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.

The pleasant winter weather continues, and you can sense spring just around the corner. Time to turn our attention to the business of gardening. Here are a few updates for the upcoming growing season, as well as important information on how to register and pay for your garden beds for the 2019 growing season.

We’re officially into 2019, and eagerly awaiting the longer, warmer days that tell us gardening season is upon us.

This mild weather has meant that lots of plants are still growing, which is miraculous, given the snow-dumps in the rest of the country, but we request you make a final trip to the garden to remove and compost those raggedy tomato bushes and sloppy zucchini plants rotting away in the beds.

Note that despite the cold weather, the garden will remain open all through the winter. Chances are slim you'll get much growth out of your beds at this time of the year, but feel free to frequent the space any time you like.

As everyone knows, the Broadway & Alma Garden is a temporary one, slated to run for the 2018 growing season only. We hope to continue the garden into 2019, but at this time, we don't yet know for sure. If the garden goes ahead, you will of course keep your beds from this year. Look for an update in the coming months––fingers crossed.

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.

A reminder to always shut off the main water source after you've finished watering and are set to leave the garden. This ensures that water (and pressure) are not building up in the hoses, minimizing strain and the risk of leaks.

We're entering the sweet zone for summer gardening, when everything we planted in spring is fruiting and blossoming and growing like crazy. Snow peas, greens, even those first tomatoes are making their way from the garden to our plates. It's a feast!

It's heating up out there, and the yield is starting to show. Great job on a great looking garden.

Flowers like marigold and petunia have pest-repelling qualities, where a plant like nasturtium will attract aphids (away from your veggies). Garlic and onion, as well as strong-smelling herbs like chive, basil, oregano and sage do wonders when planted in close proximity to your vegetables, and they're also quite flavourful and delicious. 

We have set a date for the Meet & Greet event and hope you can make it out, rain or shine!

Consider diversity: "mono-cropping" kale is a good idea, in theory, if you love kale, but what happens when the aphids appear in June and start decimating your sole crop? Companion planting charts like this one show you which plants compliment and protect one another as from common garden pests. Flowers and herbs also do great things in a veg garden, including attracting pollinators, repelling pests and adding colour and zest to your garden kitchen.

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:

You can count on a monthly newsletter in your inbox, but for most of the day-to-day and week-to-week communiques, we use the Facebook Group. If you're fluent in the Mighty Interweb, why not join us on FB? It can be handy tool for getting in touch with us (and other gardeners) with garden related questions or watering favours.