Have you discovered a new-found love of gardening but aren’t quite sure where to start this year? Even though it’s still pretty early right now in Calgary, getting some indoor seedlings started can help ensure strong, healthy plants throughout the growing season (with multiple bloom cycles and yields) and is a way to satisfy your gardening cravings even if it’s still a bit chilly for your plants to be outside.
I’ve survived the past winter months plotting and scheming about this spring’s garden; I made a list of planting times, researched transplanting recommendations, and may have gone a bit overboard on some exciting new seed purchases… If it helps you get your garden juices flowing, below are some planting timelines I’ve been following with my seeds and will continue to follow as the season progresses. All planting times are calculated backwards from the last weekend in May, which will hopefully be our last frost. You’ll notice that some plants appear twice in the list - this helps ensure that you have flowers blooming for a longer time throughout the growing season as your plants will be reaching maturity at different times.
Mid-March - Early April:
Green onion (these need a couple more weeks than the others in the list)
Tomatoes
Kale
Chives
Mint
Lavender (closer to early April)
Early - Mid April:
Sweet peas
Alyssum
Columbine (will need shade in seedling and plant phase)
Sunflowers
Phlox
Basil
Late April - Early May:
Morning glory (need to soak seeds for 24 hours prior to planting)
Hollyhock (need to soak seeds for 24 hours prior to planting)
Lettuce
Early May (about 3 weeks before you want to get them in the ground or in an outdoor planter):
Zucchini
Arugula
Direct planting into your garden or containers after the last frost:
Nasturtium
Arugula
Dill (has a tendency to bolt if transplanted, so direct sowing is best)
Poppies
Sunflowers
Sweet Peas
