Last winter, I had some small Georgia Jet sweet potatoes left over and they started sprouting in January (see blog post below). I pulled off the small plants ("slips"), and potted them up in containers filled with potting mix. I managed to overwinter them until spring, placing them under fluorescent lights in March.

In the summer of 2018, I decided to compare the growth of sweet potatoes both in a very large container on our deck, and some in my community garden plot. What a difference! I had “huge” sweet potatoes in the containers filled with 75% potting mix and 25% compost, with an addition of some organic veggie fertilizer. Two plants yielded about 8 beautiful potatoes. It was certainly not a bumper crop, but really enjoyable.

By comparison, the sweet potatoes in my community garden plot were skinny and small. The soil is rich clay soil that produces many great veggies suitable for our short season. For sweet potatoes, it is too heavy and takes too much time to warm up in the spring and after rain. 
Therefore, I will grow sweet potatoes again in large containers in the sunniest area of my yard.

After the tuber harvest and a frost that killed my sweet potato foliage, I decided to plant one of the fibrous roots into a pot. Sure enough, it eventually leafed out again. I took some "slips" and planted them in 4 inch pots. The plants grew very nicely, but I realized that keeping these plants alive from December to May is not realistic. I gave them to a Little Green Thumbs teacher, and she planted them with her students into earthboxes in her indoor garden. A recent photo shows the growing very nicely!

Want to try your own sweet potatoes? A friend has already put in our order for slips from Mapple Farm (NB) as they sell out fairly quickly. Other sources:
Burts Greenhouses (ON)
Gelert Garden Farm (ON)
Sage Garden Greenhouses (MN)
Veseys (PEI)

An unexpected winner was Selma Fino Bulb Fennel. I purchased the seeds from West Coast Seeds and planted a handful of seeds in potting mix on March 23. I placed the seedlings under fluorescent lights until hardening off time and eventually they went out into the garden bed May 26. I also seeded some fennel seeds between the transplants for a later crop. In early August, we had some very large bulbs to harvest.
The seeds I had planted in May developed into nice seedlings which I transplanted into an empty bed on June 21. The plants did really well and produced beautiful, tasty bulbs that kept well into September in the garden. I used the bulbs fresh in salads, lightly sauteed in omelettes, and I dried many of the fronds for later use in soups.

I was very pleased with many food plants I tried last year. So as I’m planning my garden for this spring, here are plants I want to grow again.
 
Lemon Cucumbers are a bit unusual yet very tasty. I bought new seeds last and with fairly regular rain, they produced heavily. These cucumbers are lemon yellow, roundish like an apple and taste very similar to a regular cucumber, but rarely turn bitter. Westcoast Seeds has another ‘white’ Australian cuke, an old heirloom called Crystal Apple. Apparently it’s “less scrambly”, so I’m going to compare the two.

Melons: In 2017 I purchased a Sugar Baby Watermelon (75 days to maturity) at Kuhlman’s and it produced only 2 melons, but they were very delicious. So in 2018, I’m going to try my own watermelon seedling, a variety called Diana (75 days) with a yellow skin and dark pink flesh.
A very prolific producer last year was a musk melon plant I bought from Kuhlman’s and another one I received from a friend. Both musk melons were not super sweet, but it was a nice treat to pick one from the basked almost every day for a couple of weeks. I saved some seeds and will be growing them again.

Squash: I grow some varieties of squash every year because they store right into March or April. I really like Red Kuri squash or Gold Nugget. For 2018, I am very excited to try out Styrian Hullless Pumpkin from Heritage Harvest Seed, because the seeds are “naked” and can be harvested and used directly! This pumpkin takes around 95 days to maturity, so it is a bit of a gamble and will be race against time before next winter.

Sweet Potatoes: A friend ordered Georgia Jet Sweet Potato slips from Mapple Farm for me and I grew them in 4 inch pots inside until they were ready to be transplanted in early June last year. My deeper bed at home with lots of compost produced slightly fewer but larger tubers compared to my community garden patch. There the soil has more clay (and more sun) and the tubers were thinner and longer.

While we enjoyed many of the small roots that traveled quite far and wide in my raised garden bed, I was not sure I would repeat my efforts. Until some of the smaller roots started sprouting in January... So I've decided to give it another try and pot them up. I will plant the slips into a very large black planter in late May. I'm hoping the extra heat might produce larger roots. Below, I have listed some companies that ship sweet potato slips - you will need to decide very soon as they will sell out!

