Starting Your Garden From Scratch

January is often known as the month of ridiculously cold weather, cars that refuse to start, and boredom bordering on depression. Short daylight hours seem to exacerbate any boiler plate thoughts we’ve had for the day, and the prevailing wind just keeps blowing that irritating viral cough around the family, with everyone in the house sounding like rusty chainsaws in their sleep. Well take heart, January is also a month for anticipating warm weather to come, leafing through gardening catalogues, scouring landscaping websites, and starting garden seeds indoors!

What to Seed Jan 15-31
When discussing the calendar year in horticultural circles, growers refer to time not as days and months but rather as the numbered weeks; the first day of the week is Monday and the last day of the week is Sunday. For 2012, week 1 was January 02-08 inclusive; our current week is number 4 (January 23-29 inclusive.) You can find a complete listing of the numerated weeks of this year at: www.epochconverter.com/date-and-time/weeknumbers-by-year.php?year=2012 . Typically, the plants to seed from weeks 2-5 are those that require an extended period of growing time to reach maturity. Beefsteak-style tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, eggplant, herbs, tropicals, wax begonias, and most perennial plants are best seeded at this time in order to be adequately mature for placement in the garden in late May (and where applicable, accordingly produce fruit in the summer months.)

What to Seed Feb 01-15
With longer daylight hours, seeding in weeks 5 through 7 (the first half February) is generally easier than in January, as with the longer days also comes a general increase in ambient room temperature in our homes (i.e. less reliance on our furnaces.) Varieties to seed in this time period are longer annual crops such as petunias, French marigolds, snapdragons, salvia, impatiens, and dusty miller. Veggies and fruit such as brussel sprouts, watermelon, field-style tomatoes, strawberries, cantaloupe, cauliflower, and pumpkins all require an early, indoor seeding to have enough growing time to reach maturity and fruition in our limited growing season. If you weren’t able to find the time to seed large-fruiting tomatoes, peppers, etc. in January, seed them now…hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate and give us a bit of a later fall.

Seeding – Best Practices
As a greenhouse grower, I can tell you I have tried it all when it comes to seeding methodology, soil mixtures, container choices, and irrigation techniques. While there may admittedly be several ways to skin the proverbial cat, I have found a few constants that need to be adhered to in order to produce the healthiest, most compact plant starts.
1) Cleanliness – Always make sure your tools and containers are clean. Purchasing new containers is often the route chosen for smaller ventures, while cleaning existing equipment is preferable for larger projects. As a general rule of thumb, soaking seeding containers and equipment for 10 min in a cleaning solution of 10% bleach to 90% water, followed by a 30 minute air-drying period is adequate to kill insects and pathogens on plastic and ceramic containers. If your seeding tools (i.e. trowel, dibbler, water wand, fogging nozzles, etc.) have been treated with oil, you may need to heat the cleaning solution up before soaking. Always be sure to re-oil any tool requiring lubrication prior to use.
2) Fresh Seed – Don’t torture yourself by trying to germinate seeds that are duds. While the seeds of some plant varieties are excellent at retaining their inner moisture for decades or even centuries, most seeds will dry out in a period of a few months if they are not kept in an adequately humid environment. Our dry prairie air literally sucks the moisture out of seed interiors. For the minimal price of a pack of fresh seeds, it is well worth your time and money to purchase fresh each year. You should always ask the vendor (from whom you are purchasing seed) if the seed has come in recently; most garden centers get rid of old seed and restock fresh seed twice each year, while various chain stores keep the same seed over from year to year.
3) Soil Less Media – Quite simply, the easiest and best material to seed into is what is referred to as “soil less mix.” As the name suggests, this product contains no topsoil, otherwise known as “dirt”. Rather, soil less potting media contains peat moss, corn and/or coconut fibres, perlite and/or vermiculite, and often miccorhizal fungus. It looks and feels very similar to regular potting soil. The great big advantage to using soil less media, and the reason that the very vast majority of greenhouse growers use it, is because it is less prone to pathogens, soil temperature and porosity is easier to maintain, it drains better, and soil PH is easier to regulate.
4) Misters and Tray Covers – When horticulturists talk about starting plants from seed, there are several different stages of seedling development upon which discussion is focused. The two stages that are most important for the hobby gardener are radical emergence and true leaf emergence. Radical emergence is the highly visible stage of germination, when the seed coat breaks and a shoot appears from within. True leaf emergence is when the seedling develops its second set of leaves (the initial set are not true leaves; they are called seed leaves.) The development of each stage is highly dependent upon appropriate moisture levels around the seed coat and developing root system. Not enough moisture will result in lack of germination, stunting, or death of a seedling. Too much moisture (and accordingly not enough air) will result in seed coat rot, fatal chlorosis of seedling, and damping off. The best way to keep your seeds and seedlings watered until they develop their second set of leaves is to water (i.e. with a watering can) infrequently (once every couple of days) and mist frequently (a couple times each day.) Covering the seeding tray with a clear dome is also a best practice, as it keeps the relative humidity high around the seeds/seedlings.
5) Light and Heat – Plant seeds require differing levels of light to germinate; always consult the seed pack to confirm for each variety you are seeding. If the seeding instructions say to leave seed uncovered, simply sprinkle seeds on soil less media. If the seeding instructions say to cover seed, sprinkle seed on soil less mix and then use a fine layer of vermiculite or perlite to cover the entire soil of the seeding tray. Once seeds have germinated, all plants will require light, either artificially or naturally. Most seeds will germinate at indoor room temperature (18-21 degrees Celsius.)

