It's time to get into your garden!

Apr 9
2 min read

Updated: Apr 10

New garden beds - We'll start planting as soon as your beds are done.

Pots - Not yet, that will be mid to late May.

Existing Garden Beds - Time to get them ready!

For those of you with existing vegetable beds, it’s time to get them ready for planting! Today, Friday, and Saturday are going to be beautiful days to get your hands dirty!

Do not till your soil! Leaving it natural preserves the microbes, organic matter, and reduces weeds.
If you have plant litter on your soil, try not to disturb it. There may be baby bugs nestled in there that still need the protection. The general rule is leave them until the daytime temperature is consistently above 10C.
Top your beds off with worm castings compost or Sea Soil. 1" for healthy soil and 3" if you have poor soil. Both are amazing amendments to enhance your soil, and therefore growth.
Compost is the best medicine for your garden. It improves the soil quality, promotes healthier plants, and boost moisture retention.

Seeds - Cold tolerant veggies love being planted mid to late April!

Cold tolerant veggies - beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, Pac choi, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard.
To extend your growing season, you can create mini greenhouses with shade cloths or milk jugs and plant now.
Buying seeds - there are great local seed companies whose seeds are Alberta hardy. Some of my favourites are Circle Farms, Wildrose Heritage Seeds, CoCreative Seeds, and Casey’s Heirloom Tomatoes. And I always pick up some Westcoast Seeds when I’m at the garden store.
Check Days to Germination and Days to Maturity. Add them together for the full time it will take until harvest ready. We have a short growing season so the shorter the total days, the better.
You can save the seeds from the plants you grow and use them the following years but the original seeds need to be labelled OP (open pollination), heirloom, or heritage. If they are labelled F1 it means they are the first year of a hybrid and saved seeds may not sprout or may sprout only half of the hybrid.

FAQs

Should I use the free City compost?

City compost can contain things veggies (and our bodies) don’t like - herbicides, pesticides, microplastics, etc., and it is best not to use it on your vegetable gardens.

If I plant now and there is a frost, won’t my vegetables freeze?

In April you can plant cold hardy vegetables. If they have sprouted and there is a risk of frost, you can put a frost cloth or sheet over them to protect them. Seeds that haven’t emerged will be fine.

How do I prevent the birds and squirrels from eating the seeds?

Once you seed, cover your bed with burlap or white lightweight shade cloth. It will also help retain heat and moisture so the seeds will sprout faster. Once they sprout you can take the cover off.

What if I plant my seeds and it’s too early and the plant dies?

Just replant!

Questions? Reach out to grow@gardentofork.ca

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