Photo by Robert Lee @sudden.lee.journo

The Random Acts team popped up in Bridgeland for a Mother’s Day surprise. Did you see us?

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Written by Nathan Iles

Tips from a Master Gardener to help your plants thrive this season

Written by Devon Murphy, illustrated by Amber Solberg @ambersolbergmakery

For gardeners old and new, planning your planting in Calgary means reading the climate, understanding soil, and choosing plants that survive and thrive in our unique terroir. 

Tori Ames, a Certified Horticulturalist and Master Gardener, looks to nature to tell her when the time is right to pull out her gardening tools. “Nature knows when it’s safe for the buds to come out,” she says. “When you start to see buds in the spring it really gives you the sense that the worst of the winter is over.”

Consider the Climate

An area’s Plant Hardiness Zone is determined by everything from average rainfall in a year, to maximum wind gusts measured over 30 years. 

Ames suggests considering two important elements when choosing what to plant: our cooler climate, and how dry Calgary summers can be. “When in doubt, go for native perennials because they’ve evolved to withstand these exact conditions,” says Ames. “Pollinators are looking for plants they recognize.”

Know Your Soil

If you’ve gardened in Calgary before, you might have noted the heavy clay-like quality of the alkaline soil, which comes from proximity to the river valley. While clay holds nutrients well, it can also be slow to warm in the spring and remain wet for a long time in the rainy season. 

“Don’t try to change the PH of your soil, pick plants that do well in that PH,” cautions Ames. “You can try to fight it, but the soil will always fight you back.”

When to Plant

When you’re getting ready to plant, remember:

1. Break up compaction: Breathe life back into your soil by loosening the ground, but do so gently enough to keep bacteria, fungi, and insects intact. “Those are going to be helpful in your garden establishing itself,” says Ames, so opt for a broad fork over a rotary tiller.  
2. Make extra room for roots: When planting in Calgary’s clay-dense soil, dig your holes twice as big as you need to help the roots have space to penetrate the soil. 
3. Work in organic matter: Adding organic composted manure will improve soil structure and add air into your soil, setting your seeds and starters up for success.  

Final Gardening Tips! 

• Capture as much rainfall as you can in our rainiest month, which is coming up: June. 
• Choose the sunniest spot for your garden. Most vegetables will do well with between 6 and 8 hours of direct sun per day. 
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Head to your local greenhouse or nursery and speak to an expert.

Plant more than you need, knowing some things will fail and some will thrive. No one has a 100% successful garden, so just go for it!

WHAT TO PLANT AND WHAT TO BUY

Written by Devon Murphy

Harvesting food or flowers you grew yourself is priceless, but gardening is still an investment. Keeping in mind the short growing season and particular climate, there are some plants worth growing yourself and others you should stick to buying at the store.

Plant

• Cold season crops like kale, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, arugula, cauliflower, kohlrabi
• Short-season varieties of tomatoes (like Manitoba beefsteak, or Sungold cherry), cucumbers (like patio snackers), eggplant (like Fairytale Dwarf), zucchini, potatoes, lettuce
• Sunflowers, juniper, bleeding heart, delphinium

Buy 

• Flowers or food that require long growing seasons like pumpkin, okra, watermelon, long-season tomato or cucumber varieties 
• Fruit like blueberries that thrive in acidic soil
• Nursery starters for Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and thyme, which won’t get to a desirable size in Calgary’s growing season

Leah and Henry the Yorkie strike a pose in Bridgeland