Starting your garden from scratch is a great boredom buster and a tradition that has been carried out by civilizations over the ages. While contemporary society has gotten increasingly away from our rural roots, there is nonetheless a magic about starting your own plants that is intoxicating and rewarding. Why not invest a little time and effort and give it a try this season? You may be pleasantly surprised at how easy and fun it is!

Bird is the Word!

As I went out the door on my way to work this morning, I caught a glimpse of a cedar waxwing in a mountain ash tree by my driveway. Success! After setting food out for these elusive beauties for the past month and a half, finally I saw one in my yard!
Bird watching – the term really drums up all sorts of images. On the one hand, it sounds so passive, and evokes comical thoughts of octogenarians executing bad park jobs along busy thoroughfares, armed with canteens, uncomfortable camp seats, and a penchant for sleeping while “watching.” On the other hand, the moniker makes you think of somewhat geeky “pseudo” scientists roaming the countryside in khakis and cargo vests, with camera, binoculars, and notebook in hand, all the while looking for the biggest count and rarest birds ever seen (and indeed, the movie The Big Year starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson centers around this stereotypical view.) Well, the truth of the matter is that bird watching, or simply birding, is so much more than either of these hackneyed definitions. Encompassing science, technology, nature, and art, birding is a fascinating and fun pursuit.
Science and Technology – Most birding in our area centers around migratory birds. A somewhat unknown, or at least under-known, fact, is that the vast majority of birds that we see in our area do not stay for the entire year; rather they migrate. Some, such as the red winged black bird, use our area as a summer home. Others, such as the snowy owl, use our area as a winter home. Others yet, such as the bald eagle, use our area as a stop along the way to and from their winter and summer homes. Scientifically - specifically biologically - speaking, this is of enormous importance. The seasonal migrations and according seasonal homes that differing birds use offer up a plethora of information, not only in regards to individual species, but also in regards to larger issues such as the food web, the food chain, and the environment. Technological advances such as Doppler satellite tracking have allowed agencies such as NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to follow and report on the migratory routes and habits of birds, information that is used worldwide by biologists, conservationists, and enterprise at large (i.e. for planning commercial airline travel routes.)
Nature – Understanding migratory routes and the environmental impacts that are associated with them is important, both in the way that birds impact the environment and in the way that humans impact the birds and their migrations. But the story does not stop there: observing the daily minutiae of birds is interesting and reflects back to the vary nature of life itself. Foraging, seeking shelter, negotiating territory, finding a mate, raising young, and taking some time to enjoy the sun on their backs are all bird behaviors that are eerily close to those of human beings. Our cliched sayings underline our shared natures, such as “birds of a feather flock together”, and the value of “a bird’s eye view.”
Art – Gorgeous, graceful, and often eloquent, our feathered friends are one of the best sources of art around. With forms and colors ranging from tiny and maroon (such as the rufous hummingbird) to very large and white (such as the tundra swan), the birds in our area are diverse and attractive. Not only do we enjoy a myriad of songbirds and birds of prey, Southern Alberta and the prairies at large are known as one of the richest spots in the world for waterfowl. Resources such as Ducks Unlimited, the Audubon Society, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada all have wonderful compilations of bird species in our area. If simply watching them doesn’t satisfy your passion, why not try your hand at painting or photography? Civilization has been admiring and recording birds in this fashion for tens of thousands of years; in the summer of 2010, in fact, an ochre painting of an extinct bird (estimated with an extinction timeline of approximately 40 000 years ago) was discovered on a rock wall in northern Australia; check it out at www.australiangeographic.com.au .
Birding is both fun and rewarding. Fields of study ranging from science to business to art are integral to the pursuit; it is hardly a wonder that bird watching is one of the quickest-growing pastimes, both in Canada and abroad. Taking a peek into the lives of another life form offers up great insight and can ultimately help our species to understand ourselves and our place on the globe. If you haven’t tried bird watching before, take this winter to get to know some of our feathered friends – a simple feeder or two placed around your yard, each holding a different size of wild birdseed, is a wonderful way to let them know that your yard is a great place to come for lunch!

