause to preserve the genetics to prevent extinction. Why? Well, if it wasn't for the efforts of some persevering souls to save some ancient kinds of wheat through the generations I would not be able to enjoy foods like pizza like I once did! The revival of Red Fife Wheat is one such inspiring example, though I have not experimented with this variety yet.

I developed a wheat intolerance a few years back after a bout with the flu. Since then I have discovered that I can tolerate spelt (Triticum spelta), an ancient variety of wheat. The science on this is not very far along yet, so the theories on why this is so are still somewhat speculative. In the meantime I plan to experiment with some other ancient wheat varieties to see what I can stomach and possibly open up new food opportunities while helping preserve and multiply some heirloom varieties.

The varieties I purchased are Utrecht Blue and Polish Wheat. The taxonomy of wheat I have since discovered is somewhat confused at this time, and clarified somewhat on this table. To simplify things I will refer to the "traditional" species names, which can be correlated to other taxonomic systems on the table linked above.

I have read that Utrecht Blue may possibly be Triticum macha but have not been able to confirm this. There seems little info about this wheat variety other than what was provided in the seed catalogue from Jim Ternier of Prairie Garden Seeds (from whom I bought the seeds at Seedy Saturday) which reads: "This variety was still grown around Utrecht, Netherlands in the early 1900's". Since my grandpa grew up in that very region this caught my eye. My ancestors likely grew and ate this same wheat variety! Prairie Garden Seeds has many other heirloom varieties I hope to try in coming years.

Triticum macha has been grouped in the more recent taxonomic systems with Triticum spelta as Hexaploid (6x), Domesticated and Hulled. My body seems to have tagged Triticum aestivum (Common bread wheat) as bad, and for some unknown reason, spelt is OK. So if Utrecht Blue is different enough from modern wheat and possibly similar to spelt, I may be able to eat it without ill effect.

Polish Wheat (Triticum polonicum) is categorized under Tetraploid (4x), Domesticated and Free-threshing along with durum wheat (used to make pasta). I plan to experiment with durum also since it is technically yet another wheat variety different from bread wheat.

One thing I am not sure about is if these two wheat's can cross-pollinate. I may have to grow only one each year over the next two years. More on this topic to come.

Mystery Moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

2010-03-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

Well, since it is still too wintery to be blogging about any real live gardening activity, here is another mystery insect I thought I'd post in hopes of identifying since we had such great help last time.

This huge moth (5 inch or 13 cm wingspan) was found on my Aunt's farm in Saskatchewan on June 7, 1992. Since then we have never identified it (or if we did we did not write it down). I plan to get a book out from the library to attempt to identify it but thought I'd post it here in the meantime. Not sure if it is a common or rare moth. I recall we caught it flying around the outdoor house light, where moths are typically found of course. I remember hoards of them around our lights on the farm, but rarely see them in the city here. Not sure if this is a rural-urban difference, declining numbers over time or Calgary's climate.

UPDATE: The moth appears to be a male Antheraea polyphemus with common name simply Polyphemus Moth (see discussion and links in comments below). They are relatively common in North America and feed on numerous species of trees and shrubs, not dependent on a single species of plant like the wood wasp we found earlier this winter (see link above). They range from southern Canada to northern Mexico. There is a good possibility there are some in Calgary or perhaps in our own yard. We'll keep an eye out.

Gardening Tools & Gear

2010-03-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

I have attempted to be somewhat of a minimalist in terms of gardening tools and paraphernalia in general. Mostly for the practical reasons of saving time, money, space and not being wasteful. This proves difficult when wandering through the local greenhouse with all sorts of cool things to buy, other than plants.

In a near-spring cleaning effort to organize the gardening related debris accumulating and scattering around the garage and house, I thought I'd attempt to list the essential (and not so essential) gardening items that I personally seem to use most or least. The goal is to evaluate what is most useful to make these items most accessible, evaluate what could be upgraded, put in storage, or possibly purged.

It makes sense (to me) to include food preserving and processing tools along with gardening tools, as this is a big part of gardening and at times seems more time consuming than growing the food itself. But for now I will not focus on these items in detail.

MOST

Long-handled roundpoint shovel
Water hoses (mostly from the rain barrels)
Hand-held hoe (weeding - I guess I should look at getting a long-handled one if it ranks this high on the list)
Hand-held spade (for planting and transplanting)
Wheel barrow (for hauling compost around)
Various bowls and baskets (for collecting the harvest)
Scrub brushes (for washing root crops)
Heavy-duty scissors (for pruning and harvesting non-woody plants)
Vita-Mix (I have been mostly convinced it is worth the exorbitant cost)
Various canning/freezing/drying supplies (hope to use these more)

ON HOLD

Indoor planting gear. On hold until more time and space allows. I'm still trying to figure which type of bulbs are best to use.

LEAST

Short flat-bottomed D-Handled shovel. I've read this is an important shovel to have, but I never seem to use it. It seems too short for a tall person and the lack of a pointed end makes digging difficult to me. Maybe I just need to learn how to use it properly. I find myself choosing the long-handled spade over this one almost every time.
Rake (long handled and hand-held). It does come in handy at times, though I did survive for a few years without one, so it can hardly be considered essential (for a small urban garden).
Fertilizer. I do use occasionally but with lots of compost supply from kitchen and yard wastes, it rarely seems needed.
Pesticides. I can see some possible reasonable arguments made for certain cases in large scale agriculture applications but seems completely unnecessary for a small scale garden (so far). Have never attempted to use.

TO GET

Nesco/American Harvest Dehydrator SnackMaster (new version with motor on top). Not urgent as there does not currently seem time to make good use of one. Long-term hunt for used model.
High/Low Thermometer (Analog, no batteries). For use in the cold frame and to check highs and lows at various microclimates in the yard. There is one at Lee Valley, just haven't got there yet.
Long-handled hoe (discovered this could be useful while making above list)
Greenhouse (when I retire?). Do not currently have time to properly manage.

Anyways, I will likely come back and edit these lists as time progresses, for my own reference and interest sake. Any suggestions for must-have tools others have discovered is always welcome.

Calgary Seedy Saturday

2010-03-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

Saturday, March 20, 2010
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Montgomery Community Centre, 5003 - 16 Ave. N.W.
(at the intersection of Hwy #1 and Home Road)

Further Details

Sawfly - Birch Wood Wasp (Xiphydria mellipes)

2010-01-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

We have discovered a refugee family trying to keep warm in our house. We're hoping that a certain blogger can help us at least generally identify the critter.

I am at a loss to even venture a guess, I'm not even sure if I can assure our concerned daughter that it doesn't bite. We have found 3 or 4 over the past few weeks, usually alone and somewhat docile but moving. Usually crawling slowly across the floor, the last guy attempted to fly but could not quite leave the ground (see action shot below).

Length estimated at 15 mm. Using only a 5-year-old point-and-shoot camera (I guess that's old in electronic years), I must say I'm surprised some of them sort of turned out.

