If you’re growing amaranth from seed in Calgary, you’re probably very aware that Calgary’s unpredictable climate makes growing many things more difficult than growing in other places. We have spring (summer) snow storms and unpredictable Chinooks that melt away the insulating snow.

That’s where we come in. We’ve tried our hand at growing a LARGE number of things, and are happy to say that our successes are starting to outweigh our failures.

Still. We’ve been given a TON of bad, time-wasting advice. That doesn’t mean to say that if you twirl around counter clockwise three times before planting your seeds that they won’t sprout – what we mean is if you waste your time twirling you’ll get fewer seeds planted.

About Amaranth

Flower or food crop? Maybe both? We LOVE the long strings of bright seeds and how easy this crop is to grow!

The seeds of this plant make a tasty treat when boiled and used instead of rice in salads. We’ve also heard of people successfully popping them like popcorn – but since we haven’t tried it for ourselves we will hold out a recommendation that you do the same!

The leaves are super delicious in salads or just as a garden snack between weeding sessions. Unlike some of the other plants (lettuce, I’m looking at you!) amaranth leaves still taste good once the plant bolts.

Tips for growing amaranth from seed in Calgary

You can start this plant successfully inside about 3-4 weeks early if you want, or just sprinkle the seeds on some wet soil and wait.

We find the easiest way to get amaranth started is to drop seed where we want them in the fall. The winter takes care of any stratification the seeds need, and they sprout all on their own in the spring, perfectly timed.

If you really want to do it hands-on, go ahead and start them inside. Use whatever potting mix you have and press the seeds lightly on top. If you soak the seeds in water for a few hours before you do this, the seeds will sprout even faster.

Did you sprinkle too many seeds out and now you have a forest of amaranth seedlings? You should thin them (pull some out so they aren’t touching one another) – but don’t let the sprouts go to waste! The are delicious!

Pro-tip: as the plants grow you will need to thin out more and more. Some gardeners like to thin the plants right at the beginning so they have space to grow into. With edible crops like amaranth we like to hold off and thin as needed, eating as we go! You’ll know it’s time to thin them when they get large enough that they are touching each other.

If you are thinking about growing Anise Hyssop from seed in Calgary, read on! It does very well here and the delicate flowers are a delight in the garden!

About Anise Hyssop

Anise Hyssop is a member of the mint family with a strong licorice flavor. The leaves and the flower buds are excellent when dried and used in tea.

We live in an area FULL of deer and rabbits and this plant seems to be resistant to them! This means that the licorice-scented lavender flowers last all summer long!

Tips for growing Anise Hyssop from seed in Calgary

Anise Hyssop grows really well here. It’s seeds need to be cold stratified before they will germinate. This means they need to spend a period of time in cold temperatures before they will sprout. If you picked up a package of seeds from a Little Free Library near you, we’ve already done this step for you!

If you saved your own seeds and are now trying to use them, pop them in a paper bag and tuck them into a corner of your freezer for a month or two. Another option is to plant them in the fall, right before the ground freezes (or by scooping away some snow and pressing them into the dirt below).

Seeds can be started 6-8 weeks early if you have a grow light – but if you’re just going to use a sunny window it needs to be REALLY sunny or these plants get spindly and stunted.

People love my nutty flavour in salads, on pizza and in sauces! I am a quick crop that’s super easy to grow.

My leaves are a distinctive shape making me easy to identify.

I am Blazing Star – a native species and a hardy perennial with tall spikes of white or purple flowers.

I tend to bloom from mid-summer through a few light frosts.

I am drought tolerant, so you don’t need to worry about sending extra water my way – but if extra water does happen to find its way to me, I don’t complain.

Multi-coloured carrots are a treat to pull out of the garden. Colours range from the typical orange to deep purple, yellow and white!

I require a bit of extra work so my tap root can grow long and straight – make sure the bed is deep enough for me and free of sticks and rocks (which will make my taproot twist and turn).

I also need to be spaced with at least 5cm between my neighbours or we will spend our time getting tangled up and fighting instead of growing. The easiest way to do this is to pull the extras out mid summer (you can eat us even when we are small!)

If you can leave me in the ground for a few frosts, I will be super sweet! My leaves can also be harvested and dried and used like parsley.

I might be one of the easiest crops to grow. You can grow me in planters, raised beds, or even alongside grass as a boarder. I develop lots of bright purple flowers and stay a vibrant green colour through hot and dry spells (though when it’s too hot I tend to take a break from growing for a while).

My flowers are edible (and amazing in salad!) but the stalk of my flower can be tough and unpalatable.

If you give me frequent haircuts, I’ll continue to send up more and more green stalks. In fall, if you let some of my flower heads mature, I’ll self seed and next year your patch will be even stronger.

Planting is simple – just sprinkle my seeds where you want me and be patient, I can take up to 4 weeks to germinate. I’m worth the wait though – once you get me established, I’m one of the first plants to show you green in the spring and I go all summer long!

If you’re growing cilantro from seed in Calgary, you’re probably very aware that Calgary’s unpredictable climate makes growing things more difficult than growing in other places. We have spring (summer) snow storms as well as unpredictable Chinooks over the winter that melt away the insulating snow.

That’s where we come in. We’ve tried our hand at growing a LARGE number of things, and are happy to say that our successes are starting to outweigh our failures.

Still. We’ve been given a TON of bad, time-wasting advice. That doesn’t mean to say that if you twirl around counter clockwise three times before planting your seeds that they won’t sprout – what we mean is if you waste your time twirling you’ll get fewer seeds planted.