Celebrating Our Zone

Okay, let me be the first one to say it. I love gardening in Calgary. Not kind of tolerate, not passively enjoy, I absolutely love growing plants in our unique climate. The mild and moist conditions found in British Columbia are terrific, as is the hot and humid climate of Southwest Ontario and environs, but I am taking a stand and telling every person who has garnered a hoe this side of the Rockies: don’t look any further – it doesn’t get any better than right here in your own back yard.

What’s so special about Calgary? In horticultural discussions, I often hear fellow gardeners lamenting the “difficult” growing conditions found in the greater Calgary area. Along with (admittedly) challenging soil composition, gardeners wax poetic on issues of long and cold winters, variable Chinooks, cool summer nights, insufficient rainfall, and cool zone rating. So focused are we in finding fault with our special growing conditions, in fact, that we often overlook the upside of gardening here: nestled with one leg in the prairies and the other in the foothills, Calgary’s interesting location and localized climate present a prime opportunity for growing fabulous gardens.

Sunny Sunny Days
Reminiscent of the old Wink Martindale song, Calgary is one of the sunniest cities in North America. Averaging 2395 hours of sunlight per year, the sheer volume of energy bathing our gardens during the growing season promotes healthy, happy plants. Native varieties such as chokecherries, saskatoons, poplar, buffaloberry, willow, and certain roses are able to capitalize on our long days during the growing period by maturing quickly and, where applicable, producing heavily for entire months at a time.

Cool Nights
Even the hottest of Calgary summer days experiences a substantial cooling overnight. This cooling period is actually a blessing in disguise for most garden varieties as it helps to keep harmful pests and diseases at bay by inhibiting reproduction, keeps lush overgrowth in check, increases sugar content in fruit crops, and intensifies pigmentation in flower blooms. Few are the gardens that can boast the tasty berries and stunning colors that we commonly feature in Calgary.

Winter Wonderland
Yes, we do enjoy (ahem) a long dormancy period in Calgary which often eclipses over 6 months of the year. But even this extended slumber offers benefits to our gardens. With a relatively short very cold period (i.e. -20°C to -35°C, usually timed sporadically from November through January), hardy plants in our gardens are able to take advantage of the extended cool period (i.e. 5°C to -15°C, usually timed from October through early November and again from February through March) to enter and exit dormancy. Plants that need long periods to harden off for winter thrive here; ash, elm, and oak are prime examples of elegant, long-lived trees lining the streets in Calgary. Also favorable to the classic cold snaps we see in the winter months, most garden pest populations (caterpillars, aphids, and mosquitoes, to name a few) are severely depleted when temperatures drop below -30°C. Calgary gardens tend to emerge in the spring fresh from pests, very healthy, and ready to grow!

When it comes to gardening, Calgary seems to have the best of both worlds. Our somewhat unusual climate is mild enough to produce some of North America’s most stunning gardens and yet harsh enough to do some of our gardening dirty work for us, such as regulating substantial pest over-populations. Along with the various challenges that growing in the Chinook zone presents, we should also take time to capitalize on our unique opportunities for creating fabulous, long-lived gardens. As the old adage goes, we can lament roses because they have thorns or we can rejoice thorns because they have roses!

Gardening in the Zone
With an average rainfall of 203.3mm and a minimum winter temperature of –34.5 to –37.2°C, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has roughly set the Plant Hardiness Zone Rating for Calgary as 3a (hardiness zones are set from 0 – 8, with 0 being the harshest and 8 being the mildest.) Agriculture Canada has modified this rating to 3b with the inclusion of such factors as elevation, maximum wind speed, length of frost free days, amount of typical snow cover, and January rainfall. Given the micro-climates found in most yards in Calgary, a substantial number of Calgary homes also possess a pocket or two of relatively protected space that would adhere to a Zone 4a or 4b rating.