UPDATE: This bug has been identified as a Wood Wasp (a type of Sawfly) by 'The Home Bug Gardener' and species confirmed by Robin Leech via Albertabugs via Henri Goulet: "This is a Xiphydriidae. The species is Xiphydria mellipes associated only with small (less than 3 inch) branches of dead birch." Thanks to everyone for their help!

The bug's home is clearly small diameter paper birch branches we cut last year and placed inside for use as coat/hat racks. The wood wasps are waking up confused and disoriented in their new interior habitat! I have confirmed online that wood wasps do not sting and do not pose a threat to structural wood in the house (I guess that assumes small diameter birch is not used for home construction in this case!).

I think this helps with our decision to keep at least some of our dying paper birch as a bug and bird sanctuary (I was debating chopping them down). I wonder who else is living in there??

Alberta Local Grown Potatoes (Conventional)

2009-12-12T16:05:00.000-08:00

Recently talking with some friends about how potatoes are grown commercially in Alberta, I realized I know very little about how the potatoes we buy in the store are grown. We try to buy local food when we can but often don't know much more about local food than imported. I don't really know much about growing them in our back-yard either, but I'll save that for another post!

Reading up on the Alberta Potato Growers website has provided some interesting info about locally grown Alberta potatoes, some of which I'll summarize below:

Potato farming in Alberta expanded from 26,600 acres in 1995 to 51,000 acres in 2008
Compare with 300 acres in 1917 and 600 acres in the 1930's
9.3% of potatoes grown in Canada are grown in Alberta (by weight)
1.5% of potatoes grown globally are grown in Canada (by weight)
See instructions about how to grow your own potatoes in Alberta
Alberta potatoes are grown commercially for three different general markets:

Table Potatoes

What we buy at the grocery store
Only 5% (3.7 sq mi) of Alberta potato acreage in 2008
see historical downward trend, acreage amounts exclude market gardens with less than 5 acres, and of course, my back yard

Process Potatoes

Potatoes used to make processed foods such as french fries and potato chips
79% of Alberta potato acreage in 2008
Acreage in Alberta devoted to this potato market more than tripled between 1997 and 2002!
Table and Process Potatoes are typically grown more in southern Alberta (irrigated) and seed potatoes more in central Alberta (not generally irrigated)

Seed Potatoes

Potatoes grown and bred to sell as seed to other growers
16% of Alberta potato acreage in 2008
75% (more than any other province) are exported, mostly to the United States and Mexico
Certified seed potatoes from Alberta are in high demand because of the colder climate, which results in fewer disease and pest problems
More than 100 varieties are grown in Alberta
Most are grown in central Alberta without irrigation because natural rainfall is more plentiful than south Alberta
A few growers near Edmonton occasionally apply supplemental irrigation from nearby rivers and streams
Thorough inspections enforce zero tolerance of bacteria and viruses
Seed Potato Farm Contact List - Buy seed potatoes directly from local farmers!
Top 10 varieties sold from Alberta are:

Russet Burbank
Russet Norkotah
Ranger Russet
Shepody
Atlantic
Umatilla Russet
Norland
Yukon Gold
Private Varieties
Other varieties

We are hoping to find local sources of organic potatoes to buy in winter when our garden supply runs out. I've come across at least one grower (Gold Forest Grains Farm) near Edmonton, and we hope to find some near Calgary.

Why Buy Organic Potatoes?

Unfortunately, conventional commercial potatoes receive more chemical application than most agricultural plants. Typical chemical application schedules used to grow potatoes in Alberta includes:

Fungicide applied to seed potatoes before planting (decay prevention in damp soil)
Pesticides sprayed during growth (weed control)
Fungicide sprayed every 7 to 14 days throughout summer (Late Blight fungus prevention)
Late Blight was what caused the infamous Irish Potato Famine
Conditions are generally too dry in Alberta for Late Blight to occur, but fungicides are applied anyways as a precaution
Chemical fertilizer, mostly Nitrogen, is applied (via irrigation in southern Alberta) from mid-May through the summer
Leaf tests are performed to ensure the appropriate amount of fertilizer is applied
Herbicide (desiccation) and/or mechanical operation (vine killing) is applied to kill the potato at the end of the growing season (August to October, depending on the variety)
Dessication/Vine Killing improves skin-set (toughens skin, good for shipping), bruise resistance, storage life, appearance and vine-tuber separation [note that vine killing is accomplished in the home garden by simply removing the potato vines 2 to 3 weeks prior to harvest]
Potato vine dessicant herbicide options include the following chemicals:

During storage potatoes receive a hormone (typically Chlorpropham aka CIPC) via the ventilation system that inhibits sprouting*
Potatoes can typically be stored up to one year

*An interesting note: A study found peeling potatoes removed 91−98% of total CIPC residue; washing reduced residues by 33−47% [Source]. There are organic sprout suppressants/inhibitors found be be effective, such as the essential oil of various herbs and hydrogen peroxide (approved as an organic sprout suppressant).

I understand that growing organic potatoes on an industrial or small scale would be more difficult, thus the higher cost of organic foods. But I wonder more and more if the organic option might more closely reflect the "real" cost of growing food in a "normal", healthy way? It is sad that the organic farming industry seems supressed (economically, politically, etc) in North America in many ways, or at least this is the perception I have. But this seems to be a trend that is already changing as we speak. The buying public is demanding it.

For now, I will continue to grow mostly organic potatoes in our backyard and buy high quality locally grown Alberta potatoes, but will be on the watch for organic options beyond our backyard. I mentioned "mostly" organic potatoes in our backyard as I have not been using organic seed potatoes, I have yet to source some organic suppliers for this.

Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

2009-11-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting around to studying some of the typical weeds I find myself pulling regularly in the garden. I suspect many of them are edible and hope to try eating some, since I'm pulling them anyway! Now is the time to learn while the plants await next spring. So today I'm learning about:

Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), also known as Verdolaga, Pigweed, Little Hogweed or Pusley.

Photo by José Luis Gálvez

Summarized from the Wikipedia article linked above (see article for references) unless otherwise referenced:

Apparently the leaves, stems and flower buds (the latter of which I've never seen) are edible and in fact eaten regularly in Europe, Asia and Mexico. There are 40 varieties cultivated. The plant has adapted to grow extensively from North Africa, through south Asia to Australia during past centuries. There is some evidence of this species in North America in the pre-Columbian era. The little yellow flowers appear only if rainfall conditions are optimum and only for a few hours on sunny mornings. Likely why I've never seen them. Like most weeds, the plant grows well in poor quality, drought-prone soils.

Purslane is a succulent herb reported to have a peppery, slightly sour and/or salty taste and can be eaten similar to spinach (fresh in salads, stir-fried or cooked). It is considered to have similar taste to spinach and similar texture to okra [>]. It is also good in soups due to its mucilaginous quality. At one time Australian Aborigines used the seeds to make seedcakes. It is best harvested in morning or evening [>].

