5 Tips on Growing Vegetables in Calgary

2009 Vegetable Garden Boxes

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Calgary can require slightly different vegetable gardening preparations, depending on your location–check www.rentcalgary.com for a geographical map. Here are some tips for growing vegetables in Calgary.

  1. The farther north you are located, the earlier you will need to make your preparations when planting vegetables in your home garden. Early spring is the best time to begin your home vegetable garden. You want to make sure the roots are growing strong before winter sets in (particularly in the Evergreens).
  2. Try to choose a site that slopes south or southwest for optimal sun exposure.
  3. Most, if not all, vegetables will need to be started indoors and transplanted outside. You will be waiting to avoid the frost from damaging your vegetable seedlings. As soon as the frost has passed and the ground can be worked, get to it!
  4. You may even want to consider buying a mini greenhouse or using cold frames to extend the warm-weather season, especially if you are farther north.
  5. Consider adding mulch to your garden to try to extend the season and soil warmth as long as possible. Black and clear polyethylene are the two most common forms. Black is better at preventing weed growth, but clear is better at raising soil temperature.

Inmates Help Feed the Poor by Growing Vegetables!

Vegetable garden

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I found this news article to be very enlightening. It seems a new program at the Montville, NJ Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Facility focuses on growing vegetables to feed the poor by sending them to soup kitchens and food pantries. There are three large vegetable gardens tended by 10 inmates to feed the prison and the homeless. They are planting vegetables such as cabbage, carrots and tomatoes.

 

“This year, the program at Corrigan has brought nearly 1,900 pounds of food to St. Vincent de Paul. Another 850 pounds of food have gone to Montville food pantries.”

How to Grow Raspberry Bushes

A close-up of a single raspberry on a bush.
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I was just picking fresh raspberries growing from some wild raspberry bushes in my backyard. They are fresh and delicious, making me wish I had planted some fruit bushes so I could tend them and get a maximum yield, as some of those poor berries were looking rough and I noticed quite a few pests made  homes on the undersides of the raspberry canes.

You can grow two types of raspberry bushes you can grow — summer and fall ones. Summer varieties wield the most fruit, however. Raspberries come in a red, yellow-gold, purple and black variety.

Planting Raspberry Canes

Raspberry fruit bushes get really tall, so there are a few extra supplies you are going to need:

  • wooden posts
  • galvanized wire
  • raspberry canes (a hardwood clipping of the plant stalk)

Create a tiered framework of galvanized wires with posts that are 2.5, 3.5 and 5.25 feet above ground. Place the posts up to 12 feet apart.

Plant the raspberry canes 18 inches apart in early Spring, or late Fall-early Winter. Cut the raspberry bushes to 9 to 12 inches in height after planting, right above a healthy bud. Make sure you do not plant the raspberry canes upside down.

Harvesting Raspberries

You can harvest ripe raspberries growing from your raspberry bush by Gently tugging the base of the berry, leaving the stalk still attached to the raspberry bush. You will know the raspberries are ripe when they are fully colored, but still firm to the touch.

Freeze the raspberries right away by placing them in the freezer until frozen, and then transfer the berries to a container or freezer bag. Choose slightly under-ripened raspberries for freezing.

 

PS – I Party Here!

Are Plants Poisonous to Cats?

Are the plants in your home vegetable garden or flower terrace are dangerous for  an  outdoor cat? And if so, what are the toxic plants that can cause illness in an otherwise healthy cat?

Cats love to walk in the garden: they scratch the earth, they rake their claws on tree trunks; but, mostly they have the annoying habit of eating the young leaves of your precious plants, mainly in the spring. When the leaves are not to their liking, they spit. But sometimes you may end up with a vomiting cat–or even worse–cat diarrhea to clean up!

While most garden plants are harmless to pets and especially cats, there are still a few plants that can be toxic, requiring cat allergy treatment, especially if ingested in large quantities.

List of garden plants dangerous to cat and kitten health:

1. Sap (latex) highly irritating that can cause serious kidney damage

Dieffenbachia
Philodendron
Ficus
Poinsettia

2. Bulbs, leaves, fruits and toxic

Bulbs and leaves of narcissus, daffodils, amaryllis.
Bulbs of tulips and hyacinths.
Leaves, flowers and fall berries thrush. Ditto for the water in the vase!

