I help gardeners grow
& beginners blossom.
No seed left behind,
no soil unturned.
Together we can have lots of fun growing
great gardens using simple practical tips.
Start saving & storing your garden seeds for a more more sustainable future
SIGN UP to get the FREE Seed packet PDF
X CLOSE
Best Tomato Ever?
It is early days yet but the tomato competition is heating up as fruits ripen early in the greenhouse. The same varieties planted outdoors are no where near ready but that’s why I built the greenhouse. Okay if you get technical my husband built it – but why be so picky? The early birds come from the greenhouse, not from the sunny, south facing back yard right up against the house.
Magical Pumpkin Patch
This season I am bragging about my bigger than yours pumpkin patch. The patch is in the front yard where a view-blocking hedge was ripped out this spring. The “patch” is now spilling over the bank and threatening to cross the road. And just to set the record straight it is not all pumpkins. There are butternut squash, spaghetti squash, watermelons and zucchini as well as pumpkins in one giant – by town standards – patch.
Flood Disaster Calgary Hits Home
On June 21, 2013 the Elbow river breached it’s banks and began flooding into the lovely inner city neighbourhoods of Calgary, included my previous residence. Water and mud were up to the middle of the garage doors in the back alley and residents were evacuated.
Soil Causes a Problem in Flooded Areas
I contacted independent tree assessment specialist and Registered Consulting Arborist, Anita Schill to sort out the trouble as soil piles up on trees. As well as being qualified to assess tree damage, Schill teaches soil science at Olds College so she understood my concerns.
Summer Veggie Harvest Begins
Yesterday I got back something I gave away. In the spring I gave extra seedlings to a friend and yesterday she gave one back- as a fully grown plant. The Tiara cabbage was a new venture for me. Described as a lettuce-like cabbage with tender leaves in the William Dam catalogue.
A Garden Of Good Taste
In the past, when SAIT instructors asked chef apprentices to get fresh vegetables from the school’s large walk-in coolers, they sometimes received blank stares. Names and appearances of vegetables were a mystery to many new apprentices. “The main reason we put so much extra time into the garden is to simply connect our students to the food. It’s one thing to teach them the skills of how to cook but a whole other thing to teach them about FOOD…”
