GARDENING Sage Advice—Tips and Tricks for Newbie Gardeners

Sage Advice

Tips & Tricks for Newbie Gardeners

By Brook Thalgott

Last year, many people decided to give gardening a try because why not if you’re at home all summer long. This year is shaping up to be the same, with novice gardeners trying their hand again at a garden, and others seeing what all the fuss is about.

Istarted patio gardening in 2008 when I was living in a condo in greater Vancouver. That patio garden got me hooked, and now I garden in my own yard in Regina and in a community garden plot. Here’s my warning to all new and hopeful gardeners: this is an addictive hobby. If you choose to pursue it, you will become one of those people who gazes at seed catalogues in January, collects plants and seeds with abandon, and will never, ever be truly satisfied with their garden because there is always something new to grow. If that is still okay to you, let’s talk gardening! Before you plant a thing, you need to work through this list of must-dos.

• You need to assess where you’re going to garden. Do you have a big area in the yard, or a sunny spot on the patio? Be realistic about the size of garden you want to try and your commitment. • Find the sun and the rain. You’ll need to know how much sun your spot gets. Shoot for at least six hours of sun for a good variety of flowers and vegetables to grow well. Also, you’ll need access to plenty of water from overhead and the hose. • Good growing needs good soil.

Not any old patch of dirt will do.

Whether you’re planting in pots, raised beds, or into the ground, your soil matters. You’re going to need nutrient-rich, well-drained topsoil to make your garden grow. Talk to your local greenhouse, garden centre or landscape supply company about the soil you’ll need for your space.

Depending on size, you can get it by the bag or by the load. • Know about frost. The last frost date in the spring, and the first one in the fall are important dates to know. According to The Old Farmer’s

Almanac, these are the frost dates in the southeast:

• Carlyle – June 6 and Sept 6 • Carnduff – May 25 and Sept 14 • Estevan – May 24 and Sept 15 • Oxbow – May 22 and Sept 13 • Weyburn – May 26 and Sept 11

• Mulch is your friend. Two to three inches of mulch around your plants will keep weeds down and retain moisture. Plus, mulch gives a flowerbed a lovely, finished look. I use natural cedar mulch myself. It also comes in black, brown, and red which can work for many landscaping looks. • Your plants need food. While good topsoil does have nutrients in it, your plants will need a regular fertilizing over the summer. Your local garden centre experts can guide your selection of fertilizer. As well, set up a composter to build a supply of organic goodness. Your eggshells, coffee grounds, lawn clippings, fruit and vegetable peels, and yard leaves will break down into a rich compost that will make your garden thrive. Don’t compost breads, pasta, rice, dairy, fats, oils, nuts, fish, bones or animal waste and never put weeds in your composter.

Now that you know where and when you’ll garden and what’ll you need to start, now let’s talk about what to grow.

I caught up with Melissa Murphy, owner at Tail-ling Hills Farms Greenhouse at Bienfait. Melissa’s greenhouse supplies southeast gardeners with beautiful flowers, vegetables, herbs, perennials, trees, and shrubs, and she had a lot of advice to share.

“Petunias are an excellent annual flower to start with,” says Melissa. “They can handle our weather well, including our sun and wind, and they look beautiful.” Perfect for the flower bed or a pot, petunias look even better with some pretty foliage, like sweet potato vine. My choices for a new flower gardener would be snapdragons and lilies. Snapdragons come in many varieties growing anywhere from four inches to three feet. Bees love them, and I have found more than one bee over the years catching a quick nap in a snapdragon (it is as adorable as it sounds). Lilies are beautiful perennials that spread fast. The orange tiger lilies in my front yard are almost weed like in their spreading speed, and they have filled in my flowerbed beautifully.

As for vegetables, Melissa suggests tomatoes are a good choice to start with. Plants are easily found at your local greenhouse and tomatoes from the garden make grocery store tomatoes seem sad and pathetic. Available in a rainbow of colours and many sizes from tiny to huge, tomatoes come in both indeterminate (meaning they keep growing and will need staking or a tomato cage for support) and determinate (stops growing at a certain height). She also suggests green beans as another easy-to-grow, tasty vegetable for the novice gardener. I would add carrots and potatoes to that list as well. Both are simple to grow and tasty to boot. Purple carrots and potatoes also add some fun flair to the dinner plate, too. “Things like cabbage and broccoli need more care, especially because of moths,” says Melissa. “Start simple and work your way up.”

With spring here and summer coming, now is the time to try your hand at gardening. It’s a great way to get some sun and exercise while impressing your friends and neighbours with beautiful flowers and delicious veggies that you can proudly say you grew yourself!

Botany Plants Lately?

Stock up Your Garden at Tail-ling Hills Farms

In 2019, Melissa and Gerald Murphy began their journey as greenhouse owners—bringing to life a long-time dream. Now entering their third year in business, Tail-ling Hills Farms is supplying southeast Saskatchewan with stunning bedding plants, perennials, trees and shrubs, and big things are on the horizon for this gardening season.

“This summer, we’re offering more than 100 colours of petunias,” says Melissa. “We’re also home to annual flowers of all kinds including geranium, calibrachoa, fuchsia, pansy, salvia, verbena and much, much more.” Tail-ling Hills Farms also offers a variety of beautiful trees, shrubs, and perennials. “This year, we’ll also have more canna lily, a fantastic selection of foliage and many gorgeous grasses,” says Melissa. “And everything we sell is zoned to grow in our climate, unlike some plants you might find at big box stores.”

There’s also plenty of herbs and vegetable starts to fully stock vegetable gardens of any size. You’ll also find succulents, vines, foliage, grasses, roses and pond plants. “More and more people are adding ponds and water features to their yards, and we can supply the plants to make your pond even better,” says Melissa.

Trees and shrubs are also available, including apple and apricot trees bred for our prairie climate. You can also find spruces, willows, maples, birches, lindens and more, plus lilac, forsythia, cotoneaster, and dogwood. The greenhouse

Pre-order online with Tail-ling Hills Farms and have your plants, trees and shrubs delivered right to your door. Free delivery to Estevan and Bienfait is available for orders over $50 ($5 fee for less than $50) and for orders over $100 to Weyburn and area ($10 fee for less than $100).

Learn more at

shop.taillinghillsfarm.com

also provides the advice you need to find the tree or shrub that will work best in your outdoor space. “If you’re looking for help on what plants, trees and shrubs can make your yard beautiful, we’re here to help,” says Melissa.

Besides the fantastic selection, the best thing about Tail-ling Hills Farms is their online ordering. Starting April 1, you can pre-order online and have your plants delivered between May 1 and 20. In-person shopping starts May 1, and you can book your own one-on-one shopping experience, too. “With online and in-person shopping, you have plenty of options to shop,” says Melissa. “We deliver to Estevan, Bienfait, Lampman, Midale, Macoun, Hitchcock and Weyburn.”

The greenhouse is located just northwest of Bienfait and opens May 1 for in-person shopping. From May 1 to June 30, the greenhouse is open seven days a week—check Tail-ling Hills Farms Facebook for shopping hours.

Tail-ling Hills Farms 306.421.2375 Bienfait shop.taillinghillsfarm.com