Hot Calgary weather is good time to start garden planting: expert
Posted May 4, 2023 11:24 am.
Last Updated May 4, 2023 2:08 pm.
This hot Calgary weather we’ve been experiencing may have you at a garden centre filling up a cart, but is it safe to start planting your garden?
According to Environment Canada, Calgary set a record Monday with a temperature of 25.8 C. On Wednesday, the city broke the old record of 26.7 C set in 2016 with a temperature of 27 C.
Keith Young, a master gardener at the Plantation Gardening Centre for 20 years, says now is a good time to start planting some plants.
“We’re planning to plant outside,” Young told CityNews. “Honestly, we thought we were a little bit late on that, so hopefully we got it right.”
He has already started planting tomatoes, which he says is a little brave to do this early.
In addition, Young is planting heartier vegetables in the cabbage and cauliflower family.
“Most of the seeds … you can start planting them now. There are a few items that want to wait for warmer soil, like beans or cucumbers those sort of things. They like warmer soil,” Young told CityNews.
“But if you’re planting seeds, I would say go for it, and flowers too … if you’re able to cover them in case things go wrong, I think it’s to your advantage to get the early start.”
Read more: Calgary air quality may worsen with increased heat: meteorologist
Young says one of the favourite spring flowers is the pansy, as they’re pretty tough and can handle a few degrees of frost.
“That is one thing that we’ve definitely noticed this year, quite often in the spring … all of our plants that are on racks outside, we have to bring them into the greenhouse at night, and often we have to rent a propane heater to warm the greenhouse at night,” Young said.
“This year, we haven’t had to do that once, so it’s been really nice.”
Meanwhile, the heat is expected to change this coming weekend, with the ECCC saying there may be some rain showers.
However, there are some with green thumbs excited to garden early.
“We have been keeping an eye on the low temperatures for the next couple of weeks, and it’s looking very favourable,” one person told CityNews.
