Last month I started posting a monthly round-up of interesting articles I've read that are related to beautiful and sustainable gardening in Calgary. Here's what I found for March. If you'd like a more timely update, you can get them in "real time" on my Facebook page.
Blogs and Blooms
- Video: How to start seeds the message - it's easy!
- Video: Transplanting your seedlings, including hardening them off - a critical step.
- Silliest veggie transplants - Donna's right. Don't buy silly things like carrot transplants! See my post when to start vegetable seeds in Calgary and you'll see carrots should only be direct seeded outside. Since they're a root crop they don't transplant well.
Garden Buzz
- how to grow tropicals such as callas, gladiolas and dahlias - start them now from bare roots and bulbs!
- asian long horn beetles and spruce sawyer beetles - bad and harmless, respectively and how to tell the difference between them.
Adventures of a Green Gopher
- a summary of the Hort Society's workshop on indoor seed starting (it's not too late BTW, I will be starting more seeds next week!)
A Way to Garden
- 12 top composting faqs - besides the info posted here is there anything special you need to know specific to Calgary? Yes, just be prepared to water your compost once in a while to keep it moist (like a wrung-out sponge, not soggy). It's so dry here that your compost bin usually needs a little extra help.
Digging: It All Starts with a Patch of Dirt
- Modern Succulent Planter made of cinder blocks - while the plants grown in this Austin garden are not hardy in Calgary, this cool planter design would work almost anywhere.
- Bridging Earth and Sky with Vertical gardening - some very cool ideas here to dress up your space, whether big or small. I love the painted tree with the birdhouses!
Houzz
- High Design the Easy Way - lots of examples of using ornamental grasses en masse
The Home Outside
- Calling all Gardeners: It's time to share space with our fellow Earthlings! - a compelling argument for planting more natives in your garden
Fine Gardening
- Go Green on the Patio - some neat pictures here of patios and pathways made with recycled materials (although the fact they mention getting salvaged materials shipped across the country when the article is supposed to be about green building is a bit of a joke!)
The use of cinder blocks actually has me a little curious. It's hard to imagine those blocks having much more use than as a wall.
Posted by: cement mixer | July 20, 2012 at 12:54 AM