This is the first year that my birch has looked bad and [it has] birch leafminer – haven’t seen that on my tree for years which tells me how stressed it is. Several branches are dead – mainly on the NW side- which took the brunt from a major hailstorm- we were lucky in Airdrie as far as the snowstorm… not too much branch damage but Calgary was devastated.
I have to say I have not had a problem or seen any hills lately but I am definitely not saying it is because I have conquered the ants because I still see a lot of individuals of different kinds wandering through my yard.
And then, as I was looking around I saw the really big gaps in my fence and I knew right away what the problem was. The bunnies, suddenly so plentiful had simply climbed through the lovely open design fence and helped themselves to the fresh new crops.
Dean Kreutzer helped me out big time. I wanted to grow Strawberries (okay – who doesn’t?) but this farmer from “Over the Hill Orchards” in Lumsden, Saskatchewan helped me see it all in a new way. The result? I started growing/farming strawberries off the ground. And with his help I set up a little mini-model of what he is doing in Saskatchewan and i am already eating fresh fruit!
Well Corine, there is no science-based advice really because we haven’t been down this road before. It is unheard of in my years of 30+ years of experience for Pears to bloom in April in Calgary. That is a month ahead of schedule. But – if I was you I would probably water. Here are six things to consider before you water:
Grow your own roses from seed by crossing your favourite blooms with a paint brush and then collecting seed in the fall in ziplock bags with peat moss and storing them in a cool spot until spring.