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular) than any other leafy vegetable plant. It contains an extraordinary amount of EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) for land based vegetable sources. EPA is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish, some algae and flax seeds. But note that fish oil typically contains 750 mg/tsp of EPA (source: bottle in our fridge) compared with 0.01 mg/g in Purslane. Doing the math, you need to eat 75 kg of Purslane to get the equivalent EPA from 1 tsp of fish oil. Purslane also contains vitamins (mainly vitamins A, C, some B and carotenoids), as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. It also contains potent antioxidants.

Hmm, maybe I can cut back on my vegetable plantings and encourage growth of Purslane instead!

Roofing and Soil Quality

2009-10-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been pondering the potential impacts, real or imagined, of various roofing materials and potential impacts to garden soil quality.

Because about 80% of our watering supply is from roof-fed rainbarrels into a very intensive small-sized vegetable plot, the roofing material we choose to replace our battered asphalt shingles could theoretically have some long-term impact on our garden soil quality. However, there does not seem to be much readily available data on the topic (or at least not that I've yet found).

I have started to compile some info but thought I'd throw this post out in case some passer-by could recommend some info related to this topic. We are leaning toward a metallic roofing material, for several reasons. Metal roofing generally seems to be the preference for rain water collecting, provided it does not use large amounts of lead in the coating.

More to follow on this subject.

Homemade Pea Sheller

2009-10-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Having grown up on a farm, I can appreciate the labour-saving advantage machines provide for larger-than-backyard scale agricultural work. As a child I was fascinated by the various machines littering our farm in all their mechanical complexity and glory (and sometimes lack of).

Gradually with age I have come to avoid mechanical complexity as much as possible (for various reasons, esp. $$$) and enjoy the simple but effective, quiet, non-motorized hand-held tools of the backyard garden. But I must admit my aunt's homemade pea sheller seems like a great idea for both rural and urban agriculture. Shelling peas from a large garden can become tedious!

Step 1: Load peas into inner threshing cylinder.

Step 2: Set wire-mesh door in place onto the cylinder. The wire-mesh holds the pods while the peas fall through.

Step 3: Close outer screened hatch and slide pea collection tray below the wire-mesh cylinder. The outer screen keeps the peas from flying all over the place.

Step 4: Turn crank (various methods, see below).

The pulleys on the right side spin the inner paddles inside the threshing cylinder at a speed faster than the hand crank. The pulleys on the left turn the outer paddles & wire mesh cylinder at a slower speed than the hand crank. This causes the pea pods to get a real paddling, gradually split open and separates the peas from the pods. The peas fall through the wire-mesh onto the collection tray below while the pods remain inside the wire-mesh cylinder.

The pea sheller was built using plans from Saskatchewan Agriculture's website.

I'm thinking this could be a great project for a community garden. This is one option of many for such a device, but seems to be effective.

For those overwhelmed by the thought of turning a crank for a lengthy time, they can always try my aunt's method of attaching an electric drill to the crankshaft. Even my uncle was convinced after first scoffing at this method. My aunt left to pick some more peas leaving my uncle to operate the crank. When she returned, she found him using the drill!

Carrot Varieties

2009-10-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Below is a summary from my cousin with photos and descriptions of his experience growing various carrot varieties this year in the Pigeon Lake area in Alberta. Some options to ponder before selecting seeds for next spring! I have added some additional random information about each variety to learn more about them, shown in italics. This info was pulled from various sources on the web, some referenced. If any errors, please let me know.

Sweetness (hybrid)

Even though it is a hybrid (and not an heirloom), it is probably the best all-around carrot for taste and sweetness (hence the name). What people expect a carrot to look like.

NANTES type carrot.

Napoli (hybrid)

'Nantes' variety of carrot, can be identified by it's shape. Good all-around taste and sweetness.

This F1 Hybrid "sugar carrot" a favourite grown by author Eliot Coleman for the upscale country stores around his home in Harborside, Maine. Fantastic as an early bunching carrot due to its sizing up at least a week earlier than other varieties. [>]

Yellowstone (hybrid)

Heritage style variety with crisp carrot taste, not too sweet. Can taste a bit bitter when stored for a while - best eaten in the fall.

The first yellow, F1 Hybrid Carrot.

Royal Chantenay (open-pollinated)

Wide, tapered carrots, but without the woody core you'd expect in a carrot of this nature. Very crisp, good keeper.

DANVERS type carrot. Good for freezing and canning. Popular for juicing due to its darker colour and shape. Well suited for bunching* and winter storage. Royal Chantenay is one of the best for storing in a cellar or at cool temperatures. [>] Excellent for heavy, clay dominated, shallow soils.

*"...a bunching carrot is a carrot that can be sown early, not thinned, can be picked in a bunch, matures quickly and is best suited to eating raw, unpeeled in salads etc Sow little and often for a succession!" [>]

Nevada (hybrid)

Nice dark-orange carrot with intense carrot flavour and minimal cores (even texture).

Tops are well attached and Alternaria tolerant. [>] Alternaria is one of many potential carrot diseases.

Touchon (open-pollinated heirloom)

Another Nantes-type carrot with even cylindrical shape. Good keeper, especially for sweetness (as with most Nantes varieties). Easy to pull!

Rare old French NANTES type with roots growing 15-17 cm long deep orange colour and little core. Very sweet and juicy. Good for bunching and winter storage.

Rainbow (hybrid)

Heirloom carrots ranging from white to orange. Thin and long, similar taste and texture to Yellowstone.

A single hybrid, not a mixture of varieties, therefore the carrots are uniform in size and appearance. [>]

White Satin (hybrid)

Heritage-style carrot roots, all white...what the original carrot looked like.

DANVERS type carrot. Good sweetness. F1 hybrid.

Purple Haze (hybrid)

Long thin carrots, with purple flesh that turn orange when cooked, and your water blue! Not too sweet, but nice carrot flavour. Best eaten in the fall.

Sweetest raw. Imperator-shaped carrot. Lightly stir-fry to retain a deeper purple colour. Purple carrots possess an entirely different class of pigments—anthocyanins—which act as powerful antioxidants. [>]

Berlicummer (open-pollinated)

A good all-around carrot, but smaller in size this year due to where they were grown. A favourite.

NANTES type carrot. High yields. [>]

Some extra advice from my cousin: "...carrots need lots and lots of water; do not add fertilizer while they are growing (unless your soil is really depleted - and of course it should be organic). [We] made the mistake of adding some almost-fresh manure to the area where the Berlicummer's were growing and they really really did not like that...the manure stole too much nitrogen out of the soil while decomposing and they didn't grow very big. Grow and learn is the moral of the story!"