3. All parts of azaleas and rhododendrons are poisonous to cats.

4. Onions, shallots, parsley, and cocoa will cause cat health problems.

*Beware also that pesticides used to treat plants are often more dangerous than the plant itself!

Call your local cat hospital or veterinarian should your cat exhibit any symptoms after ingesting plants in your home garden.

5 Steps to Success with Your Kitchen Composter

Composting transforms yard waste and kitchen scraps into a valuable product for vegetable garden fertilizer. Here are 5 basic rules for a successful organic compost:

1. Place the kitchen composter in a light shade and sheltered from the wind; protect the compostumbler from rain.
2. Mix the green material nitrogen (1) and brown carbonaceous materials (2) or place them in successive thin layers (like a lasagna). Stir two parts brown materials for each unit of green materials.
3. Stir the organic compost pile occasionally to aerate it.
4. Periodically check the moisture content of your garden composter: The organic compost’s texture should look like a wet sponge when squeezed.
5. Water it, or add green material if it is too dry, stir in the brown soil or when material is too wet.

The compost is ready after months (from 4 months to a year).

Mature organic compost has a consistent look, a dark color and a smell of undergrowth.

(1) Substances containing nitrogen or “green” weeds (without seeds), dead flowers, fruit and vegetable scraps, etc..

(2) carbonaceous materials or “brown” shredded leaves, straw, wood shavings (untreated), etc..

Materials to avoid:

bones, dairy products, oils, meat, fish, diseased plants or infested materials treated with pesticides, pet beds.

3 Spontaneous Home and Garden Decor Ideas

Your home and garden are your private palace to do with as you choose, no matter what anyone else has to say about it. It is one place in your life where you can have full control (unless hubby really cares THAT much about decorations). Sometimes changing a few minor things can really spruce the place up, or give it a whole new feel to you. For example, when I get a new set of sheets, I absolutely LOVE my bed and snuggling up in my Crosill bedding as if I had just bought it yesterday. A little color or pattern change can make a world of difference. This is a free decor change for me, as I own three sheet sets already. Maybe an alternate set of comforters or downs could totally recreate the feel of your bedroom as well. Continue reading

11 Perfect Vegetables for Large Garden Pots

Succulent container garden

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Container gardening is perfect for indoor gardening or for those who have limited yard space to focus on growing vegetables they actually want.  Important aspects to consider when preparing vegetables for container gardening if is the amount of space each one requires any amount of sunlight, especially for those who plan on indoor gardening.  Some seeds are even available for “mini” vegetables, which are specifically for growing vegetables in large garden pots.

Continue reading

Container Gardening with Window Boxes

Another form of container gardening with vegetable plants for those who live in areas with limited yard space, or those who just love the look, is window boxes. Another bonus is the ease of reaching these cute little flower boxes from inside of your window. You do not want to over-water your windowbox-vegetable garden. Root vegetables, especially, do not require much tending, making them easy for busy or novice vegetable gardeners. Continue reading

Must Have Gardening Tools

As in various types of work, the right gardening device will make your task of growing vegetables simpler, and this truth remains correct to your backyard too. There are so many equipment choices, standard and modern, that are an integral part of the gardener’s toolbox. Even so, some equipment is definitely more beneficial than the various others and the back garden just can’t be accomplished without having these integral vegetable gardening tools.

Shovels

These kind of horticulture tools have a very spherical or sharp edge. They help the gardener to maneuver, drill down, gap or perhaps even during entire process of growing. You must, in addition, try to select a shovel with a flat border near the top edge of the shovel’s blade. This helps the base make better turns in the soil.

Hoes

Undesirable weeds will always be your garden nemesis, and they’re a well known fact associated with gardening lifestyle. An individual can’t only get off these people; nevertheless hoes aid you in getting rid of of them. It’s also possible to utilize a hoe to break-up the vegetable garden soil, as required. Your current selection of the vegetable gardening hoe must be dependent on the strength, so try going for a rolled-steel bladed hoe which has been riveted up to its handle. This kind of hoe is more reputable and sturdy.

