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TREE FALL CARE: Simpler than you think

by Donna Balzer | Oct 24, 2019 | GARDENING, Trees & Shrubs | 0 Comments

When I wake up in the morning I am usually thirsty. My body has gone 8 or more hours without water and I need a drink right away. It turns out trees aren’t that different, except depending on the location they may go 8 long months without water. This is why Calgary arborist Kevin Lee waters his trees well in the fall.

Ready For Garden Disasters: Response, Recovery, Restoration

by Donna Balzer | Oct 3, 2019 | Bugs & Buggers, Food, GARDENING, Trees & Shrubs | 0 Comments

Racoons, Rats and Snow in September. Three disasters for gardeners and what you can do to bring your garden back from the brink.

When a Good Bug Goes Bad: A Good Gardener Can Make it Right

by Donna Balzer | Aug 19, 2019 | Bugs & Buggers, GARDENING | 3 Comments

I am watching ladybugs eat my aphids and I am patting myself on the back. And then I see it’s a bad version of a good bug. How can that be possible in my all-organic beautiful garden? Yikes. We all know and love lady beetles and children’s rhymes have even been written for them…”Fly away, fly away, fly away home…” But who knew a positive role model, known to eat aphids in our garden, could go bad? Like bunnies in Australia this beetle is snapping up habitat and pushing our own native beetles aside! Luckily, says Ken Fry, this bug is not everywhere. “This species is well established in the coastal areas of B.C., favouring humid environments. It is only rarely found in Alberta (too arid).” Find out more about how you can encourage native predators and why you should stop buying lady beetles for your garden.

2019 Tomato Trial Results

by Donna Balzer | Aug 1, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Greenhouse | 0 Comments

So it is late July and I am returning from a week away and when I come home I am in for a big surprise! The tomatoes in my big 16 x 20 foot greenhouse are literally falling off the plants! And this means one thing….

Biochar for Home Gardeners in Canada

by Donna Balzer | Jul 23, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Greenhouse, Soil | 3 Comments

Biochar is a friend of the garden and a positive addition to soil. It’s there when you aren’t even thinking about it and it helps you get the best veggie garden ever. Permanently. Among various types of Biochar the professionally produced Airterra Soilmatrix Biochar has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency because of it’s consistent and reliable characteristics. If you want to try Biochar, why not try the approved brand? Now available on Vancouver Island.

2019 Great Potato Experiment – in Rootpouch Grow Bags

by Donna Balzer | Jul 21, 2019 | Food, GARDENING, Soil | 2 Comments

Potatoes are cheap to buy so why make room to grow them at all? Because they are so heavily sprayed in commercial production and the difference in flavour and texture between home grown and store bought is just incredible. So even if the only space you have is under a tree or on a patio, consider growing your own potatoes next year. I am surprised by the results of my potato experiments in 2019. This is not what I expected at all. I have been growing potatoes in bags, pots and the ground for years. Over time I discovered I grow better potatoes in grow bags than I do in the soil so this year I wanted to compare various additions to the grow bags so I can save money and grow better food faster. Ordinary crops grown in extraordinary ways!