We’re now into the dog days of summer and wow! it is hot out there. It might feel strange to think about what to plant for the fall and winter right now, but August is the best time to begin planning and planting.

Planting heat tolerant crops in the summer months leads to stronger yields and fuller bellies. It’s important to choose vegetables that can handle consecutive days of high temperatures. Also, try to keep to a consistent watering schedule as plants love to stay happy and hydrated.

Choosing the time of day to water your plants is a important factor to consider. In the morning is seen as best practice, in the evening is also good, however you open yourself up to the likely hood of unwanted mildew and funguses. Midday watering is a frowned upon practice, as you can scald the leaves and potentially kill you plants. Watering your plants inconsistently or not all will leave you an unhappy gardener and even worse your plants will suffer.

The water is flowing through the hoses and there for you to make use of. During hot stretches of 3-4 days, your young plants and seedlings will want a nice dousing. It's often best to water your garden during the 'shoulder' times of the day (early morning/evening) when the sun's heat is less extreme. Water on your veg leaves during midday heat can cause scalding.

We'll be out on Sunday, April 7th 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. Rain or shine, but let's hope for sun!

Give your seeds and starts room at the beginning. You want to make sure they have room to grow (up, down, sideways) as the season warms. Packing everything in may seem economical, but overcrowding will actually hinder the growth and health of your crops.

The garden is open year-round, but our official Meet & Greet event will take place sometime in early April (TBA in the next newsletter). This event is a fun one and not to be missed––be sure to look out for it!

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!

Happy holidays, and thanks for making it a great first year at the garden.

If you have dead/withered plants in your beds, it's time to pull them up in preparation for winter. We encourage you to make that final trip out to the garden to set your bed(s) in order before the nasty weather bumps it down to the bottom of your priority list, right alongside sorting the single socks in your sock drawer.

As everyone knows, the Dunbar & 39th 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.

It's that time of the year again––cool mornings, a break from the smoke, orange tints in the tree leaves. Lucky for us, fall is also a time of bounty and ripeness. Tomatoes, squash and corn are coming into their full colour and sweetness, and the soil is still warm enough to germinate those same cold-hardy seeds you first planted way back in the spring.

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!

Thanks again for your patience with the water system. As a reminder, there is a spare nozzle in the garden shed. If you're comfortable doing so, we encourage you to make use of this spare and change out the dud.

Water to the two hoses is controlled by the ON/OFF switch on the side of the cedar garden shed. Please make sure to turn the water OFF when you're done; this helps minimize the risk of flooding the site if there happens to be a leak in one of the lines. There's no need to coil up the hose when you're done either. Simply hook the nozzle over the edge of your box and leave it for the next gardener to find.

As most of you are aware, city permits have delayed us from hooking our watering system up. But it's just too darn hot not to have water, and so we're bringing in a temporary water storage solution.

The Meet & Greet for the Dunbar & 39th Garden is scheduled for SUNDAY APRIL 15TH, and will run from 1pm to 3pm.

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

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.

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.