Short and sweet

The growing season here is Alberta is relatively short. It’s a fairly safe bet that June, July and August will be snow- and frost-free. May is a little iffy. Last year we had frost in May and a few tomato plants I had in the ground didn’t fare too well. The first autumn frosts, or rather two inches of snow, came fairly early in October last year, which is a pity because my cucumbers were still going strong and I could have got a few more if the snow hadn’t killed them off. So if you want to grow anything in this part of the world, it pays to make hay while the sun shines – as they say.

Given the short growing season in Alberta, it’s surprising that anything is actually produced. However, once the summer gets going here, it brings with it very long days of sunshine. There’s little rain which means that you have to make sure you water often. Last year I was watering my veggies at least twice a day during most of the summer (last year I made do with a watering can; fortunately, the previous owners of this house kindly left us a watering hose which we’re already finding very convenient).

Having now hit May, we’ve already had a taster of what’s in store with some very nice warm and sunny spells so far this year. Looking to the summer to come (which is hugely anticipated by everyone after five months of snow covering the ground!), I’ve dug out two vegetables patches in the back garden. Each is about ten feet by about four. I collected my compost from my old house last week (I couldn’t bring it with me - literally - when I actually moved house as it was frozen in the ground, it being the middle of January then). Anyway, it’s looking – and smelling – good. Unfortunately, there’s only about six months’ worth so not really enough to dig into the newly created vegetable patches just yet.

Not that I’ve been waiting for all possibility of frost to pass in order to start planting, though. I’ve started a few vegetables off indoors. Cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and thyme and parsley I started off in the basement a few weeks ago. However, it wasn’t light enough for them down there and they germinated a bit spindly. Having moved them upstairs to the kitchen table, they’re doing much better now and I’m hoping that they will be established enough to hold their own when planted outside. As well as placing these few plants into the vegetable patches, I’ll also sow some seeds directly into the ground – lettuce, beets, maybe carrots, and perhaps a few more herbs. And then the race is on to see how much produce I can harvest in the months ahead!