Some links with more interesting info on carrots includes:

World Carrot Museum

Carrot types (Nantes, Imperator, Chantenay, Danvers)

Harvest Conclusions

2009-10-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes dramatically wilted with the first frost a few days back (Oct 1) and have been sent to the compost. The kale, brussels sprouts and swiss chard endure, despite the recent frost, and as of today, snow.

Above photo: Lovage (upper left), swiss chard and brussels sprouts.

One of the stranger looking carrots, between tomatoes and swiss chard. Most of the carrots were of similar diameter but a few inches longer (conically shaped).

Due to a sudden surplus of tomatoes with the mass picking before the frost, some were boiled into a yummy sauce, with lemon juice (citric acid) and salt added to help preserve while stored in the refrigerator.

Happy First Frost Day!

2009-10-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to El Niño replacing his sister La Niña , we have enjoyed a delayed frost this fall, well beyond the average first frost day of September 14 for Calgary. We almost surpassed the extents of the Freezing Date Adjustment Factor Chart, with less than 10% probability of a frost this late!

Of interest to note is that the Average First Frost Day does not necessarily correspond with the Average End of Growing Season for perennial crops such as pastures and forages (see previous link for blow-up of map below). This map is based on an average daily temperature of less than 5°C after July 1.

This late frost is a good balance to our late Last Frost Day earlier this year, a welcome relief for many plant growers. I've heard some gardeners have even managed to grow corn this year, which can be hit and miss, depending on the location and variety of corn. Now to see how long the frost resistant kale and swiss chard hold out for!

South Winds & Marigolds

2009-09-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Marigolds in full bloom. No rain and above 20 C highs non-stop since mid-August, and more of the same in the forecast. Steady south winds have drained the rain barrels down and driving the grass into dormancy (haven't watered grass).

Above, left to right: Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, dill, marigolds, kale, poppy, more dill, carrots, brussels sprouts.

Above: Prairie Pride Tomatoes ripening fast, waning Lincoln/Homesteader Peas (behind) drying out.

Apple Sauce Runneth Over

2009-09-09T20:09:00.001-07:00

We've been raiding the neighbourhood orchards this past week, with yummy results. We are fortunate the previous generation took the time to plant so many apple trees in our neigbourhood, and the next generation is so generous to have them picked (and haven't cut them down yet).

These apples were picked within less than 2 minute walk of our house. After a week of picking and a freezer full of applesauce, we've hardly picked 20% of the apples on our choice tree. The small red ones on the left came from the choice tree, called Rescue Crabs by a relative, not sure actual variety name.

The red ones are much sweeter than the yellow-green on the right, but the yellow-greens boil down quicker. The red apples do not need added sugar, we usually add some sugar to the yellow-green ones, though I eat both fresh apples as is. Some apple sauce mixes blended both apples. Cinamon and cloves also added.

We ran out of freezer space so decided to attempt canning for the first time at the last minute. I drained the apple juice (center jar in above photo) prior to placing the boiled apples through the food mill (above left), salvaged from a garage sale (maybe $5 or so). The canning set came free with our house (discovered abandoned in a dark corner in the garage).

Bernardin glass jars were collected over time from Last Mountain Berry Farms jams, so only purchase was 12 snap lids (70mm) for $2 and some electricity estimated at about $0.16 for the four jars shown. Total time (picking to canned) maybe 2 to 3 hrs total.

Canner took about 1/2 hr to heat up then boiled for 25 minutes as per Bernardin canning guide (with 10 minutes added for Calgary's high altitude). Next year will be more efficient with a full canner.

Potato & Dill Explosion

2009-08-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Came back from vacation after 1.5 weeks to find the Thornton Potatoes had grown nearly 10 times in height since before we left! They were only a few inches high pre-vacation. I dumped some compost on them just before we left since they are heavy feeders plus it rained while we were away. And we had great friends watching over the garden for us. A good combination for lush growth.

A single Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard plant has bolted. Since then, no more have bolted. Not sure if this is normal. The marigolds (yellow, left in above photo) have finally started blooming.

Burgeoning Prairie Pride Tomatoes. They better get ripening quick before Jack Frost comes! Ripening has been slow with the rainy, cloudy weather. While visiting my aunt on vacation, she informed me that Prairie Pride Tomatoes are a "determinate" variety that grow out instead of up. Which explains why the wire cages I bought are not helpful. I've resorted to jute string staple gunned to used survey stakes from work (that would otherwise have been discarded). Determinate means (I think) they mature and die after a certain timespan instead of growing indefinitely until the first frost. However, in our climate this seems not likely to be any different with short growing season. There may be other differences I have yet to learn about.

The dill also grew some 10 times in height since pre-vacation, from several inches to several feet. A few dill plants provide more than we can keep up with. Some went to the freezer since they retain flavour better in the freezer than dried. We started harvesting peas and beans since vacation. By mid-August the pea harvest is more or less complete, and bean harvest carries on. Also on-going harvest of brussells sprouts, kale, swiss chard, chervil, oregano, rhubarb and neighbours raspberries. From most to least, the largest producers so far this year have been:

Swiss Chard
Rhubarb
Kale
Herbs
Beans
Spinach
Peas

The tomatoes will likely catch up soon, likely climbing up to fourth or fifth place. The herbs have been large producers but we never seem to get around to harvesting them. Will have to work on that. Peas produced a lot less than I expected, but at least they are adding nitrogen to the soil. Good for crop rotation.

Native Prairie Plants

2009-08-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Just to change things up a bit, below are photos of some native prairie plants we came across on our recent canoe trip this summer down the South Saskatchewan River. Not sure if all these are pre-European contact, but they've at least been around on the prairies for some time (I'm guessing a few decades at least).

Prairie Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)

White Evening Primrose (Oenothera nuttallii)

Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia polyacantha)

Just finished blooming.

Scarlet Mallow (Malvastrum coccineum)

Blooms are closed.

I'd like to try growing some of these in the yard sometime. If anyone has attempted to grow these, please share about the experience!

FYI, just posted an older post that shows up with June 30 date:

http://calgary-gardening-adventures.blogspot.com/2009/06/name-that-weed.html

July Rains = Harvest Gains

2009-07-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

July has brought much needed rain, resulting in swiss chard, spinach, rhubarb, oregano, lovage and kale harvest nearly faster than we can keep up! Most is eaten fresh and maybe 30% frozen for use in winter. Bolted spinach harvest has involved chopping entire plants and stripping leaves, leaving most in garden to go to seed.

Most plants in photos are likely obvious, except maybe the Chervil at the bottom center of the above photo. Chervil is a yummy herb with liquorish-like flavouring. Note Lovage behind Brussels Sprouts at nearly 6 feet high (even after I chopped some down)!

The Blue Curled Kale, transplanted outside May 5, was ready to start harvesting the first week of July (left of Brussels Sprouts in above photo). The Dwarf Green Curled Kale (center of above photo) planted directly outdoors from seed (Apr. 11) is not ready yet for harvest, maybe by the end of the month.

