I am delighted to announce that I have another guest on the blog!  If you’ve been following this series on Flowery Prose, you’ll know that I’ve been posing a few questions to Prairie gardeners, inquiring about their experiences gardening in such a unique, challenging climate.  I want to find out what they love about gardening in Alberta, what they find difficult, and what inspires them about growing.  Whether you live on the Canadian Prairies or you’re much further afield, I’m sure you’ll find ideas and solutions to consider for your own gardening endeavours.

Please allow me to introduce Krista Green!

Where do you garden in Alberta?

My husband, our 3 children and I live on 4 acres south of Calgary near Black Diamond. We were able to move out of town to this small piece of land 4 years ago.  Having a big backyard with lots of space to garden has been so amazing!  I am loving it so much!

As a child I grew up in the country where we always had large vegetable gardens.  Helping out in the garden and learning to weed was a part of my childhood.  I lived in Vernon, B.C. until I was 14 (such an easier growing climate!) and really fell in love with gardening when I was around 10.  That year I planted some pumpkin seeds, starting them indoors.  I remember transplanting them into our garden there.  They ended up a huge pumpkin patch growing so many pumpkins!  I was hooked.  I want our children to have this same opportunity to experience gardening, growing from seed and its reward. 

What challenges do you think we face as gardeners in this province?

As Albertan gardeners we face so many challenges!  Working within a very short growing season, cool weather, chinooks that can be so hard on perennial plants, deer and rabbits eating our plants, along with alkaline soil and water in much of the province to name a few. 

I am always so encouraged when I am able to talk with other Albertan gardeners who grow successful vegetables, herbs and fruit and who understand these challenges. 

It was for this reason I decided to start my blog with gardening tips specifically for our climate.  This May I began my blog Zone 3 Vegetable Gardening with the goal of encouraging and helping other gardeners who desire to grow their own food in the cooler gardening zones.  When looking for gardening tips and help, almost all of it seemed to come out of the warmer zones and it was difficult to know how to adapt for our Alberta climate.  I have so many ideas and plans that I want to share with you to make your gardening more fun, successful and organized!  Subcribe to my blog and be the first to find out what these are!

How can we overcome those challenges?

As an Albertan gardener I find it necessary to start things like flowers, tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers indoors early in the spring to offset our short growing season.  I direct seed many vegetables such as carrots, peas, green onions, spinach, potatoes, beets and radishes at the end of April or beginning of May.  This means these will be covered in snow a few times but I have found I have stronger plants that mature earlier by doing this.  If I do lose some of the plants to the cold I just re-plant, but most years everything pulls through.  I wait until after the May long weekend to plant the remainder of my vegetables such as beans and even into June to transplant my sensitive plants like my cucumber and squash.  Some years my last frost is around mid June so I need to keep an eye out.  I often end up covering parts of my garden during frost warnings in late May and early June.  To read more about how I protect my plants from frost you can read my article Protecting Your Plants During Frost.

What inspires you about gardening?

Gardening feeds my soul.  In the garden I feel at peace, I pray, I hear the joyful songs of the birds, I notice and am thankful for the buzzing of the bee.  The breeze feels as though it blows life’s worries away.  In the garden life is simple.  Seeing the miracle of the growth of those tiny seeds I planted never ceases to amaze me.  Feeding my family healthy and organic produce from my efforts is so satisfying!  The smells, the sounds, the feels, the sights of gardening, they all inspire me!  It is difficult to put into words how it fills me up and grounds me.

What types of plants are you most passionate about growing?

Definitely vegetables!  And herbs.  And fruit.  Well I guess you could say anything you can eat.  I enjoy growing flowers as well but personally don’t find them nearly as satisfying to grow.  I am passionate about creating a lifestyle less dependent on others.  I love growing our own food and learning all about sustainabillity!  We have twenty-two chickens and plans to do fencing for sheep and possibly goats one day soon.

What gardening (or gardening-related) projects do you have on the go this year?

My biggest gardening related project this year has been my blog and my Instagram account.  Computers are not my thing at all so there is a huge learning curve there!  We also redid our deer fence this spring (I say we but that was really all my husband who did that).  We switched from mesh netting to wire as the netting was torn.  My husband built me a raspberry bed as well this spring.  I hope to add another each year until I have a large raspberry patch.  I would like to lay down cardboard this fall and top with a thick layer of compost to create a new perennial flower bed for next year as well as a large in ground potato garden.  I am also hoping to experiment with growing herbs and veggies indoors under grow lights through the winter.  We will see how that goes!

Did you set out with any gardening goals in mind for the growing season?

Some of my goals this season were to help my children plant and maintain their own little vegetable gardens.  Having them home more due to COVID has allowed them more time to work alongside me in the garden, which I love!  Another goal was growing brassicas.  Something fairly new to me.  I harvested some small broccoli and my first small cauliflower and am still waiting on the cabbage.  Trying a few new things, experimenting and learning are always goals for every growing season.

If so, have you been able to accomplish them?

I would say yes.  My children each have a beautiful veggie patch and are enjoying eating carrots, lettuce and peas from them daily.  My eldest is getting better at recognizing weeds.  (I’m thinking she doesn’t realize the weeding chores that will likely go along with this skill!)  I tried growing okra for the first time.  That was a big fail.  I’m going to try again next year but in the greenhouse. 

What are your plans for your garden for the future?

I hope to continue to improve my soil each year.  I have very alkaline soil and that is always a battle for me.  I want to build a cover for at least one of my raised garden beds to grow my brassicas under.  To expand my garden!  Can you ever have enough gardening space? 

Thank you so much for this opportunity to do an interview with you Sheryl!  You inspire and encourage me in my own gardening experience.  I hope I will do the same for others.

Krista, it’s been a huge pleasure to interview you for Flowery Prose! Thank you so much for your insight and ideas – I know you’ve offered a ton of wisdom and support to many gardeners through your blog (Zone 3 Vegetable Gardening) and social media and I wish you continued success!