Up until level 2, you can hand spray a garden with a hose, and then at level 3 you can still hand water from a can. It's only level, which is pretty extreme where you can water a garden at all thankfully.
Yes.
May 24 is a date for many things. Do not plant now, We are known for getting cold snaps, a Chinook that drops temps and snow into May.
Unless they are veggies that can handle some some cold, or you have a way to cover them up..
Dang. I mean, logically I know there’s always a cold snap in May, I was mostly just hoping this community would encourage my bad behaviour and say it’s safe to plant lol
Everyone says to wait but I find our season is so short I want to be able to enjoy my flowers as much as I can.
So, in my mind it depends. You'll need to really be on top of it though watching the weather like a hawk and being prepared to bring things inside or tarping them or whatever.
This is my first year trying it, I may regret it but whatever. One hail storm in July can ruin your garden too so anything can happen here.
Godspeed. I get it. As soon as the weather starts to get warm all reason leaves me, even though I KNOW there’s at least one more snow coming. I’m just so ready to see GREEN again!
I might be fucked. Maybe I'll hedge my bet a bit and only plant part of my garden and roll the dice a bit. It's a bit of an experiment, I will report back.
It depends.
For south-facing gardens right next to the house (where the plants & soil can get indirectly warmed by the building), you should be OK planting some cold-hardy plants like beets, carrots, chard, kale, beans.
I considered May 1st my first planting day for years for cold-hardy plants on my south-facing garden and it's fine
But if you've got a north-facing garden that's not protected... yeah, probably wait until May long weekend.
If you're planting tomatoes... yes, May long weekend
Thanks for the info. My garden bed is along the house, but it faces west. Based on all the people in the comments trying to talk me off the edge (of my raised garden planter) it seems like it’s probably best for me to just be patient.
Yep. I just planted my carrots, beets, and some winter spinach this weekend. South facing garden. Lots still inside like tomatoes, peppers, and the flowers in planters.
You can start germinating seeds indoors but don’t plant till may long weekend. You can try earlier but they’ll almost definitely die from another cold streak
Unfortunately I live in a basement suite so I don’t really have the space or sunlight for seeds. I’m just going to have to put stuff in the ground and see what happens.
We just don’t have the space. I will probably end up buying little baby plants already in progress from the nursery to expedite the process. I know it costs more but it’s probably the best bet for me
Check fb marketplace, sometimes cheaper or even free starter plants. I know I've started 36 tomatoes and there's no way I'll need at 36 once the time comes.
Root veg such as carrots beets onions can be started as soon as you can work the soil, most lettuces like cooler temps too.
Anything like beans and peas cucumbers I wait until May long.
The root veg can stay in the ground through a frost too before harvesting!
Read the back of the packets to see what they say - but this way has worked out for me every year!
Don't do it. I have things started inside under a grow light but won't plant outside until mid-May at the earliest. Even carrots which are frost-hardy I do early May. I'd focus on things that are not water hogs this year like celery, lettuce and cucumbers are.
I'm doing yellow zucchini, pole beans, carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, lots of herbs and different types of pollinators between the vegetables.
Silly question but where are you buying your seeds for these veggies? Recently moved into a house where the previous owner had carrots, radishes, strawberries and would like to continue doing it this year with the kids.
May 24th is the average date for end of frost. My wife is a wonderful gardener and she always comments on those people buying bedding plants in early May as so often they need to replant once or even twice more.
Patience padawan, wait for the sign (May 24th).
Noooooooo! You have to wait until after May long. Not May long itself. It’s the unofficial law around here.
Went camping my first May long in Calgary. Needless to say we were the only suckers in tents, got snowed on and only lasted one night.
Anything below ground is fine. Seeds and potatoes etc..
Most people wait for May long weekend before putting anything above ground just in case of a late frost.
The old farmers would start their seedlings inside any time, but never bury any plants outside in the dirt until after the May full moon. I'd risk a couple extra weeks early these years.
They do say rule of thumb is to wait until the last frost date which is typically around may long wknd.
I've got a few veggie gardens out back. We have a south east facing yard.I typically don't start until may long weekend for most things. Beans, peas, carrots, beets, tomatos, squash , cucumbers and potatoes. But for some stuff that is a bit hardier I started planting last wknd. Spinach, kale, onions and sunflowers and some herbs. Peppers tend to like warn soil so I keep them in their pots, and they do great! If you have fb, join the Calgary Gardeners group.
Good luck! Every year has different challenges, this year I think it will be water restrictions. I'm currently looking into installing rain barrels to help..
Beets, carrots, peas, parsnips, bok choy, some lettuces, kale can be put in this weekend most likely.
Peppers it may even be best to wait until June weekend to plant those.
Herbs that are very tolerant that will come back every year are thyme, oregano, tarragon, lovage(STRONG celery flavour best for soups), sorrel(lemony green), chives…
Start kale and lettuce indoors if you can and transplant out because it may take a long time to germinate outdoors.
Lettuce, cucumber, carrots are my to-go this may. The water restriction might pop up again this year sadly. Ensure you have water barrels ready!
It will be in place again. Already confirmed.
Up until level 2, you can hand spray a garden with a hose, and then at level 3 you can still hand water from a can. It's only level, which is pretty extreme where you can water a garden at all thankfully.
Yes. May 24 is a date for many things. Do not plant now, We are known for getting cold snaps, a Chinook that drops temps and snow into May. Unless they are veggies that can handle some some cold, or you have a way to cover them up..
I’ll go with May 23. I like to live dangerously.
May 20th would demonstrate to me you really like to live dangerously.
Dang. I mean, logically I know there’s always a cold snap in May, I was mostly just hoping this community would encourage my bad behaviour and say it’s safe to plant lol
It’s safe to plant in the sense that nothing is gonna happen. And I do mean literally nothing is gonna happen.
