The Anchor Weekly – The Chestermere Lake News

Twenty years ago, when my husband and I first approached a bank about getting a loan to build our greenhouses, the banker we were meeting bemusedly listened to our pitch, leaned back in his chair, folded his hands together, chuckled and said, “Oh I understand, you guys are hippies, right?” The traditional lending powers of the small business sector didn’t seem to have much interest in the idea of growing locally, growing healthy, eliminating an environmental footprint, and giving back to the community; banker after banker we visited told us there was no way this venture was going to make [...]

Have you noticed how much press bees have been receiving in the past couple of years? Ever wonder why there is so much hulabaloo going on about these buzzing little things? Well turns out, bees are critical to the reproduction of flowering plants, critical to the health of the environment, and by extension critical to the survival of the entire human species. Read on for interesting bee facts! The basics – Bees are found on every continent except Antarctica. With over 20 000 species of bees on the globe, these fuzzy little flying insects are Earth’s most specialized pollinators, busily [...]

Hummingbirds are beautiful, fascinating little creatures and it is easy to attract them to your garden! Alberta is home to four species of hummingbird- the ruby throated, rufous, calliope, and very rarely, the black chinned. All are very tiny and weigh less than a penny! The best way to bring hummingbirds to your garden is to plant lots of brightly colored, nectar-rich flowers; some people also like to hang up a feeder for them. If you have been trying to attract hummingbirds to your yard but haven’t seen any, don’t despair. The chances are that they have been visiting but [...]

This weekend, I had the pleasure of going to a seminar with a sports psychologist as a guest speaker. Along with various other topics, the subject of what to feed an athlete came up. As predicted, the speaker went over the bad food rigmarole: cut out white sugar, get off of white flour, forget you ever discovered bacon etc. etc. As I sat and listened to the speech, I found my mind wandering, thinking about the weather, where I was going to stop for gas on the way home, if my cat needed to be de-wormed, and how many pecks [...]

With the thought of the warm days to come – you know, the ones that weatherman has assured us are on the horizon – many of us are itching to do something garden-related. Well wish no more, there are several great gardening and horticultural events going on in the Calgary area this month. Calgary Horticultural Society Garden Show – This Saturday April 13 and Sunday April 14. Held at beautiful Spruce Meadows, this show is a must for anyone who even thinks about gardening or landscaping. With over a hundred exhibitors, each offering up unique and creative garden solutions, you [...]

As I went out the door on my way to work this morning, I caught a glimpse of a cedar waxwing in a mountain ash tree by my driveway. Success! After setting food out for these elusive beauties for the past month and a half, finally I saw one in my yard! Bird watching – the term really drums up all sorts of images. On the one hand, it sounds so passive, and evokes comical thoughts of octogenarians executing bad park jobs along busy thoroughfares, armed with canteens, uncomfortable camp seats, and a penchant for sleeping while “watching.” On the [...]

As promised last week, this week’s subject is about the best varieties of spring and summer flowering bulbs for our area. Thanks to all that called and wrote in with questions. Before we list our favorites, and in response to several of your questions, here are a couple clarifications about the term “bulbs:” In gardening circles, the moniker “flowering bulbs” is usually broadly applied to the scientific term “geophyte,” or simply put, any plant that reproduces via underground plant structures. These species that propagate beneath the earth include all of the gorgeous beauties we love to dig into our gardens [...]

I can’t tell you how many times I have had customers tell me that they meant to plant bulbs last year but didn’t, either because they just forgot, ran out of time, or were too confused by all of the information on the internet about growing these plants. Trying to figure out varieties that will actually thrive in our climate, the trouble of attempting to decipher how deep to plant the bulbs, which side of the bulb to plant up, what to use for fertilizer, how to keep the squirrels and rabbits away, and oh yes – what the plants [...]

Great plants grow out of healthy soil. Without exception, the are three critical elements to healthy soil: Porosity Physical structure of the soil can be compared to the walls and rooms of an apartment building. Apartment buildings that are spacious and strong will support ample life. Apartment buildings with 3ft ceilings and no windows will not attract many inhabitants and those that live there will not be healthy for long. The same reasoning applies to soil structure. Soil that has ample spaces between the particles will also support life in a more successful manner than soil that is heavy with [...]

The long season of dormancy is officially broken: I walked into our production greenhouses this morning and noticed a wonderful change in the air…I could smell the plants growing! Although not a single green leaf adorned any of the shrubbery starts that were being overwintered in the greenhouse, I could confidently surmise that good things were happening in the soil and that greenhouse life had woken up on the farm. After a quick walk through the greenhouses, I went back to my kids at breakfast table and told them the great news. “Bah,” one of my kids said as he [...]