Hoes using a scaled-down blade will allow you to go in between your vegetable plant life, as appropriate, and clear out the weed growth.

Trowels

A new trowel can be a vegetable gardening tool that can provide enormous support in the course of planting vegetables. If you’re looking with regard to durability, and a lot individuals are, then the steel-bladed trowel may be the choice for you. Should you be looking to have an straightforward grip then pick a trowel with a gentle silicone handle. In case gardening will be your enthusiasm, and you prefer to devote an enormous effort into your home vegetable garden, you would prosper to have trowels that has an ergonomic design, to save strain on your wrist.

Rakes

Rakes might be a huge help in getting  rid of the autumn leaves in your yard and also allow you to gather all of the other debris that may collect in the vegetable garden. You can work with a slim rake or a wider rake. With a slim rake, it’s simpler to navigate around and in between the vegetable plants, and a wider rake will get pick up all of the autumn leaves quickly and easily. So, it is better if you might have each type of rake and also here yet again, decide on gardening rakes with an ergonomic design.

Pruners

That is just one more horticulture tool that a vegetable gardener can not do with out. A pruner helps the operation of shaping the area around your vegetable plants, their particular pruning, as well as dead-heading that goes on all year round. Thus, if you want a better cut around the vegetable plants, pruners are what you need. Pruners do not tear split the vegetable plant.

Typically, there’s 2 different types of pruners you could select–the bypass pruners and the anvil pruners. Pruners might be costly, so take care in choosing your pruners. You may want to compare prices or watch for sales.

Garden Forks

If you wish to breakup the garden dirt, then the garden fork is the better bet. Over pitch forks, garden forks tend to be thicker and smaller. Don’t select types with flat tines; instead opt for ones who have square tines. You may utilize a gardening fork in lieu of a new spade when it’s in the appropriate shape and size.

Watering Cans

A great watering can is essential in your home vegetable garden.  if you’re your extremely pleased who owns a garden. A fantastic sprinkling may makes it much simpler that you should normally water your own vegetation with a hose. Watering cans come in different shapes and sizes that make it comfortable for anyone when tilting in awkward areas to sprinkle vegetable plants, such as when you are container gardening.

I have listed a number of the basic gardening tools which are widely utilized in a home vegetable garden. There are many additional vegetable gardening tools and supplies available out there, but these are the basics a beginner should have when growing vegetables.

Growing Vegetables & Fruit Trees in an EarthBox : Growing Papayas

Greenhouse Gardening Tips

BEIJING - JUNE 05: A labourer plants flowers i...
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Greenhouse gardening can be accomplished in a greenhouse environment as one can grow exotic plants with beautiful foliage, exquisite flowers and can also take on practical functions. One can start summer annuals and growing vegetables from seeds in the early spring (or fall) and then have well established seedlings to plant outdoors when the weather warms up. In greenhouse gardening, the vegetable gardener can also increase his plant collection by propagation of new vegetable plants from cuttings and creating new species and even grow small greenhouse vegetables to maturity.

With proper climate and sunlight supply in the greenhouse, specialized plants such as the tropical plants can be grown under a controlled environment and the greenhouse gardener can master the art of how he can grow just about any plant he chooses at any time of the year.

In greenhouse gardening, two locations are most favored for greenhouse sections, which should contain many vegetable plants. One is at ground level against a wall with adequate sunlight supply; and the other on an upper level enclosing an existing porch or balcony. A north-facing location I best for very hot areas where there’s plenty of light but less heat. Southern, eastern, and western exposures are better in coastal and other cooler areas and are suitable in hot areas if certain precautions are taken. To modify the amount of heat and light entering the greenhouse windows is by coating the walls and roof with a heat-reflecting material such as whitewash, covering with transparent film, putting up shades and ventilating the room.

Another best site for greenhouse gardening too is when there is good daily light throughout the year, adheres to code buildings, giving plants the optimum growing conditions, protection from chronic weather conditions such as strong winds and heavy snow and rainfall and especially letting the vegetable gardener works conveniently the whole year round planting vegetables with presentation of the most pleasant appearance in the landscape.