The feathery looking plants in above photo is Dill, planted directly outdoors May 28. The large leafy looking thing at center right in above photo is a volunteer poppy from the neighbours yard, left to grow.

Should have allowed more spacing for the Bubbles Brussels Sprouts! The sprouts are just starting to form along the stems and branches. This is fascinating for us since we have never grown these before.

Potatoes (between strawberries and tomatoes above), planted June 21, came up July 8! These potatoes were thought to be a one-of-a-kind breed (by myself) since they were re-planted at the grandparents farm for nearly a half century. However, I have been corrected and need a crash course on potato breeding. More to come.

Delphinium is blooming (blue), between peas and strawberries (above). Pea pods are forming. Snap peas ready for picking and shelling peas in process. Snow Peas are near the top of the 5 foot fence, beyond the chicken wire. Homesteader/Lincoln Peas are about half the height of the fence. I have read these are a dwarf variety of shelling pea that came out in 1908.

Name that Weed!

2009-06-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a post from earlier this spring I never got around to posting until today:

This post title should perhaps more accurately be: Name that Volunteer Plant! Don't be confused by the raspberry and rhubarb behind... (I don't know the answer so can't offer any hints, sorry).

This weed eventually grew small purple flowers but then was pulled before it could go to seed. I never did get a photo of the flowers (to make it more challenging, of course...)

On the Vine

2009-06-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to trimming the lower branches of the tomatoes and providing some support, now that they are starting to keel over. I added some grass mulch to help prevent the soil from drying out so rapidly in all this heat we've been having the past month. Also added some pine needle mulch to help lower the pH (diced with old blender to speed absorption). They are looking much happier now.

I also added a small amount of some 18-18-21 (N-P-K) fertilizer since they are now fruiting, some leaves were looking yellowish and the roots were disturbed with the added supports. This is only the second time I added fertilizer this year, I will not likely again. I will try adding compost next time, though it is in short supply with the recent garden expansion this year using most of it up. Hence the tranport of fruit wastes (i.e. banana peels, apple cores) from work to the compost at home, plus hoarding plant wastes from friends yards. But needs another year to decompose.

Bolted!

2009-06-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

The spinach has bolted (as of June 27)! Thanks to unusually hot and dry June weather. June is typically rainy and cool in Calgary (last few years at least). I read (after the bolting) that placing mulch on the soil around the spinach can help reduce bolting (keeps soil cooler during hot afternoons). I added some grass clippings to see if this might slow the bolting, though likely too late now to measure the effect.

Some varieties of spinach (such as Tyee) are not supposed to bolt as easily. This Bloomsdale Spinach variety has bolted after about two weeks of harvesting. Good reminder to plant a variety of crops since the weather is unpredictable from year to year! However, we have still harvested a generous quantity to date, including freezing some. We'll see how much more we get.

Summer Solstice

2009-06-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Neighbour's Mountain Ash in bloom. Still some berries left from last year. Birds must be holding out for the strawberries!

Above, L to R: Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Lovage, Peas (behind). Lovage is now nearly 4 feet tall and is starting to bloom. I'm guessing now is a good time to start harvesting it, but not exactly sure how best to do this i.e. How much to harvest at once? Cut off flowers or let bloom and go to seed? Etc.

Plus the tomatoes (above). Plants where flowers were plucked off before transplanting now starting tomatoes up to about 1 to 2 cm diameter. Other tomatoes up to ~7 cm on plant with previously non-plucked flowers.

Tenergreen Improved Bush Bean planted May 16 on each side of pathway. They look a little yellow, not sure if that's normal? Behind beans: Bloomsdale Spinach planted May 16 and Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard planted May 2.

Summary of approximate germination % with direct seeding in garden:

Marigolds 10 - 20% (seed gathered from mom's garden)
Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard 90-100%
Bloomsdale Spinach 80%
Cherry Belle Radish 70%
Green Arrow Peas (planted Apr 11) 0%
Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas (planted May 3) 70-80%
Homesteader/Lincoln Peas (planted May 3) 70-80%
Carrots (planted May 2) 10-20% (from free package, didn't expect much)
Tendergreen Improved Bush Beans 80%

This summary is not very accurate for small seeds planted densely together (such as spinach, swiss chard, carrots, radishes, etc), in which case the % has more to due with the gaps in rows than actual % seed germination. Just a rough observation for future reference.

Radish & Oregano Harvest

2009-06-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

Cherry Belle Radish planted April 11, havesting 3 to 5 per week. Radishes are just starting to show chew marks from creatures below, so it's a good time to get to them first! Radishes are rich in ascorbic acid (Vit. C, antioxidant), folic acid (Vit. B9), and potassium. They are also a good source of vitamin B6, riboflavin (vit. B2), magnesium, copper, and calcium, among other minerals and vitamins. California Poppies behind radishes (in above photo).

Bubbles Brussels Sprouts transplanted May 5 (above). Not sure when or how to havest these. Advice welcome!

Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (lower left) planted May 2 and Homesteader Peas (upper left) planted May 3. Planted Tendergreen Improved Bush Beans May 28 (upper right, just off photo) where Green Arrow Peas planted April 11 did not come up (planted too early). These beans are just coming up (June 21).

Oregano and radish harvest!

Snow!

2009-06-06T12:28:00.001-07:00

East and north winds have brought snow! Low of +1 C last night with frost predicted tonight. Compare with last frost in early May last year (but then again we did get that snowstorm in June that ripped branches off the trees). Will definitely be making good use of the cold frame this year. The cold frame is also good protection from hail, which we've had more than once already this year (too small to do any damage so far). Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard in the bottom of the above photo, tolerates the cold well.

L to R in above photo (along fence): Kale, Brussels Sprouts and Lovage.

Heat Wave

2009-05-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

With south and west winds blowing all week, the leaves and flowers have come out in full force (+20 C highs, +10 C lows on average). The rain barrels have run dry. So this week required City water as backup for germinating seedlings sown directly in the garden. This is a new experiment with a lot more direct seeding this year than previous years. The heat may have scorched some, and the previous cold weather rotted others, as the germination in general is poor. Next year the plan is to start more inside and transplant as this has proven to be more successful for most plants.

Most of the Green Arrow Peas planted directly in the garden April 11 have not come up. This is not surprising as this was an early planting and warm weather was delayed this spring. They likely rotted before the soil warmed up enough. Three of the four Dwarf Green Curled Kale planted directly in the garden April 11 came up but one has been mowed down by some hungry critter (cabbage butterflies?). The other two are about 1 cm tall with some munching on those as well. Kale definitely seems to do better as a transplant (or perhaps planting directly in garden at a later date?).

The California Poppies (above) thrive in the warm weather.

Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (above) planted May 2 makes progress, currently at the four-leaf stage. It has had the best germination of all seeds planted directly in the garden this year. Peas are seen behind the Swiss Chard in the photo.

