Hi there! My name’s Dave. I’ve been gardening since I was kid, and I’ve been blogging about my gardening experiences since 2007. I’ve lived most of my life in central Alberta. My gardening passions include growing fruits & veggies (the more unusual the better), building and growing in greenhouses, and mulch!
You can contact me here.
16 replies on “About”
Where can I buy a plastic/wood grid for square foot gardening in Calgary or in Canada. I have heard that Briteland garden centre in Vernon BC has some supplies for SFG but do you know of any other source. Thank you Kate, Calgary
Kate: I don’t know of anywhere to buy a pre-made SFG grid – I always just make my own. You can use word, metal, plastic – even string! Its just a visual divider.
There is frost forecast for late Friday night……what should I do about perennials that are up and bedding plats newly planted. I live on pigeon lake.
Patty: If you can cover them somehow, they should be fine. Maybe with tarps, blankets, buckets…. whatever else you have around.
hi there, I was needing some tips of what kind of flowers/plants that I could plant on the north facing side of my house. There is very little sunlight and just would love something that would look pretty and fill my flower beds! Thanks
Cassie: I’d recommend looking at this page – http://northernshade.ca/plant-list/ It’s sure to give you some ideas!
There’s one called Seeding Square, made in BC I believe. I tried mine for the first time yesterday and it was pretty cool. http://www.seedingsquare.com/
Good morning Dave: I was just about to plant out some haskap plants and thought to get a little more growing information before I did – and I discovered your “Alberta Home Gardener” site – it is great! We “grow” in southern Alberta – Enchant. You are now on my list of favorites – Thank you, Gwen
Hi Dave! I planted a few Haskap bushes over the last three years. They are growing, healthy and had lots of flowers this spring, but only a few berries. Is there something I need to be doing to increase yield? I live about an hour north of you.
Thanks! I’m really enjoying your blogs.
Kathy: Which varieties have you planted? You will need at least two varieties to pollinate well. That would be my first guess. Second guess is that the plants just need a little more time to get established. You should see more berries each year until about year 7.
I am looking to start a nursery business. What are your thoughts on that Dave? What are some good resources to look for when we starting a nursery business?
thanks!
Vic: I’m probably not the guy to talk to about the nursery business – I just grow for my own enjoyment (usually not at a profit!) I’d recommend finding some nursery managers/owners in your area and chatting with them. They would be able to point you in the right direction!
Was reading your blog and then saw it was you…haha! Hope you’re all doing well.
We are hoping to plant some blueberry bushes as a hedge. Have you tried various varieties/which would you recommend? They would be in full sun (south-facing), which I’m not sure is a good idea for blueberries (do they need some shade?)
Thanks!
Thanks!
Hi Hana! Yup – it’s me! I actually haven’t successfully grown blueberries. My soil just isn’t acidic enough. But from what I hear – Northblue or Northern Country are good varieties to try. And they certainly would want full-sun – pretty much all fruit bushes/trees do. As an alternative to blueberries, you might want to consider growing a haskap hedge (which is what we’ve done before). They produce lots of fruit that is similar in many ways to blueberries.
Any updates coming this season?
Isaac: Thanks for the question! Actually, I’ve recently started a new gardening venture and have just started blogging about it. There will be lots of updates coming to my new site soon. Visit coldclimateabundance.ca.