Enjoy your greenhouse plants by boiling, baking or eating them raw! Use a vegetable or carrot juicer and make healthy vegetable juices or smoothies!

What is a Rain Chain?

Today I discovered rain chains, which are an interesting and more appealing alternative to regular plastic or aluminum gutters or spouts. A rain chain is a “downsprout” alternative that is very common in Japan. These nifty chains come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to accentuate your home vegetable garden.

The “leaders” are the actual shapes that the water flows through. There could be a shape of a bucket, fish, flower, cup–you name it. You can be very creative when it comes to choosing your leader. The “chain” connects the leaders, and the water flows down the chains. Rain then flows into the leader, and down the line it goes.

You can also purchase a water flow controller to control how much water is going through your rain chain. These are a prettier and more customizable way to accentuate your home garden.

Growing Onions

Red onions
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Growing Onions

Onions are grown from small bulbs.  As untreated onion sets could flower prematurely, your best option would be to buy heat treated sets. Plant onions in mid-spring.

Worker soil down to a fine tilth. Add some organic compost from your kitchen composter or at least some fertilizer.

Drill holes in the soil that are only as deep as required for just the very top of the onion bulb to show through the soil.  You want to space the onion bulbs at least 2 to 4 inches apart in rows that are 10 inches apart.  If your soil is very light, you may not need to drill holes.  You may just be able to push the onion bulb gently into the soil with the top showing.  The reason you cannot do this when you have heavy soil is because the soil at the base of the onion set becomes compacted, which makes it hard for any roots to penetrate into it.

Water your onion sets immediately after planting them–especially in dry weather–and weed the area on a frequent basis for optimal conditions for growing vegetables.  Heat treated onion sets may sprout a little slower than untreated sets, but they will catch up.

Regularly check your onion sets in train any dead leaves at the tip of the set, as birds can be a problem and dead leaves will make a handy handle for the birds to latch onto.

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Blueberry Plant 101

Blueberry
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The blueberry (Vaccinium L.) plant can be found and grown throughout most North American regions. Many blueberry plants do not yield harvestable fruit for the first three years or so. According to the University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program, blueberries help lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent urinary tract infections and may even inhibit cancer.

Blueberries thrive in an environment that has temperatures no lower than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. You may need to test the soil prior to planting the blueberries to ensure there are proper soil conditions. The US Highbush Blueberry council recommends planting blueberries in acidic soil ranging from a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 and an acidity of 4.09 and 5.0. Many local gardening centers sell soil testing kits or can perform a test for a small fee.

Plant the blueberries approximately 4 to 5 feet apart in a location that has full sunlight and ample water drainage. Allow approximately 10 feet in between rows, in order to have space for tending to the plants. Ammonium sulfate or an acidic 10-20-10 mixture can optionally be added as a fertilizer. Blueberries have shallow roots and you should aim for one or two inches of water per week, taking care not to over-water the bushes.

Prune flower blossoms that appear on the blueberry bushes, even during the first few years when there is no fruit to harvest. This will help encourage plant growth. Blueberries should be pruned around March, removing any dead parts of the plant and keeping the plant thinned out to allow ample sunlight to the middle of the bush. A blueberry plant with too many fruit blossoms may yield an abundance of small fruit. Most blueberry plants cannot self-pollinate, so you may want to consider planting a different variety of blueberry plants so they can cross-pollinate with each other.

References:

University of Rhode Island Landscape Horticulture Program – http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/blueberry.html

The US Highbush Blueberry Council – http://www.blueberry.org/gardening.htm

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How to Start Growing Vegetables With Indoor Gardening

indoor gardening -cucumbers
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Some people think that vegetable gardening can only be accomplished outside in a garden. What if I could tell you that you can plant a home vegetable garden no matter where you live?  So why do people consider indoor gardening? Planting vegetables indoors has now become so popular for the following reasons: environmental concern, beautification, the desire to “get back to earth”, the availability for a large number of hours in hobbies and recreation, increasing numbers of retired individuals who has more time to rekindle their interests with plants which is so therapeutic and finally, the high cost of living interest to grow vegetables and herbs indoors. Pretty much any type of root and leafy vegetable can be grown indoors, including tomatoes. Continue reading