With the onset of Covid-19, there has been a huge increase in growing your own food. Ask any online seed company or garden center that sells vegetable seeds! As the weather has started to warm up, seeds are becoming harder and harder to reliably source. But, here is the thing. Vegetable seeds aren't the only way to grow food for you and your family.
Have you thought about fruit? There are a tremendous number of fruits that flourish here in Calgary. There are tree fruits, shrubs with berries, brambles, vines and ground fruit. And all you have to do is plant them once and you can harvest nutritious, colourful, juicy fruit for years to come!
When The Calgary Horticulture Society asked me to do a series of videos on food growing, I thought that I would change it up from the typical how to grow veggies and introduce you to the plethora of fruit we can easily grow ourselves here in Calgary. I put together a series of three videos. The first is all about tree fruit, the second goes into the considerable number of shrub fruit that grows well here, and the third and final video covers all the rest (the brambles, vines and ground fruit). I quickly go over:
all the different types of fruit in each category,
why you should be growing them,
a few tips and tricks for growing, harvesting or preparing them, and
list some varieties that do really well here in Calgary.
Enjoy!
Tree Fruits for Calgary Gardens
Shrubs Fruits for Calgary Gardens
Other Fruits for Calgary Gardens
I hope these videos inspire to you think of fruit trees, shrubs and perennials when you think of growing your own food. There are so many options that are easy to grow and fit in whatever growing space you may have. So think outside of the raised bed and into the rest of your space, with fruit!
Yummy gardening everyone!
Further References
The Calgary Horticultural Society (https://www.calhort.org/) for Calgary gardening specific information, events and classes.
"Growing Fruit In Northern Gardens" by Sara Williams and Bob Bors, 2017, Coteau Books, Regina, Saskatchewan
"Prairie Fruit Cookbook" by Getty Stewart, 2012, Pursuit Communications Winnipeg, Manitoba
TreeTime.ca (https://treetime.ca/?linkid=headerLogo) has a wide variety of small caliper trees. Many fruit, shelterbelt and naturalization varieties. Great bulk pricing.
Prairie Hardy Nursery (https://prairiehardynursery.ca/) for edible fruit and nut trees for our cold climate.
Love Honeyberry Orchards (http://www.lovehoneyberry.com/honeyberry-plant-shop/) for purchasing, pollination charts and everything you ever wanted to know about honeyberries (haskaps).
T & T Seeds (https://ttseeds.com/) Longstanding Manitoba company with a huge variety of seeds as well as trees, shrubs, perennials and gardening accessories.
Whiffletree Farm (https://www.whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca/) sells edible fruit trees and shrubs (including root stock), support plants, tools, and other fruit growing supplies. Lots of information on grafting, root stock and pollination. Located in Ontario but has lots of zone 3 choices.
Bylands Nurseries (https://www.bylands.com/) a common supplier of greenhouses and nurseries in the Calgary area. Great information on most trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals available to gardeners
don't forget your local greenhouse, garden center or nursery!