Tomatoes up to about 5 cm diameter! This is the one plant that flowered inside from which the flowers were not plucked off.

Oregano transplanted this week from inside. Planted indoors March 7.

Strawberries growing strong, transplanted from neighbours patch May 2.

Raspberries transplanted from aunt & uncle's garden May 24 with Violet tagging along on the journey.

Cherry Belle Radish (above) planted directly in garden April 11. About 70% germination overall, 20% mowed down, 50% remaining. Sparse seed spacing so didn't need much thinning (but also some gaps in rows).

Rhubarb thrives in the warm weather with no care needed. Raspberry (bottom left of above photo) transplanted May 24 growing strong. Two of the five raspberry transplants are wilting, likely did not get enough of the roots.

Tomato Transplant - Cold Frame #2

2009-05-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

With a change of winds in the forecast (north to south winds) and the tomatoes becoming seriously root-bound, a risk was taken with transplantation to the outside world (May 21). They wilted for the first day or so, likely complaining primarily about the drastic drop in soil temperature they experienced (i.e. 20 °C to maybe 5 to 10 °C). A cold frame was built consisting of the old windows used in the Cold Frame #1 experiment to help warm up the soil and protect them at night. In hindsight the cold frame should have been constructed a few weeks in advance to pre-warm the soil (note to self for next year).

Note Kale & Brussels Sprouts on the left (transplant from generous neighbour) & Lovage in the center (in above photo). Peas and Swiss Chard are just starting to break the surface (can't see in this photo).
Part of the experiment was to test the cold frame in frost conditions with a sensitive plant like tomatoes. Frost was predicted that night, so last minute scrambling resulted in blankets and tarps over the windows and a 60W bulb placed inside to provide a heat source (a method used successfully by my aunt). I had plans to put a fan inside as well to circulate the heat, but due to limitations with the extension cord and time, only the light was used in the end.

The tomatoes survived the night with a frost of about -1.4 °C according to Environment Canada measurement at the Calgary International Airport. The Middle Earth Garden is about the same elevation as the airport and within 4km or so. So the airport temperatures are likely a good approximation for now.

A high-low recording thermometer is on the list of items to purchase for future experimentation. If anyone can recommend a thermometer please let me know. All the ones I've seen so far at Canadian Tire are battery operated digital and I'm trying to find a non-battery type. Searching just now there is one at Lee Valley. I have not been there yet as it is a bit far by bicycle. I suppose a digital thermometer with an indoor alarm for low temperature might be handy too, maybe establish trending into the computer... OK maybe too high-tech for this low-tech garden operation!

Happy Last Frost Day (Sort Of)

2009-05-18T17:45:00.001-07:00

Predicting the last frost day is always a gamble. As another food growing blogger writes, "tiny farming is in the end about a very natural, basic and satisfying form of gambling". For the Calgary area, the average last frost day is May 20. Since this year is below average in general, it is possible, if not likely, that the last frost day could be a week or two later.

Statistically the average last frost date represents a 50% chance that no frost will occur after that date. If you'd like to decrease (or increase) the risk of your plant investments, you can use the following Freezing Date Adjustment Factor (below):

According to this factor you can expect the chance of frost in Calgary after June 4 to be reduced to 10% (15 days after May 20). Note that the graph does not provide a 0% chance of frost after any particular date! According to Alberta government records, the Calgary area has seen as low as -2 C in July at least once in the last century.

The freedom from frost in this part of the world is no guarantee at any time. For the Middle Earth Garden this is not a large concern. Large parts of the garden can be covered if a frost is predicted. But of course frost is not always predictable. Hence the gamble. My investment is small, but for larger commercial growers this risk can be serious. This is where frost insurance comes in. For this garden, frost insurance is the local grocery store!

Agroclimatology - Growing-Degree Days

2009-05-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today brings rain and sleet, with temperatures hovering around +1 °C. Rhubarb and other plant growth will be more or less paused for today.

Minimum temperature for plant growth is generally between 0 to 10 °C, depending on the plant. Some examples of minimum threshold temperatures for growth of some plants and insects (from here) include:

2.2 Spinach
4.4 Lettuce
5.0 General plant growth
6.0 Cabbage maggot
7.0 Potatoes
7.0 Variegated cutworm
10.0 Corn and beans
10.0 Grasshoppers, corn borers
15.0 General insect development

The minimum threshold temperature is used as the base temperature to calculate Growing-Degree Days. The Middle Earth Garden has about 1200 to 1350 total degree days above 5°C based on data recorded from 1971 to 2000 (see map below).

If anyone has more information on Growing-Degree Days (GDD) or related topics please feel free to share. I'm trying to find a chart of GDD for different vegetables but as yet unable to find anything.
The Lovage (above) came up after I dug the entire garden lightly with a shovel. I didn't realize it was perennial. Now I know! It came up shifted over somewhat from its former resting place, fortunately surviving the shovel abuse. Apparently Lovage is a good companion plant to almost all plants and considered a "magic bullet" of companion planting.

The rain barrels were drained dry after a temporary heat wave last Saturday and Sunday (+20 °C), watering freshly planted seeds including bush beans and spinach. The heat wave was caused by the locally well known chinook wind or less locally but more internationally well known föhn/foehn wind to be more meteorologically correct.

Today this gardener has retreated inside while the rain barrels refresh ready for the next change of winds.

Retreat

2009-05-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

The North Wind has returned and some experimenting with the tomatoes has resulted. First, an attempted temporary cold frame consisting of plastic bins and old windows I got free from a neighbour a few blocks away who was upgrading his windows.

But with daytime highs dropping to the +10 °C range, the tomatoes were moved back inside. The plant light is put away, so the next experiment involved aluminum foil behind the tomatoes to increase the natural light from the window. The window is south facing, but due to the roof overhang it does not receive direct sunlight after the spring equinox. Not ideal for plants. But good for keeping the house cool in summer and hopefully enough light for the tomatoes to hold out for another week or two until they can be transplanted outside (I'm thinking last week in May or first week in June). They seem to be doing OK. I can easily bring the plant light back if needed. Next year I won't plant them quite so early (or get bigger pots).

I pulled the flowers off 4 of the 5 plants as recommended in an article I read. It recommended pulling the flowers off if they bloom before transplanting but did not explain why. Consulting with my aunt, she thinks it might help the plant focus on growing roots rather than fruit after transplanting. And might cause the plant to grow larger before flowering again and bearing fruit. Any other thoughts or advice? The plant I left the flowers on has already started producing small tomatoes about 1 cm in diameter. I might almost be harvesting those indoors this year!

Migration to Outside

2009-05-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

The tomatoes, onions, etc and myself have been cooped up inside for too long. No more plant light for these folks, it's outside every day from now until transplanting. My mom recommended placing a note on my pillow as Murphy's Law says the one night you forget to take them in at night is the last hard frost day. This year I'm wondering if that might be early June.

Garden Art (various skill levels involved).