Burts Greenhouses (ON)
Gelert Garden Farm (ON)
Sage Garden Greenhouses (MN)
Mapple Farm (NB)
Veseys (PEI)

End of August is a time when our yards show signs of winding down  - many flowers have gone to seed and some leaves are turning yellow. In an edible landscape, it’s also a glorious time for harvest. The bees and other insects have done a wonderful job pollinating flowers, and we are now reaping the benefits. Let’s not forget that they must continue to forage for pollen and nectar. Having flowering plants until frost is beautiful and provides food for insects such as bumble bees that need enough fuel to overwinter.

So what are the plants still in bloom at this time of year? I had the opportunity to visit a rural property near Spruce Grove, as part of an orchard tour day. The gracious host spoiled us with delicious strawberries and sour cherries and provided lots of great information about her numerous fruit trees and berry bushes. I noticed how many plants were still blooming and were just covered in bumble bees and honey bees.

There was a large clump of several varieties of Sedums, and large group of purple Liatris that looked stunning and full of buzzing bees. Another lovely combination was a large clump of Russian Sage behind a dark purple barberry.

Even some self-seeded California poppies in front of a pink flowering potentilla looked great and had some winged visitors. Lots of good topsoil and ample water is the secret to success in this yard, but even in drier locations we can have late flowering Blanketflowers (Gaillardia) and stunning Coneflowers (Rudbeckia). 

In my own yard, I still have some Borage in bloom that came up a bit later. Because it self-seeds, you may find it a bit crazy, popping up in the middle of your veggie beds – don't be shy about yanking it out and composting it, ideally before it has set seed. Another later bloomer is Garden Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis); it is a larger clump and slightly later blooming than the native Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), especially in part shade. Annuals such as Sunflowers, Calendula, Cosmos and climbing Scarlet Runner Beans are also providing lovely colour and food for pollinators.

I love to grow food and flowers on our deck, and at the same time create some privacy and vertical interest. Here are photos of some things I have done.

Strawberries in Barrel Planter
This year, I was enchanted by the lovely deep pink colour of Ruby Ann strawberries. I am growing them in a barrel planter, along with some climbing Morning Glories…still waiting for the blue flowers to develop and open. Should be even more stunning, plus a bonus crop of some strawberries (no bumper crop yet).

Scarlet Runner Beans on Arbours, Bean Tipi and Bamboo Sticks
Scarlet Runner Beans grow so well in our climate, it’s a joy every year. I like that kids can grow the large seeds easily, and the flowers and beans provide food. Hummingbirds also like the flowers for the nectar, but I have not seen one in my yard for a few years now

Corn as Privacy Wall
I love growing corn as a privacy wall and for the gorgeous effect, and of course the harvest. For proper pollination and cob development, you need a good number (I read somewhere at least a block of 10 plants, but I’ve gotten away with fewer). You need a very large planter or maybe a couple slightly smaller ones and fill them with potting mix that has lots of compost and some veggie fertilizer added. Corn is a nutrient and water hog. I also try to add a nitrogen fixer, such as beans or peas, and some kind of plant to shade the roots. This is called the Three Sisters – corn, beans and squash. However, in the planters this may not always work, so I experiment and often add some flowers I enjoy. Corn needs about 8 hours of sun, though on my deck it gets a little less and that’s fine.

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.

Alberta has a stunning diversity of birds that enrich our lives. Birds clean up pest insects, disperse seeds, fertilize our plants and are part of the food chain for other wildlife. Birds also signal the arrival of spring and delight us with their song.
 
Chickadees are year-round residents in Edmonton and not shy around humans. They start looking for nesting sites in March and April.
 
Black-capped Chickadees are cavity nesters and therefore, they look for holes in trees or rotten areas they can excavate. In cities, they also use nesting boxes attached to a fence post or tree 1 to 3 m above ground. The key to their success is a small enough entrance hole to keep out invasive House Sparrows. The entrance hole should be 29 mm or 1 1/8 inch diameter maximum.
 
By late April, the female is ready to lay eggs, usually 6-8. She incubates the eggs for periods of 20-30 minutes, and the entire night, for about two weeks. Between incubation periods, she goes looking for food and the male also feeds her while she’s on the nest.
 
Chickadees are a very important pest control in our yards. They are voracious predators of caterpillars and other insects, mostly on trees and shrubs. They pick off insects from the bark and leaves. They seem to use leaf damage as clues to where pests are hiding. How cool is that?!

