| STAGE | TIPS & TRICKS |
|---|---|
| PLANNING | You can start this part of the cycle anytime. It may simply mean you have to consider what/where you can grow in accordance to the time of year. You can grow year-round! |
| Grow what you will use – think about what you and or your family likes to eat | |
| Planning will help you reduce waste by avoiding the pitfalls of impulse buying, putting the wrong plant in the wrong place etc. | |
| Discover what is successful in your neighbourhood by visiting a community garden and/or chatting with neighbours. Markets and local growers can also provide insights. Take a class. | |
| Create a diagram on paper and use cutouts drawn to scale to help you plan where to place garden beds, shrubs, trees, and other garden features. It’s easier than having to move them with a shovel. | |
| Use a temporary garden such as grow bags until you can determine the best location for a kitchen garden vegetable bed. They can be moved if needed to improve plant growth. Because the angle of position of the sun changes over the growing season, it can take a full season to learn where to site a vegetable bed. The sun and wind exposure of the garden will affect what plants can be grown and will thrive. Select the location carefully and you will be rewarded. | |
| Seed Starting | Winter sowing is great for starting seeds that required a cold period (stratification) to germinate. Vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, kale, Swiss chard do well when winter sown. |
| Tuck Tape, an exterior insulation sheathing tape, works well for sealing winter sowing containers. It does not peel off the containers in outdoor weather conditions. Look for Tuck Tape with the insulation in home improvement stores. |
New Tips & Tricks will be added throughout the season – check back regularly for updates!