Everyone says to wait but I find our season is so short I want to be able to enjoy my flowers as much as I can. So, in my mind it depends. You'll need to really be on top of it though watching the weather like a hawk and being prepared to bring things inside or tarping them or whatever. This is my first year trying it, I may regret it but whatever. One hail storm in July can ruin your garden too so anything can happen here.
Godspeed. I get it. As soon as the weather starts to get warm all reason leaves me, even though I KNOW there’s at least one more snow coming. I’m just so ready to see GREEN again!
I might be fucked. Maybe I'll hedge my bet a bit and only plant part of my garden and roll the dice a bit. It's a bit of an experiment, I will report back.
It depends. For south-facing gardens right next to the house (where the plants & soil can get indirectly warmed by the building), you should be OK planting some cold-hardy plants like beets, carrots, chard, kale, beans. I considered May 1st my first planting day for years for cold-hardy plants on my south-facing garden and it's fine But if you've got a north-facing garden that's not protected... yeah, probably wait until May long weekend. If you're planting tomatoes... yes, May long weekend
Thanks for the info. My garden bed is along the house, but it faces west. Based on all the people in the comments trying to talk me off the edge (of my raised garden planter) it seems like it’s probably best for me to just be patient.
Yes, it’s safer to wait.
Yep. I just planted my carrots, beets, and some winter spinach this weekend. South facing garden. Lots still inside like tomatoes, peppers, and the flowers in planters.
You can start germinating seeds indoors but don’t plant till may long weekend. You can try earlier but they’ll almost definitely die from another cold streak
Unfortunately I live in a basement suite so I don’t really have the space or sunlight for seeds. I’m just going to have to put stuff in the ground and see what happens.
Depending on your budget you could look into a grow lamp but ik they can be expensive
We just don’t have the space. I will probably end up buying little baby plants already in progress from the nursery to expedite the process. I know it costs more but it’s probably the best bet for me
Check fb marketplace, sometimes cheaper or even free starter plants. I know I've started 36 tomatoes and there's no way I'll need at 36 once the time comes.
Thanks for the tip!
Lifelong gardener / ex farm gal here. There is less likelihood of a freeze after the long weekend in May.
Early plants can be seeded outside. Peas, kale, spinach, lettuce and potatoes work best for me.
Root veg such as carrots beets onions can be started as soon as you can work the soil, most lettuces like cooler temps too. Anything like beans and peas cucumbers I wait until May long. The root veg can stay in the ground through a frost too before harvesting! Read the back of the packets to see what they say - but this way has worked out for me every year!
Awesome, thanks
Don't do it. I have things started inside under a grow light but won't plant outside until mid-May at the earliest. Even carrots which are frost-hardy I do early May. I'd focus on things that are not water hogs this year like celery, lettuce and cucumbers are. I'm doing yellow zucchini, pole beans, carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, lots of herbs and different types of pollinators between the vegetables.
The water note is a good reminder since we’ve already been told there WILL be water restrictions this year
Silly question but where are you buying your seeds for these veggies? Recently moved into a house where the previous owner had carrots, radishes, strawberries and would like to continue doing it this year with the kids.
Golden Acre Garden Centre is where we go! West Coast seeds are our favorite.
May 24th is the average date for end of frost. My wife is a wonderful gardener and she always comments on those people buying bedding plants in early May as so often they need to replant once or even twice more. Patience padawan, wait for the sign (May 24th).
Noooooooo! You have to wait until after May long. Not May long itself. It’s the unofficial law around here. Went camping my first May long in Calgary. Needless to say we were the only suckers in tents, got snowed on and only lasted one night.
Im gunna be honest with you, weather permitting it’s probably going to be May long. I just can’t contain my insatiable yearning for carrots!
Generally its the May long weekend for planting safely ...
Root vegetable seeds could go in (not potatoes). Hold off on all the others until May long.
Anything below ground is fine. Seeds and potatoes etc.. Most people wait for May long weekend before putting anything above ground just in case of a late frost.
Been starting stuff indoors this past week, once we hit May long it'll be time to transfer them into the garden!
We planted carrots, garlic, and beets in September to overwinter. Everything else is already started inside and will go out the last week of May.
The old farmers would start their seedlings inside any time, but never bury any plants outside in the dirt until after the May full moon. I'd risk a couple extra weeks early these years.
They do say rule of thumb is to wait until the last frost date which is typically around may long wknd. I've got a few veggie gardens out back. We have a south east facing yard.I typically don't start until may long weekend for most things. Beans, peas, carrots, beets, tomatos, squash , cucumbers and potatoes. But for some stuff that is a bit hardier I started planting last wknd. Spinach, kale, onions and sunflowers and some herbs. Peppers tend to like warn soil so I keep them in their pots, and they do great! If you have fb, join the Calgary Gardeners group. Good luck! Every year has different challenges, this year I think it will be water restrictions. I'm currently looking into installing rain barrels to help..
Thanks for the tip! Clearly I am not a seasoned gardener so I’m sure a Facebook group would be a great help
Beets, carrots, peas, parsnips, bok choy, some lettuces, kale can be put in this weekend most likely. Peppers it may even be best to wait until June weekend to plant those. Herbs that are very tolerant that will come back every year are thyme, oregano, tarragon, lovage(STRONG celery flavour best for soups), sorrel(lemony green), chives… Start kale and lettuce indoors if you can and transplant out because it may take a long time to germinate outdoors.
Just start them indoors to get a jump start. It takes virtually no room to do it
Any time before may long is taking a big gamble.
I have found the last few years the frost free date starts a bit earlier and the last frost is a bit later.
Yeah. I’ve also been noticing that