2025 Gardening

"Growing Against the Odds: A Calgary Garden Story"

Here I am again, dreaming of summer harvests in a city where the weather has the attention span of a golden retriever. Four years of organic gardening has taught me that Calgary's growing season is nothing if not entertaining.

This year I'm equipped with rain barrels to collect water - a must have in case we have a drought - ready to embrace the chaos. I'm going full Three Sisters with my planting – corn, beans, and squash supporting each other like old friends at a party. My tobacco plants stand guard like friendly bouncers, keeping the aphids in check while looking surprisingly elegant doing it.

Gardening in Calgary is an adventure in optimism. One day you're admiring your flourishing eggplants, the next you're watching your neighbour's chase their tomato cages down the street during a surprise storm. But we persist, united in our determination to grow something – anything – besides the ever-reliable zucchini (though bless those overachieving squash).

This year I'm trying soil blocking, because why not add another experiment to the mix? Between dodging hail and outsmarting the notorious creeping bellflower (the neighbourhood's most persistent party crasher), there's always something new to learn. And somehow, despite the weather's best efforts, we Calgary gardeners keep coming back, trading tips and spare seedlings like collectors of unlikely dreams.

Maybe it's the thrill of the challenge, or maybe we just really love fresh tomatoes. Either way, hand me those gardening gloves – this year's garden isn't going to plant itself.