Animal matter provides them with about 80% of their diet. Fruit and seeds are also important, especially during the winter and breeding season, when they need lots of calories. Putting out sunflowers seeds and growing sunflowers attract them to your yard.
 
You can get excellent advice and supplies at Wildbird General Store or Wild Birds Unlimited. Be sure to purchase a box that has a small hole that excludes House Sparrows because these invaders will take over and eat your prized veggie seedlings.
To build your own box, you can find plans here.
Find more info about the importance of birds in organic food production.
And here are more facts on Black-Capped Chickadees and other Canadian wildlife.

It's pruning time and you need sharp tools for the job. The best pruners for cutting small branches on trees and shrubs are by-pass pruners, which means they are a bit like scissors in that the blades pass each other.

Making a clean cut helps the the plant "heal" the wound and it's easier on your hand. I finally purchased a sharpening tool that works like a charm! With a few strokes along the blade, the pruners cut through wood very smoothly. I purchased the Corona Sharpening Tool at a local garden centre, but there are other brands that do the trick. Here are some easy instructions on how to use the tool and my blog post about cleaning your pruners.

Home-made compost is the best way to cycle kitchen waste back into your landscape to enrich your soil with nutrients and beneficial microbes. It’s also the best way to ensure it’s free of plastics and other unsavory materials. Composting does not have to be complicated (you can certainly become rather sophisticated at it eventually!).
Here are some basic suggestions to encourage you to start now and to continue throughout the winter.
In urban yards, an enclosed compost bin to collect materials is best, as opposed to throwing kitchen waste onto a heap.
Step 1: Make a wooden bin or purchase a large plastic bin. Make sure you get a bin that is wider than 24 inches and not too tall, otherwise it’s very difficult to turn the contents. (Note: Most people find the “Garden Gourmet too tall and narrow, which makes it difficult to turn and it also dries out too quickly).

Step 2: Place the bin on a fairly level surface in your yard. Make sure it’s fairly easy to get to your bin through snow and in cold weather. Ideally, the bin is placed in part sun to help speed up the decomposition. It’s also helpful to place it near a source of water during the summer, such as a rainbarrel. Avoid placing your compost bin on concrete.

Step 3: Collect your kitchen waste in a nice bucket. Lee Valley has conveniently sized metal buckets. Collect veggies and fruit, eggshells, tea and coffee grounds. Avoid dairy products, fat, meat, eggs and pet waste in this kind of open, aerobic composting method.

Step 4: Throw the kitchen waste into your compost bin every few days. Ideally, you should balance all these “greens” (fresh materials that contain lots of nitrogen) with “browns” (dry leaves, straw, and shredded paper that contain lots of carbon). In the winter, if you didn’t save your leaves, you can shred some newspaper and mix it with your green material. If you have storage space, you can purchase a square bale of straw at a local garden centre. (Straw is also fabulous to mulch your veggie beds in the summer.) Next fall, be sure to collect bags of dry leaves and store them near your compost.
For every 1 bucket of “greens”, add 1-2 buckets of “browns”. This is more important during the warm season when the microbes become active.

Step 5: If your bin is full, you may want to add a temporary bin, such as a wire cage (line it with cardboard to retain moisture and prevent materials from falling out). I have recently purchased a roll of plastic, a “Geobin” from Lee Valley, as an extension to my regular bin. It’s easy to set up and I’m hoping it will retain more humidity and keep in the small bits.

Step 6: From December to March, your compost is likely not very active, so you can just keep adding materials. In April, use a fork to turn the compost and if necessary, add some water. The materials should be like a wrung out sponge. Turn the compost every couple of weeks or so. Ideally, you will not add any new materials to this bin to allow the microbes to decompose everything by fall. Set up a second compost bin for all your summer kitchen waste and garden clean up materials.

Step 7: In the fall, sift the materials from your first bin and add the finished compost to your garden. Any materials that have not decomposed to your satisfaction can be added to your fall pile (see next step).

Step 8: In October, it’s fall cleanup and compost mixing time. Empty out the summer compost bin, mix it with plenty of fall leaves, fresh kitchen waste and the yard waste from fall cleanup. Ideally, you will combine 2 parts of loose, dry leaves or straw with 1 part green materials from the garden. Mix and add water to the point where the materials resemble a wrung out sponge. Place all the materials into one of your bins and turn them every 5 days until everything is frozen. Now we’re back to Step 4 – add your kitchen waste all winter long!