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Inspiration

Imagine: You’re growing the main ingredients rig

Imagine: You’re growing the main ingredients right in your own space to make the smoothies that will nourish your body and give you the piece of mind of knowing exactly how they were grown.

In one square foot, you can succession plant enough green produce to make your smoothies and store in your freezer. It’s all about method and timing!

What do you love to fortify your smoothies with? We’d love to help you make your smoothies a little greener!

Send me a message or email me at info@growspaces.ca

Seeds or sets: How do you grow your onions? 🧅O

Seeds or sets: How do you grow your onions?

🧅Onion seeds are an inexpensive way to start your onions, and they can be easily purchased all year long. If you’re choosing to plant from seed, they need to be in the soil 8-10 weeks before planting outside, and will take 120 days to harvest.

🧅Onion sets are adorable little bulblets that have grown for a year, been unearthed, and stored in a cool, dry location. They give the gardener a giant head start in the garden. Sets are directly sown into the soil in the spring, so they are a great answer if you don’t have the space to seed-start your onions indoors. They will produce the same full-size onions in the late summer/early fall. Avoid bolting by snipping off any flower heads.

Do you have any questions around planning your garden? We’d love to help you plan and plant your space!

🍓Some Square-Foot Garden Love🍓 This picture

🍓Some Square-Foot Garden Love🍓
This picture popped up on my phone’s featured pictures of the day and it made me yearn for the warmth of summer, the grass under my feet and the sweet taste of a sun-warmed strawberry.

We have four 12” hanging baskets with six ever-bearing strawberry plants in each. Growing them in hanging baskets keeps them easy to access, safe from critters, and creates an attractive, functional garden feature without taking up any ground space.

What are you keen to grow this season? Do you feel like you don’t have the space? We can help with that. Message us to get growing!

🎉Let’s get this party started…🎉 What doe

🎉Let’s get this party started…🎉
What does happiness look like to you? This is mine. A plan, a reliable product, a successful first step.
How’s your planning going? No worries! Let’s get you growing!

🌱Grow Spaces Tip #4: Application🌱 Your beds

🌱Grow Spaces Tip #4: Application🌱

Your beds are prepared, and your soil is beginning to warm so that you don’t have to worry about shocking your seedling’s roots. But when is the best time to plant out?? You’d hate to lose all of your seedlings you started or purchased, so what is the safest “plant out” date?

I follow the @farmersalmanac suggested last frost dates, but even they lead with only 30% accuracy. The May 24th weekend is a pretty safe date to go by, but always keep an eye on evening temperatures. An unseasonable frost can be both detrimental to your plants and heartbreaking for you.🌡

Make sure you give most plants enough space for them to thrive. Globe onions will need a couple of inches, but brassica family members will need an entire foot of space or more.🥦

If you’re growing vertically, make sure that your apparatus is well secured with brackets. It’s always important to predict the weight of climbing vines on a trellis or other growing wall. The seedling may been tiny now, but with proper care a simple cucumber can be >8’ high and heavy with fruit.

If you have darling squirrels or bunnies that just can’t help but help themselves with your produce, metal chicken wire enclosures are a great way to dissuade them. Plastic mesh doesn’t do a lot against their strong will and are no match for their teeth.🐰

Many place a layer of organic, seed-free mulch across the tops of their beds and containers. Mulch helps to lower the maintenance of your garden by insulating your plant’s roots, suppressing weeds, retaining moisture in the soil, and regulating soil temperatures. This is especially helpful in the heat of the summer when rain can be scarce.💧

Tomorrow’s we’ll discuss some garden maintenance to ensure continuity.👍🏻👍🏻

🤎Grow Spaces Tip #3: Preparation🤎 If you ar

🤎Grow Spaces Tip #3: Preparation🤎

If you are planting in a raised bed (like the amazing beds from @beachcustomcreations) or a container, you are one of the lucky ones who know exactly what is in your growing medium right off the hop. I fill my raised beds with @bergermixes soils and will amend last year’s soils with @fafardcanada sea compost.

However, if you have a location where plants are going to lay their roots down directly in the ground, the spring will be an excellent time to perform both a pH and a textural soil test which you can find at any local nursery. These tests will tell you what you are looking to amend, what your soil needs may be, and how you can get the best yield by making your garden work for you!

Is your pH too high? Slowly add some dolomitic lime. Too low? Elemental sulphur can be a huge help.
Always follow the directions and speak to a professional about application😉

Is your soil too sandy? Mix in high-quality compost (I love @purelifesoil worm castings to fortify sandy soil). Too much clay? Add slow-decomposing matter like ground wood chips or sawdust. Too much silt? Add sand or gravel.

I promise it’s very simple and will prove uncomplicated once you take the steps and follow the directions to carry the process out properly. You can do this, and I’m here if you need any help.

