Apple pruning tends to intimidate people.  It is often a question I get from people who really don't know where to start.  I always send them this video. It is my go to apple pruning video for regular trees since its so quick and simple.  The pruned apple tree doesn't look like much in winter, in fact it might look a little stark compared to other trees on your property, but one of the main purposes of pruning apples this way is to help with fruit production rather than aesthetics.  Hopefully the simple shapes of these trees give those that are nervous about pruning apples some comfort.  While you don't want to take off more than a third each year, most apples are vigorous enough and thrive when they get a good pruning.

As also mentioned in the Pruning Haskaps post.  
1.  Prune with clean and sharp pruners.
2.  Keep a disinfectant in a spray bottle handy.  A 10% solution of bleach or rubbing alcohol works well to spray on between bushes.
3.  Always begin with the 3Ds of pruning Dead , Diseased, Damaged and then move on to opening up the canopy and addressing any crossing or rubbing branches.

​On May 10, 2025, we are hosting the Ardrossan Recreation and Agriculture Society in conjunction with the Strathcona County Library Bookmobile for a pruning workshop.  If you're looking for some hands on information on pruning, come join us at 10:00 on the farm.

I know most people despise pruning raspberries but it is one of my favourite things to prune.  I think most people don't like it because they don't know how to do it (and possibly because they're not trellised well.  My fruit productions professor at school just made it so easy to understand and I really like the low risk factor in pruning raspberries.  It would be really hard to prune an established stand and do any kind of damage.  This is a great quick overview of pruning raspberries (both summer and fall bearing).  

A few other things to keep in mind is:

• They are very tough so pruning them first thing in the spring helps to ease the pressure from your other gardening tasks later in the season.
• Get good tough gloves that can withstand the thorns and w​ear long sleeves.
• ​Once all the dead canes have been removed, keep the 5 strongest canes per meter (or yard).  This allows for good airflow and seems to make harvesting better (in my opinion).

As also mentioned in the Pruning Haskaps post.  

1.  Prune with clean and sharp pruners.
2.  Keep a disinfectant in a spray bottle handy.  A 10% solution of bleach or rubbing alcohol works well to spray on between bushes.
3.  Always begin with the 3Ds of pruning...Dead (although that is usually the main point of pruning raspberries), Diseased, Damaged and then move on to thinning.

​On May 10, 2025, we are hosting the Ardrossan Recreation and Agriculture Society in conjunction with the Strathcona County Library Bookmobile for a pruning workshop.  If you're looking for some hands on information on pruning, come join us at 10:00 on the farm.

Spring is the time for really looking at your haskaps (a.k.a. honeyberries) and doing some light pruning.  Haskaps are great because they are extremely hardy so they can be one of the first fruits to prune without the risk of a spring storm causing stress.  The true experts on haskaps are the researchers at the University of Saskatchewan.  Here they give a good overview of how easy they are to prune.

As always, when pruning consider a few beneficial practices to ensure that your bushes remain healthy.

1.  Prune with clean and sharp pruners.
2.  Keep a disinfectant in a spray bottle handy.  A 10% solution of bleach or rubbing alcohol works well to spray on between bushes.
3.  Always begin with the 3Ds of pruning...Dead, Diseased, Damaged.  Once you take care of those branches, you are well on your way to having a bumper crops of haskaps.

On May 10, 2025, we are hosting the Ardrossan Recreation and Agriculture Society in conjunction with the Strathcona County Library Bookmobile for a pruning workshop.  If you're looking for some hands on information on pruning, come join us at 10:00 on the farm.

We have a little bit of sun poking through, happily melting the snow.  Everywhere you go in our local communities, people are out and buzzing with this first sign of spring.  In our cold climate though, we have to remember that it is only a hint of things to come and that some cold weather is likely to still come our way.  I always like to think of the things that I can still do to prepare so that I am the most efficient during our short growing season.  If you haven't already, you still have time to start some seedlings before planting them out.  We still have 10 weeks before most plants will be put out in the garden depending on what you're looking to plant.  It is always so satisfying to tend to your plants inside when it is wet and cold outside.   Here are a few great resources to get you (and your future harvests!) started.

I pulled this image from Pinterest because I think it is wonderful design that can accommodate many different locations and tastes - literally. This design is so simple but with such impact that you could recreate it in your yard using ornamental plants. However, if want to introduce some edibles to your yard, this design would lend itself to this purpose very well.

