What to plant in a spring vegetable garden in Saskatchewan.
A list of my favourites.
It is late May 2021 and I just put out the last of my seeds in the vegetable garden. I still have bedding plants to put out but I always wait until the beginning of June for those, to avoid any late frosts….covering plants before I go to bed is something I avoid if possible!
Twelve things I always plant:
- Potatoes – I prefer the Red Norland
- Carrots – Nantes is what does best for me
- Cucumbers – it’s nice to try a few different varieties
- Beans – My preference is the green bush beans
- Peas – Snap Peas, so there’s no shelling!
- Lettuce – romaine
- Tomatoes – a lot of tomatoes, for fresh eating and preserving
- Peppers – I finally had a good harvest last year – Green Bell
- Radishes – on my list because I love them, but I don’t have much luck with them
- Pumpkins – just for fun
- Zucchini
- Onions – I have never had great success, but will keep trying.
Of course, there could be many, many more things on this list. Saskatchewan summers are just long enough to have an abundant garden. I tend to stick to the few things that I like best and don’t take a lot of fussing.
Did you garden as a child?
As a kid, we didn’t really have a garden. Or, rather, sometimes we would have a garden but it never did great and no one really worked on it. I feel like I’d be so much further ahead today if I had learned to appreciate it back then. I think of all the skills I could have been equipped with if someone had encouraged me to take an interest. Maybe it would have been a chore that I learned to hate…who knows. Here I am thinking as a mature adult assuming I would have embraced gardening as a kid. No one would have objected if I had gone gangbusters with it, but I just didn’t.
Grandpa was an amazing gardener!
My grandparents lived a block away from my childhood home in smallsville Saskatchewan. He loved to garden. He and Grandma did not have running water, so he would walk to our house every day with his red bucket for water and in the summertime he would often bring garden produce for us. His whole big backyard was garden and there is no way he and Grandma could eat it all. When we were at their house i enjoyed seeing his beautiful, straight, weed-free rows of potatoes and peas and all manner of good things. We were allowed to pick raspberries until we had too much! Sad to say, I do not have even one picture of their amazing garden!
Learning as I Grow
It took me so very long to realize that it is an enjoyable and rewarding pastime. Before coming to our acreage, my husband and I moved several times. At each home we had a little garden. I knew nothing of amending the soil and I did not have Google to help me out. So each little garden did not do well. Even after living here, when I was feeling more and more capable, we ended up flooding out several times before we finally built up the garden. It seems ironic that now, as I start to slow down and am no longer feeding children, I finally feel good about my garden situation.
Perennials are a great addition to a garden.
My garden also has a few perennials. A long row of raspberry bushes provides plenty for fresh picking and a few jars of jam. A small rhubarb plant is nice for some baking treats. And finally, I have strawberry plants. Nothing beats a fresh, sun-kissed strawberry!
There are many perennials scattered throughout my flower/shrub garden as well.
Spring gardening is so refreshing and uplifting after the winter. My garden provides an oasis of peace after a day at work. The birds singing, the trees whispering….
What do you plant and grow each year?
Do you garden for pleasure or strictly for the blessing of food? What are your favourites?
Spring makes the yard beautiful!
At other spots on the acreage we have crab apple trees, cherry trees, and a flower/shrub garden that I like to putter in. Here are a few of those things in pictures that I took today:
So many blooms on this crab-apple tree but it is impossible to miss the extensive damage that the deer have done on the bottom half. Hopefully this doesn’t stress the tree, but I really don’t know.
Robins!
And we have a robin nest in an open area of one garden shed.
For my birthday I received a trail cam and when I noticed a Robin’s nest being built in this open-ended shed, I knew the perfect spot to install the camera. I am excited to see some hatching eggs and baby birds in the days to come.
So many wonderful things about May…..my favourite month.
I pray that you are finding joy in this month, no matter what your circumstances. I pray that you know that you are precious to God, who holds the world in His hands.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” -Romans 15:13
Love ya, BJ
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