With days becoming consistently dry and hot, it’s important to choose varieties of vegetables that are heat tolerant. If you want to keep your salad bowels full, choosing vegetables that can continue to grow when the mercury is high is key to success.

June is set to be a fairly dry and warm month and that means it’s a good idea to keep your plants well hydrated so they stay happy and healthy. Setting up a consistent watering schedule is a good practice to getting you on your way to stronger yields.

As the days get longer and sun sits higher in the sky, the growing season springs to life with all it’s opportunities. It’s always a good idea to plan out what you want to grow; spending the time figuring what you like to eat, what kind of yields you want to get, how much time and energy you want to put in will bring you closer to a success growing season.

We'll be out on Saturday, April 13th at 10 a.m. to host a meet-and-greet event at the garden. This is a great time to meet your fellow gardeners, plant your first seeds and ask us any garden related questions you might have. We're excited to say that our friends from Victory Gardens will be out selling seeds and starts, so plan on taking advantage of their offerings. Rain or shine, but let's hope for sun!

This spring we'll be supplying organic compost to boost your garden beds with nutrients for the growing season. Expect a big pile of dark, fragrant earth to arrive in the garden during the first week of April. Make use of the shovel and buckets in the tool shed to add a thin layer to your bed(s) before planting your first seeds.

We're still about a month away from ideal seeding conditions for most early spring crops (like radishes, spinach, mustard, kale and lettuce), but there's nothing wrong with planning ahead.

Springtime is when we tend to see the highest turnover at the garden, which means we'll be dipping into our wait list to fill the empty beds. If you know anyone who's interested in joining us, now is a good time to encourage them to sign up to the wait list. No guarantees, but you never know!

We are looking good for 2019! The garden is open all through the winter months, although we don't expect things to get started in a big way until Spring. You can expect to have the hoses set up again after first frost (late March/early April), and look out for an announcement about our Meet & Greet event in April.

Water has been shut off for first frost and will remain off until the final frost date in spring. And yes, spring 2019 is looking very promising!

Most of us are starting to see a major slow-down in vegetable production, which is to be expected. If you are finished with your bed for the season, please take the time to clear out any dead plant matter and put it in the cedar compost box. We've added a second box to accommodate lots of green waste.

There are many hardy plants that just love the cool fall weather. We have a solid 60+ days of growing left at the garden––why not take advantage with a couple rows of fall crops? Now is the perfect time to plant mustard, lettuce, arugula, spinach and corn salad, to name a few.

It is hot out there! And while lawns and soccer pitches struggle through the heat, well watered garden beds are bursting with colour and bounty: tomatoes, peppers, beans, kale, lettuces. We hope the harvest is filling the fridge!

With this heat, it's a good idea to plan on visiting the garden every 2 to 3 days to soak your soil. Brian Minter was on CBC's BC Today program last week and imparted the wisdom of early morning watering as the best time of the day to feed your plants. Second best (and perhaps more realistic) is to water during the cooler evening hours. Watering during the hottest midday hours can scald your leaves and fail to penetrate those deeper layers in the soil where you want your roots to dig.

It can be easy to forget all about aphids when the nights are still cool and our tender green shoots grow undisturbed in their little soil beds. But come hot season, you'll want to have some measures in place to deal with the threat that is most absolutely for sure without a doubt on its way.

Check it out: We'll be joined by our friends at Victory Gardens, who will be selling seeds, bulbs and starts...perfect one-stop shopping to get your garden planted and ready for spring.

Just when you thought spring was here, it dumps a foot of snow. That's Nature, I suppose, always there to keep you guessing.

Spring is just around the corner––you can see it in the snow bells and crocuses––and that means we can start turning our attention to the business of gardening. Here are a few updates for the upcoming growing season, as well as some handy resources.

We haven't made the date official yet, but know that this fun garden kick-off event will be scheduled for some time in late March or April. This will be a great opportunity to meet fellow gardeners, break dirt (if you haven't already) and ask us any pressing growing questions. In addition, this event will serve as our official deadline for collecting any outstanding 2018 Garden Fees.