I love growing food in containers as it allows for earlier growth. Also, you can take advantage of some sunny spots where you can’t have a garden bed, and some containers can be moved into the garage or house when an early fall frost threatens.
For containers, we can’t use garden soil because it’s heavy and hard. Potting mix is made from peat moss, vermiculite and perlite. While it’s light and holds water quite well, peat moss comes from our precious wetlands that are drained for harvest. Coconut choir is an option but it comes from very far away and has its own challenges. Therefore, I like to reuse my potting mix for as long as possible.
In the fall, I remove the plants, let the mix dry out and place the containers in a shed or under the waterproof deck. This is important for containers that might crack when the potting mix freezes.
In the spring, I dump all the containers out onto a tarp on the lawn (some grass is a useful work surface…). Then I usually mix in compost, up to about 20-30% of the total volume, and I re-moisten the dry mix.
This spring, I found that my potting mix seemed very dense and heavy. Since I also add compost, some worm castings and I use organic fertilizer, I think all kinds of microbes are happy in my containers. They are composting organic materials, which means that some good soil building is going on. This is a bit of speculation on my part as I don’t have the tools or skill to prove it.
I decided to purchase some perlite, a volcanic rock rich in silicon that is heated to expand the particles (see white perlite in photo). This creates important air spaces in the potting mix. Perlite also holds water, but less than vermiculite, another mineral that's part of most potting mixes. I used a shovel to mix the perlite thoroughly into the reused potting mix before watering and adding the growing medium back into my containers. Since the mix does not contain a lot of nutrients (other than what’s in the compost), I add a granular organic fertilizer to each planter at transplanting time.

Growing vegetables and fruit successfully requires the hard work from pollinators. Wild bees need nectar and pollen to feed and reproduce from flowering plants throughout the entire season. Here are some great plants for your landscape. The information is based on an article published in the Winter 2017 issue of the Nature Alberta magazine and confirms what I’ve observed in my own and other Edmonton yards. I have also added some other plants that are great for wild bees. Last year I wrote a bit of info on wild bee homes.

Perennial Plants:
Giant Hyssop – Agastache foeniculum: This native plant is stellar! It is a very easy plant to grow in sun and part shade. The flowers are light purple and produce nectar all day long from July to late August. The leaves and flowers also make a nice tea. This plant is available from the Edmonton Native Plant Group, Clark Ecoscience and even some garden centres, though you won’t know for sure in the last case that it’s a true Alberta native.
 
Globe Thistle – Echinops ritro: If you don’t mind something prickly, this drought tolerant plant is also a bee magnet from early summer to fall. It is available in garden centres.
 
Chives: While I love chives, they can seed themselves around very readily. Yes, they are great for bees but you may need to cut the flowers before they go to seed or be prepared to dig out seedlings. A great “green onion” plant is Welsh Onion. It is also perennial and eventually makes a large white flower that the bees love. It also likes to spread but it’s a bit easier to remove than chives.
If you don’t want to deal with a prolific self-seeder, you can also plant the native Nodding Onion and let it spread. It is a small plant that’s hardly noticeable but provides early season flowers. This plant is also available from the Edmonton Native Plant Group.
 
Spirea japonica: You may already have this small shrub. It flowers in late May.
 
Annuals
Borage: This annual has a blue star-shaped flower that looks great in salads. It blooms all summer long into fall and the bees visit it all day long. It self-seeds, but it’s easy to pull extra plants and compost them.
 
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant – Cleome serrulata: This annual flowers for a very long time.
 
Other Plants I like for Wild Bees:
Spring
Dandelions: Yes, they are great for the bees! They flower very early, which is important for the wild bees hatched in April and May.
Moss Phlox: This gorgeous ground cover plant blooms most of May.
Canada Violet: Another fabulous native. This plant has edible flowers in early May and all through the summer. It spreads slowly but it’s a low plant and I don’t mind it between other plants.
White Clover: You can seed white clover into your lawn if it’s a bit patchy and you don’t want to mow, water and fertilize it regularly. Clover spreads by the roots, so if you don’t want it in your flowerbeds or garden, edging is important.
 
Summer and Fall
Garden Hyssop – Hyssopus officinalis: Another bee magnet that does well in sun or part shade and is drought tolerant. Available in garden centres.
Stiff Goldenrod – Solidago rigida: A great native fall bloomer that is well behaved but easy to divide. Available from the Edmonton Native Plant Group or Clark Ecoscience.
Easy annuals: Sunflowers, Zinnias, Cosmos, Calendula and Dill
Herbs: Lemon Balm and Oregano. Both perennials are great for people and pollinators.