Tell me what you learned growing cilantro from seed in Calgary!

Here at A Veggie Patch we are split. Some of us can’t get enough of this fragrant herb. And some of us (this writer included) think the entire plant should be listed as noxious. Regardless of where you fall, cilantro is an easy-to-grow herb that seems to thrive here.

The leafy bits of the plant are called cilantro and are often used as garnishes. The seeds are known as Coriander (yes, that means this plant is BOTH an herb and a spice!)

If you love cilantro, you likely LOVE cilantro. It seems to be an either or type of plant.

Tips for growing cilantro from seed in Calgary

It self-seeds readily, so a single planting can ensure a harvest in the following year(s) – provided you don’t eat all the seeds.

Everywhere online will tell you that it needs specifics like “full sun” or “light shade” but our experience has been that this plant will do good pretty much everywhere you stick it.

It goes from seed to a mature plant with mature seeds inside of two months! If you want to keep eating the leafy green bits make sure you sow a new batch every few weeks.

Cilantro has a taproot (read it doesn’t like to be moved) and it grows fast. We find the best thing to do is just plant it outside once the frost stops.

I am super easy to grow! If you let me go to seed, I’ll give you lots of volunteers next year!

I have a long taproot (think like a carrot) and if this gets damaged I don’t do as well. I don’t like to be started indoors early – but I grow really quickly and you should see me sprout within 2 weeks.

People tell me I love full sun, but I seem to do well in part-shade too (or anywhere really).

Sometimes, in early autumn I can be home to aphids. Make sure you wash me well if you want to eat me! A soak in some salted water will take care of these little bugs, and it won’t impact my flavour.

I start blooming mid summer and bloom until the first frost. My tall flower stalks can grow 1-2 meters. I LOVE full sun, but a little shade is okay too.

My roots grow deep and long (great for aerating tough spots of your garden in preparation for the next growing season!) and when I am started early inside, I only grow 50-100cm (which could be what you want!).

Butterflies and hummingbirds love to visit me!

If you deadhead me I will bloom and bloom and bloom. I will reseed myself if you leave a few flowers to set seed late summer.

I am a spring and fall crop because if the temperatures get too warm I bolt and my leaves become bitter.

I like full sun, but if you plan on growing me mid-summer, find a dappled place instead.

Right now, A Veggie Patch has Curly Leaf Lettuce (head), Romaine Lettuce (head), and Red Romaine Lettuce out in boxes! You can harvest me after I’ve formed a head or a few outer leaves at a time while the heads are forming.

Some varieties benefit from a soak in cool water for about an hour, then they are ready to store in the fridge loosely wrapped in a paper towel or consumed.

I am an incredible addition to any garden and I help keep pests away! My flowers come in many shades from gold to orange to dark copper and I keep blooming all summer long.

If you pinch my top off I will bush out better, and while I don’t need my spent flowers removed, it does encourage me to bloom more.

I do not like to be transplanted so starting me early inside isn’t recommended. Some varieties are more needy than others – the ones we like the most tolerate dry, poor soil. Sprinkle the seeds where you want the flowers, water in and wait.

Poppy seeds need to undergo cold stratification, so if you harvest your own seeds, store them in the freezer over winter before you try to germinate them!

Right now there are a few different poppy varieties available: Purple, single red, double red, and double white.

All parts of my plant are edible – my leaves, my taproot, my flowers and my seed pods.

Some people don’t like my leaves because they feel a bit furry – but if you saute them they are just like a mild spinach.

I bolt easily, so it’s best to have a crop in the early spring and one in the fall.

I grow really fast (around 28 days before my root is ready to enjoy!) and have a bonus second crop of “spicy peas” if you let me flower and form seed pods!

Growing Snapdragons from seed in Calgary?

If you’re considering growing snapdragons from seed in Calgary, there are a few things you should know before you start.

Calgary’s unpredictable climate makes growing even native plants sometimes difficult. We’ve had incredible success growing snapdragons, and would like to share that success with you!

If your package of seeds from A Veggie Patch does NOT have a colour specified, you could be getting any colour (and there are a lot!) or a blend of colours. We would LOVE to see pictures of the snapdragons you grow!

We don’t often suggest extra steps or doing things a specific way – but to grow snapdragons from seed in Calgary successfully, you might want to consider starting them inside early (like, 10 weeks early!). These seeds are super slow to grow to a viable stage where transplanting is possible.

Because of how slow they are, they often get crowded out by other plants or succumb to weeding before they are clearly snapdragons!

The good news, and one of the reasons we LOVE snapdragons, is they can handle a light frost.

Snapdragon seeds also NEED LIGHT to germinate – so skip the “Dust” step in our regular planting instructions. They like it to be a little cool so save the space on your heat mat for tomatoes and peppers and set these guys down on a floor!

Snapdragons provide our native pollinators with an amazing food supply!

I am a cold weather crop and do the best in early spring and fall. My leaves are best eaten when they are tender and young, however my larger leaves can be easily sliced into stir fries and soups.

I love the sun – and I’m tall, so I can reach up for it above some other plants. My stalks are also super strong and are able to support some light climbing plants like beans and peas.

My seeds need the soil to be warm to germinate, so wait at least a few weeks after the last frost. You can start me inside, but I don’t grow as tall then.

Unless my tag says “Giant Sunflower” I grow to just under 1m tall and will have multiple blooms.

If my tag says “Giant Sunflower” I will only get one bloom, but I will be over 8ft tall!