Dan Blaaberg has been gardening all his life.
“I don’t think there was a time I wasn’t (gardening),” he said, recalling photos from when he was around two or three years old being pulled around the garden in a sled.
Blaaberg is the owner and operator of Beaver Dam Nursery, located outside Okotoks. His father started the garden centre in 1972.
For first-time gardeners, Blaaberg said patience and care are essential.
“Everything needs extra care and attention if it’s in the garden. It’s a living thing,” he said.
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Gardeners are also at the mercy of the weather, which can be unpredictable in southern Alberta.
“It’s never the same two years in a row,” he said. “You’re dealing with live plants, and sometimes you put stuff out and even if it gets a touch of frost, it doesn’t get hurt — and other times you get just a little bit of frost and the leaves are black.”
When is the perfect time to plant?
Blaaberg said there’s no perfect time or set date gardeners should plant their crop. Everything depends on the weather.
Depending on the plant, some can tolerate an overnight frost. Plants like potatoes and carrots, which grow below the soil, are more forgiving, while peas, beans, and tomatoes are less likely to survive a frost.
“Edmonton, Manitoba, places like that, where it’s a lot colder in the winter, are easier to navigate for gardening because they don’t get late frost,” said Blaaberg. “Their climate is a little more stable, whereas we have a lot of variation.”
Blaaberg said he doesn’t pretend to understand the weather. “Anybody’s guess is as good or better than mine,” he said.
So when it comes to planting, don’t rush. Ensure the weather is stable, the chances of frost are low, and consider delaying planting of more delicate varieties.
It’s life itself
With decades of experience, Blaaberg said sometimes a plant dies, and it’s not necessarily your fault.
A gardener can follow the same process for five years, and then one year it simply doesn’t work out. It could be due to the weather, a change in the soil, or some factor that’s impossible to pinpoint.
“It doesn’t mean that you’ve done anything wrong, it just means that it didn’t work for that year,” he said. “You can go back and do the same thing again for another seven years and be perfect … Things aren’t predictable, it’s like life itself.”
Don’t miss a step
Along with giving yourself some grace during the growing season, Blaaberg said it’s important to stay on top of your plants’ needs.
“Any of the vines, you want to make sure you have something for them to climb up,” he said. “If you ignore them and they’re all laying across the ground, well then of course it’s harder to pick, it’s a lot more work, and you can’t really stand them up after the fact.”
Gardeners should also research companion planting for optimal growth, learn to identify weeds, manage pests, and establish a watering schedule.
Most importantly, Blaaberg said to grow what you’d enjoy eating.
“You’re not doing it to try to make money, you’re doing it because the food out of the garden tastes better and fresher,” he said. “There’s lots of stuff that you can grow. You just pick something that you want to eat.”
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