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) coming up early as usual. Likes the hot sun and poor, dry soil conditions along south facing concrete house wall.

Plumeria likes the outside sun and decides to start blooming (I don't have an advanced camera so can't do close-ups well).

Early Harvest! Southport White Globe Onions (planted indoors early March). Taste mostly like chives, and delicious fresh!

Rhubarb is up!

2009-04-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Quick report that the rhubarb is just starting to come up (i.e. a few mm so far), in spite of snow and - 8 C lows and +2 C highs the past few days! This is about 10 days later than it came up last year.

Another "first" report, a bee nearly nailed me in the head a few days ago during the chinook (+15 C), but since then I have not seen any more. Must have been an early scout, who told the others to hold off, not worth getting out of bed yet.

Soil Mix for Indoor Garden

2009-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

For future reference, and partially in response to a comment on the previous posting, the soil mix I've been using contains:

Sphagnum Peat Moss: good for absorbing and retaining moisture, also slightly acidic (which most veggies like);
Perlite: expanded volcanic rock, reduces compatibility, improves drainage and keeps soil mix light;
Vermiculite: mica, expanded by heat, absorbs moisture, provides air spaces, contains nutrients potassium and magnesium;
Zeolite: aids water retention, holds and releases nutrients, contains calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, and other minor trace elements, "helps split roots to create heavier healthy fine roots", and helps balance pH.

I paraphrased this from the bag, I don't actually know this from memory or what exactly it all means. I can definitely see a theme of "lite" ness, so perhaps a "heavy" soil is not so good for getting plants started.

Transplanting Tomatoes

2009-04-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Prairie Pride Tomatoes have overgrown their 2L margarine containers and needed upgrading to 4L ice cream pails. They were starting to droop even when watered and fertilized and turned out to be somewhat root bound.

Creating a mess in the kitchen.

This photo is just so I can remember which soil mix I was using

(and free advertising for Golden Acre Garden Sentre, where I went mostly "window shopping" last weekend).

I added calcium by grinding up some vitamins (Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc), as I've read that Blossom-End Rot is caused by calcium deficiency (employee at garden sentre recommended using Tums as a cheap calcium source since I didn't really need the massive container of bone meal they were selling).

However, after thinking myself so clever, I read more on the topic and discovered that adding calcium is not necessarily the best thing (if your soil is likely to already have enough). See link above for details.

After transplanting I added some Miracle Grow tomato fertilizer I bought at Golden Acre last weekend (where I ran into B & K, which was not too surprising :-). It is 18-18-21 (N-P-K) with magnesium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc. After I was thinking a root fertilizer might have been better (high P), but not likely a big concern [ASIDE: good reminder from garden senter worker regarding N-P-K and general functions: "Up-Down-All Around"]. I also buried some of the lower leaves and branches in the soil so they could be "recycled" and reduce somewhat the need for fertlizer. And apparently it can be good to minimize the fertilizer to help prevent blossom-end rot (slower growth better).

Hopefully the ice cream pails will be enough because I've run out of larger containers and room under the plant light!

The first flower has appeared. I planted two to a pot which my aunt recommended for pollination purposes. Here's their chance!

We had +15 C earlier this week and then -17 C wind chill (-8 lows) with 10 cm of snow. I'm just hoping I can transplant them outside by June, or else I'll have to transplant them to the bathtub!

April Update

2009-04-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Spring is late, as we all know. My garden journal from last year records the rhubarb coming up by April 15. No sign of it yet this year. I'm guessing it may not come up until the end of April or early May. Last weekend was nice and warm, so I planted (outside in the garden) some Green Arrow Peas, Dwarf Green Curled Kale, and Cherry Belle Radish. Hopefully they'll come up sometime before July! With the cool spring there is risk they may rot before coming up, but I couldn't resist the urge to give them a chance to try. My seed stock has grown too big anyway, so may as well use them up.

Below is an update on the indoor plants:

Prairie Pride Tomatoes & Southport White Globe Onions, early April.

"Salad Bowl" Lettuce, slowing down but still growing.

Plumeria showing some growth at top. It really perked up when I put it outside in the sun last weekend.

Tomatoes & Onions, mid-April. I'm thinking I may have to transplant the tomatoes to 4L pails before transplanting outside!

Oregano (planted around February, I think). Growing slow and steady.

Southport White Globe Onions. Flimsy but alive. Not sure if I should eventually harvest them or transplant outside. We'll see if they can wait that long.

Cilantro at flowering stage (planted end of December '08). I'll harvest the seeds (Coriander), dry them and grind them for the spice rack along with the plant leaves that remain. They seem to dry well in a paper bag in the cupboard (out of the light).

Homemade Yoghurt - Part 2

2009-04-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Note to self: take yoghurt curing in oven out before turning on oven to bake something.

Indoor Plant Light

2009-03-21T06:47:00.001-07:00

To help fill the new expanded garden space we decided to upgrade the desk lamp grow light so we can start more seedlings indoors. Last year I attempted to start some brassicas without artificial light, but even though they sat at a south facing window it was not enough. The plants grew tall and spindly and fell over and entangled with each other, making separation fatal for some. According to some more experienced gardeners I also started them too early which was part of the problem (early April). Fortunately many survived the transplanting and produced a bountiful harvest.

This four foot Shoplight from Canadian Tire ($25) should help the plants get a better start. I installed two 40W "plant & aquarium" wide spectrum bulbs (~$6 each).

The lettuce and cilantro planted last December really perked up under the new light, with larger and more numerous leaves, especially the lettuce. The large green pillar behind is a Yellow Plumeria, a souvenir from family, bought in Kauai but native to Mexico, Central America & Venezuala. So far it hasn't done much, but likely slow growing in the less than ideal untropical conditions.

I started some Prairie Pride Tomatoes, North Star Sweet Bell Peppers & Southport White Globe Onions on March 7. This is a relatively early start for tomatoes, the plan being to stagger some plantings to spread out the harvest over the summer. I was lazy and didn't bother disinfecting the planter (not even sure if possible without destroying these flimsy disposable type seedling starters), so we'll see how much that effects things. Two cells (peppers) did not germinate, but everything else did within a week or so.

Down-to-Earth Composting - Part 1

2009-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

Composting does not need to be complicated. Some gardening books, in their enthusiasm and perfectionism, seem to sometimes get into too much detail and unnecessary complications, which might cause some to give up before they've even tried. That's not to say there isn't room to improve and perfect my method (I'm open to suggestions!).

This post is sparked due to a friend's questions about composing, assuming it to be some complicated and expensive science. My method, for better or worse, is more or less free and simply involves mixing a ratio of about 45% kitchen (green) waste, 45% leaves (brown) waste, and 10% soil (by mass, not volume). Then add water (or snow) occassionally to keep moist but not soaking wet. Occasionally mix with shovel to aerate. It is usually ready to spread on garden in one year. This can be sped up by adding fertilizer, but I wouldn't bother unless you are using a free "natural fertilizer" (i.e. diluted urine).

