I thought it would be a good idea to start an urban gardening thread as there was a lot of interest in the Random Thoughts thread about a month ago. We're finally coming into gardening season so I'm curious to see how many other urban gardeners we have here. Really looking forward to seeing everyone’s setup! Please share all your tips too.
I started my first seedlings of the season today. I generally start between now and the beginning of April for things that take a bit longer to establish like peppers, chilis and tomatoes. Today I sowed all my pepper/chili seeds I’m going to be growing this year:
I also planted some bell pepper plants. I have them all in trays with heating pads by an east facing window, which isn’t ideal but they’re only there until they sprout then they go in a growing tent. I have three of these, and I usually only use two but I'm planting a lot of stuff this year so we’ll see how it goes. Here are links for the tent and lights I use:
It’s also a good idea to also get a timer for the light and a fan for each tent. The fan helps move air around and keep the seedlings moving. This helps their stems to develop strong so they’re not knocked over by wind when you plant them outside.
I usually aim to plant everything outside around May long depending on what the weather looks like. My backyard has four raised garden beds, all about 3 X 12 feet. One garden will be for the chilis I planted today, the others for tomatoes, squash/cucumbers and onions & garlic. I’ll be starting the rest of the seedlings in the next few weeks, along with herbs & flowers. This is probably my favourite time of year!
Here are some photos of my backyard gardens from last year:
Spoiler!
Beans:
Root Veggies:
Squash (with a cannabis cameo):
Tomatoes:
And here are some from my harvest:
Spoiler!
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I thought it would be a good idea to start an urban gardening thread as there was a lot of interest in the Random Thoughts thread about a month ago. We're finally coming into gardening season so I'm curious to see how many other urban gardeners we have here. Really looking forward to seeing everyone’s setup! Please share all your tips too.
I started my first seedlings of the season today. I generally start between now and the beginning of April for things that take a bit longer to establish like peppers, chilis and tomatoes. Today I sowed all my pepper/chili seeds I’m going to be growing this year:
I also planted some bell pepper plants. I have them all in trays with heating pads by an east facing window, which isn’t ideal but they’re only there until they sprout then they go in a growing tent. I have three of these, and I usually only use two but I'm planting a lot of stuff this year so we’ll see how it goes. Here are links for the tent and lights I use:
It’s also a good idea to also get a timer for the light and a fan for each tent. The fan helps move air around and keep the seedlings moving. This helps their stems to develop strong so they’re not knocked over by wind when you plant them outside.
I usually aim to plant everything outside around May long depending on what the weather looks like. My backyard has four raised garden beds, all about 3 X 12 feet. One garden will be for the chilis I planted today, the others for tomatoes, squash/cucumbers and onions & garlic. I’ll be starting the rest of the seedlings in the next few weeks, along with herbs & flowers. This is probably my favourite time of year!
Here are some photos of my backyard gardens from last year:
Spoiler!
Beans:
Root Veggies:
Squash (with a cannabis cameo):
Tomatoes:
And here are some from my harvest:
Spoiler!
Looks like you have the perfect location for your tomatoes and the like, right against the house. That helps to retain heat during the night for plants that require full sun.
That is the big difference in gardening in Calgary, compared to say Edmonton or most of Saskatchewan. Calgary has low temperatures overnight so it takes too many hours to build up the heat that plants like peppers, tomatoes, and squash require. Planting in containers and against houses or garages or a fence helps.
And good on you for actually harvesting some garlic, one of the hardest things to grow in the Calgary area.
We've done garlic for a good 5 years, never found it that hard. They don't always get huge, but it's pretty easy. I think we have 2 cloves left from last year, was a decent harvest.
We've done garlic for a good 5 years, never found it that hard. They don't always get huge, but it's pretty easy. I think we have 2 cloves left from last year, was a decent harvest.
I only have perennial flower beds since I moved into Calgary. When I lived in Priddis, was almost impossible to grow garlic unless you planted it in fall. I would get what looked like heads but it was basically like an onion inside..no cloves had formed.
I only have perennial flower beds since I moved into Calgary. When I lived in Priddis, was almost impossible to grow garlic unless you planted it in fall. I would get what looked like heads but it was basically like an onion inside..no cloves had formed.