This could be used as it appears, along a wall, or the design can be used to create a “room” within a garden or yard. If you’re on a budget, the design is simple enough that you can add to it every year to extend it around a yard. Alternatively you can invest in one element each year and build to the final design.

The winter is such a great time to start planning our gardens.  It gives us a little bit of hope that this blanket of snow will eventually retreat.  I always like to try one or two new thing in the garden just to have inspiration and learning a part of every season, but I find that as the years go on, you can reduce a lot of harvest time work and stress if you focus on your garden goals from the start.  Here are some basic tips for planning this years edibles.

Taking stock of what you did last year is a good way to learn the lessons of the past.  Having an early first frost compared to the rest of north America, there is ample time to forget the lessons of last season.  So that I don't repeat the mistakes of the past, I like to quickly look at my old planting plans (no matter how tattered they are) to get a refresher on what works and what doesn't where I am.  I find that making notes while you are in the season is a great way to keep the flashes of inspiration fresh in the middle of January.  If you didn't write out a plan last year, try and capture on paper what you did do as best you can so you can use it for reference this year and in the future.  On last year's plan try to capture notes of what worked and if anything wasn't successful, why you think that was.  On a new sheet of paper (or multiple papers) create a sketch of where you want to plant this year.  It is useful to have approximate measurements.  Think about things such as if you are going to expand your garden, if you are going to plant in raised beds, planters, or a typical row garden.

Write out what your family eats on a regular basis, look through your favourite recipes and brainstorm those items you tend to buy regularly each week during groceries.  A look through your fridge and cupboards is also useful to get an idea of what you like to eat regularly.  Do you have lots of pickles in your fridge?  Maybe you should plant cucumbers, garlic and dill.  Do you have a large Italian recipe collection?  Consider planting tomatoes, basil and oregano.  Are you regularly buying jam at the grocery store?  Think about putting in a small raspberry or strawberry patch.  

Give some thought to how much you and your family will consume.  For most families one zucchini plant will suffice but for others who have zucchini relish (or zucchini cake) as a staple, they may need multiple plants.  You can find a approximate yield for each crop online.

Do you want all of your tomatoes at the same time for canning sauce or do you want to have small cherry tomatoes for your summer salads or do you want some of both?  Cultivars can vary greatly in maturity dates, size, taste, colour, harvest dates and suitability for cooking or processing.  While looking through catalogues keep your ideal characteristics in mind.   

Crop rotation is the practice of changing where you plant each annual crop in subsequent years.  It is one of those practices that you don't really see a benefit unless you don't do it and by then its too late.  Crop rotation helps especially when you garden on a larger scale but it is helpful in all gardens, even if you plant everything in pots.  It reduces pests and helps to balance the organic matter in soils.  There are some general guidelines that you can find online as to what is best planted after each crop to manage nutrients and organic matter and to reduce weeds, pests and disease 

When I first started a vegetable garden I always did look at what they were planted near.  Knowing how important crop rotation is, it made sense to me that in season it made a difference what was neighbouring each crop.  After a few years of a fairly successful garden (and likely short on time in the planning stages), I planted a few crops that were beside things that were not good companions.  Since those tough lessons I have since gone back to being really careful with what I planted and where.  The resources I use most is Wikipedia's List of Companion Plants and the book Carrots love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.  Sometimes it takes a little juggling, but once you get a system, it can be fairly straightforward year after year.

Cool season crops versus warm season crops have different planting dates.  Different varieties of the same species can have a wide range of harvest dates.  If you will be doing any processing, you may want to time the harvest (and by extension the planting dates) to reflect when you have time to can, blanch, dehydrate etc.  You may also want a series of harvests.  As an example radishes, carrots, lettuce and beets can be harvested throughout the season with a series of plantings.  Try to group plantings where possible by planting dates.  I've learned that I can start earlier than one thinks in our climate if you look at frost tolerances of the cool season crops.

Similar to planting and harvesting, think of how you are going to water, weed and harvest your crops.  I too often have made the mistake of planting too close, completely annoyed with my spring self when I'm trying to harvest all of the produce.  If you're going to use a rototiller or wheel hoe for weeding will impact your row spacing (if you're doing a row garden.  Are you using drip irrigation or sprinkler to water?  If you're planting an organic garden, you will need to be careful on the management but also the seeds you purchase.  If you have had problems with certain pests in the past, there are also non organic varieties that through selective breeding are resistant to various pests.