The composting container is convenient for reducing the area of yard needed and soil to haul around, but is not necessary. I also compost surplus leaves in mounds (about 50/50 soil and leaves). This takes a lot more soil especially if I am depositing kitchen wastes as I like to cover it each time when dumped to reduce odours and flies. Also, the soil spreads out at about a 3:1 slope, creating compost sprawl. So I jumped on the opportunity to buy a City of Calgary composter last year for $25 (available at the ECOSTORE). I figure this can be justified due to the money I'll be saving us taxpayers over the long term for not having to haul and landfill my kitchen and yard "waste" for the rest of my life. Which is not a waste at all, of course, but a valuable resource and the easiest way to improve your garden and minimize garden maintenance. The composting work now will pay off with less work later on!

The benefits of composting are many! Some benefits include:

Free fertilizer and soil enhancer
Dramatically improves heavy clay soil over time (give it a few years)
Reduces soil pH - humic acid helps break down clay and reduce alkilinity which is good for veggies)*
Reduced burden on City waste disposal infrastructure
Office dweller can get his hands dirty and be outside for a change
Bigger and healthier vegetables
Less watering - compost helps optimize (retain and drain) soil moisture
Less weeding - veggies outcompete due to healthy growth

*NOTE: if you are focused on native prairie landscapes, compost could be a negative addition as most native prairie plants thrive in organic deficient heavy clay soils and can actually grow poorly in highly composted soils, oddly enough. However, they are not always that fussy. Our native prairie flowers, such as Yarrow, Blazing Star and Brown-Eyed Susan do OK in very shady (2 hrs sunlight per day in summer) and non-ideal conditions in our front yard, although I don't add compost there which might help a little).

I'll call this Part 1 as I'm sure I will add more posts on this interesting topic. Please feel free to share tips from your gardening experience and preferences.

August 2008

2009-01-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

Last photos of the season that I forgot to post. The sunflowers eventually got too big and fell over (lots of rain, wet soil, shallow roots likely cause). But we had a wonderful continual harvest of Kale and Swiss Chard from early August into early October or so. The swiss chard slowed down in October, but remained green and alive until early December! (we had a warmer than average fall). The radishes did not do well this year but most everything else did.

Our neighbour confessed to throwing some of her red poppy seed pods into our garden to add some colour, which was very thoughtful. From left to right in photo above: tomatoes, broccoli (swiss chard and carrots behind), peas climbing fence, and lovage (lighter green).

That's all until next year!

Homemade Yoghurt (aka Yogurt)

2008-12-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ingredients: milk, bacterial culture.

How? Heat Milk to simmer (+/- 80 C), let cool to +/- 40 C, add bacteria (from yoghurt and/or pro-biotic tablets), place in oven for 24 hr with oven light on such that temperature is around 40 C (usually half-way across oven from oven light in ours). Enjoy!

Cost is generally one-third or a quarter of buying yoghurt in store.

Early July 2008

2008-08-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

The June rainy season winds down and with more sun the plants begin to grow noticeably more. All have been well taken care of while on vacation by neighbours and friends.

Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, volunteer sunflowers from birdseed (not sure what kind yet. Any guesses?).

Norland Potatoes.

Volunteer sunflowers in compost pile.

Tomatoes, peas, carrots, swiss chard.

Rhubard showing some hail damage. Several hail storms with pea-sized hail this year, but most plants survived and recovered. Also purple beans (Royal Burgundy) around rhubard, snow peas and broccoli.

Late July 2008

2008-08-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Unknown tree (above and below). Guesses?

Uknown weed? Guesses?

June Showers

2008-06-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

We had over 150mm rain between May Long Weekend and the middle of June. The beans didn't come up at all until after the rains were finished (planted May Long Weekend).

Yet more garden expansion for next year.

Flowers and miscellaneous annuals from Aunt Mary.

Norland Potatoes.

Mystery plant. The bird feeder is just above. The birds are messy eaters. Our neighbour's guess is sunflowers.

Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, red onions, lovage, radishes, random mystery plants (birdseed was likely in the compost).

Tomatoes and peppers from Aunt Mary in the last minute garden expansion due to lack of room.

Spring is sprung - May

2008-06-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peas, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Radishes

Plant's eye view (L to R: Peas, swiss chard, carrots)

Rhubarb, broccoli

Mystery compost plants (squash??)

Winter Days

2008-06-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Life in the dead of winter:

Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

Spearmint (Mentha spicata)

2007 in Review - August

2008-06-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Fried squash leaves and flowers served with perogies!

Front flower bed progresses.

Rudbeckia triloba (Brown-Eyed Susan) in bloom. This is a species native to the United States. The Canadian Brown-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) common on the prairies around here are slighly smaller as well as other subtle differences.

Sneezewort (lower left), Sage (upper left) and Yarrow (upper right)

2007 in Review - July

2008-06-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

The following posts are a true "blog" in the sense that they are a "web-log" of the past year of gardening (i.e. electronic garden journal), mostly for my personal reference since I forget easily what we planted in previous years and for any others who may be interested. 2007 was our second year at the house, we didn't take many photos in 2006 since we didn't have much garden space at that time.

Spaghetti Squash (Cucurbita pepo) which grew out of the compost from seeds of the discarded innards of a Spaghetti Squash which we bought from Co-op that we ate during winter (ate the squash, composted the innards, not vice versa). The squash's parent was grown in Mexico, so we were surprised to see it grow here! The flowers made great salad or stir fry additions. For the latter you can batter and fry. It did grow some squash, though they were mostly small and did not ripen completely before the first major frosts at the end of August and early September, but we still ate them anyway. In the end we harvested more flowers than squash! The flowers kept popping up every couple of days all summer.

Smooth Brome (Bromus ramosus ssp. racemosus) in the back alley. We are thinking to try planting some raspberries here.

Unknown Mystery Flower that came with the property. Any guesses?

Potatoes (store-bought from Co-op), we didn't eat them in time so into the garden they went. A struggling paper birch (Betula papyrifera) behind dying a slow death due to my destruction of it's roots in the above garden expansion.

Mystery flowers, peppers, and spaghetti squash attacking the baby stroller.

Spinach (left), rhubarb and snow peas climbing in the back.

New garden expansion, ready for next year.

Front flower bed with several donations from family.

Left to right:

"Silver King Sage" or Artemesia ludoviciana

Common Yarrow or Achillea millefolium (native to Alberta)
"The Pearl" or Achillea ptarmica (aka Sneezewort)

The Purple one is "Clustered Bellflower" or Calmpanula glomerata

I'd like to plant more plants native to the Alberta prairies, so far only Common Yarrow is native, though even that is likely a hybrid subspecies derivation from the actual native Yarrow. For now we are planting veggies in the back and flowers and shrubs in the front.

Under Construction...

2008-06-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

More to come.