Garlic takes 2 seasons. Plant in the fall, and just leave it.
Garlic takes 2 seasons. Plant in the fall, and just leave it.
Not in climates like Edmonton or most of Saskatchewan. I am from Saskatchewan and garlic was always planted in the spring and it had no problem maturing in one season.
It needs a longer growing season than onions and it needs heat.
I remember chatting with you and Fuzz earlier about your Serrano peppers and my wife started some for her and I. I'm excited to see how yours turn out, great idea for a thread
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Looks like you have the perfect location for your tomatoes and the like, right against the house. That helps to retain heat during the night for plants that require full sun.
We built that garden last spring. It’s next to our garage against a south facing wall. Honestly that photo doesn’t do justice either because those plants grew all the way to the roof then fell over on each other. It was amazing, our harvest was the best its ever been. The plants in the front were our pepper plants and they produced like crazy too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
Garlic takes 2 seasons. Plant in the fall, and just leave it.
Yep – I always plant a bulb or two worth of cloves in early November or right before the gardens freeze. I have had luck every year I’ve done it this way. Some are small, but the key is to cut off the flower stems as soon as they start to spin. Then leave them until the plant seems to die off.If they’re small, re-sow the cloves for next year.
Thanks for starting this thread. It's always great to share info on how we are getting along with this kind of thing.
I have an Indoor Garden that I have been working on for about 3 months and I've been pretty happy with the results so far.
Here is a picture of the overall setup. I got it from Lee Valley tools and am happy with the quality and performance of the lights and stand. Adjustable lights are very important to growing this way. Mostly purchased this for convenience of not having to put something together myself. The only knock on it I have is the price.
So far I have grown 5 different kinds of Radishes, 4 kinds of lettuce, Kale, Endive, a tray of Broccoli Micro Greens and I'm trying to get some Green Onions going.
Here's a picture of the current crop.
I have been doing really well with Radishes. Super easy to grow and are much better than what I have bought at the store. Another plus is I can grow different kinds which is surprisingly fun. We are also eating the greens cooked quickly in butter and garlic.
Kale is growing like crazy and is quite tender, much better than store bought.
Butter Crunch Lettuce is coming along great. I'll likely grow this inside all summer as I don't have to fight Slugs, Rabbits and everything else that wants to eat it outside.
It's been a lot of fun and the veggies we are getting are really good. No pesticides or anything bad at all in there.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to reach out.
Last edited by prarieboy; 03-20-2022 at 07:07 PM.
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Last year we got a good harvest of tomatoes, zucchini, yellow beans (we thought we planted green and yellow, but they all came out yellow), peas, carrots, radishes, lettuce, spinach, kale, herbs, jalapeños, habaneros, chilis.
I built some easily removable covers out of wood, pex pipe, and poly last spring that can be used to make a greenhouse for spring and summer, and also can provide a bit of protection against small hail.
Hi all,
has anyone started seedlings in a greenhouse right now? since it is below freezing at night i have been putting my space heater on a timer in the greenhouse, it is 10' x 8' and a full sized greenhouse.
I just hope this is enough to keep them alive, I have installed a remote thermometer as well so I can track the temps from in the house and run out if I need to turn the space heater up or bring the trays in the house.
Just curious if you think the seeds will be no good if they freeze over night, even 1 night.
I am pretty new to planting seedlings to be honest, because I am new to owning a greenhouse! Anyway, any help on this would be great.
Thanks!
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With -10 coming that could be tough to keep it warm. Some seeds survive no problem below zero, but you are germinating them, and I suspect they won't survive that.
I've read conflicting information online, but is it safe to use pressure treated lumber for raised garden beds? Cedar is expensive AF, but using anything but PT or Cedar means your beds fall apart within a few years.
If you use PT could you put in a plastic liner? Maybe chloroplast?
I built mine from corrugated steel I bought from UFA. I used abs pipe to build the interior structure and drilled the steel onto that. Then I cladded them in cedar.
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That's a great idea. My cedar gardens are starting to warp, I'm hoping to getting a couple more seasons out of them but then I may look into this setup.
The Urban Garden Thread