🌱Grow Spaces Tip#2: Location🌱 The majority

🌱Grow Spaces Tip#2: Location🌱

The majority of the vegetables and fruits you will plant enjoy full sun; which means you’ll want to make sure they receive at least six to eight hours of light per day. South-facing gardens tend to be most successful due to their hours of light exposure, so if you can achieve this then that’s half the battle. If this is going to be a challenge then opt for the east or west side of your space. The least desirable would be a north-facing site as it will receive the least amount of sun during a growing season. Observe the tracking of the sun across your space to ensure your plants will receive as much light as possible. Also, do your research to ensure you know whether your chosen produce thrives in sun or partial shade (remember that awesome plan you made?).

Ensure that you have a water source nearby. The last thing you’ll want to have to do each morning is schlep gallons of water to your thirsty transplants. If necessary, an irrigation system is another wonderful way to ensure your plants receive proper watering.

The convenience of a garden starts to diminish the further you place it from your kitchen. But to step out your backdoor to your kitchen garden- now that’s expediency for you. Think practically about how you want to access your plants at the end of a long day.

Are you a bit stuck as to where exactly to place your spring garden? A Grow Spaces consultation will give you everything you need to start with success.

🌱Grow Spaces Tip #1: Motivation🌱 What is yo

🌱Grow Spaces Tip #1: Motivation🌱

What is your motivation behind planting? It is so easy to become lost in the thought of and then overwhelmed by the garden if you’re diving in. The most important step is to have a game plan in place before you purchase anything.
Be pragmatic about your needs, space, and time limitations.

Do you have the space and time to start your seeds yourself? Are you going to purchase your seedlings from the nursery?
Do you have space for a container garden? Or for entire beds?
Is your garden solely for vegetables? Or is it also for a little recreational growing?
Are you looking to scratch items from your shopping list each week? Are you looking to create whole meals all season long?

There always needs to be a plan first and foremost. So, here are a few (mostly) free planners that are going to start you off on the right foot:

@gardeners has a “create-your-own” planner where you are able to drag and drop your items

@smartgardener allows you to select specific varieties of your chosen plants (very helpful)

I personally use @growveg Not only do they have an exceptional planner, it also gives you a plant list for shopping, and has a garden journal to record your successes (and maybe some failings).

Questions? Lettuce us know info@growspaces.ca or send me a DM.

Tomorrow’s post: Choosing a location

It may not feel like it, but it's time to get thin

It may not feel like it, but it's time to get thinking about next year's garden.

When you are planning your spring bed, be it container garden, raised bed, or backyard patch, what are the most important items to consider?

This week I'll be bringing you the checklist of concepts, materials, and tools that you'll need before you embark on your next-season garden.

Stay tuned!

Let us remember with deep gratitude and even deepe

Let us remember with deep gratitude and even deeper respect.

During World War One, the poppies disappeared because of the trampling and bombing of the battlefields. The destruction actually stopped them from growing for four full seasons. After the war was over the poppy began to bloom again. According to reports this historical growth was spectacular, with 2,500 poppy seeds per square foot found.
(credit: @frankferragine)

🌱The herb container🌱 Yes, most perennial he

🌱The herb container🌱

Yes, most perennial herbs are quite low maintenance, but even they aren’t immune to the damage that winter can bring.
Here’s what you can do to keep them safe until next spring:
1. Cut them down to about 2-3” and use your cuttings as desired (fresh or dry them).
2. Give the herbs a thorough watering.
3. Cover in a 3” layer of organic, seed-free mulch (I prefer @fafardcanada shredded bark; it’s dye-free, and consistently delivers quality results).
4. If you can, move/store them in a sheltered space where they’ll be more insulated from winter winds.

If you aren’t in a position to relocate your perennial herbs, creating a barrier around your herb bed with straw bales after you mulch will also help to cut down winter injury.🌱

🌱But why??🌱 Even though we are steadily cru

🌱But why??🌱

Even though we are steadily cruising toward cold temperatures, it’s nice to remind ourselves why we should be growing our own produce even inside during the winter.

In one 12” container, you can grow six heads of romaine lettuce, or a determinate tomato, or an eggplant, or green onions. Or mix and match to optimize the selection!

With healthy options being grown in your home throughout the winter months, it makes it that much easier to improve your health, lose weight, and make better choices for your family’s meals. Growing your own produce helps you to subsidize your inflating grocery bill and decreases your environmental footprint as you’re harvesting your yield from your home. Bonus!!

Grow Spaces will be with you every step of the way toward preparing and growing in your space with quality materials and exceptional tips and expertise.

Let @growspaces help change the landscape of your winter dinner table today!
Email us: info@growspaces.ca or give us a call: 705-230-8400

Don’t mind me, just burying the heads…. Of 🧄… nothing to see here.

🎃Happy Halloween🎃
Be safe and have fun
Xoxo
Cait
🧡💚🖤🧡💚🖤

🥕The funny thing about carrots🥕

Yes, they’re versatile in the kitchen; yes, they’re easy to grow and full of vitamin B6 and folate, but that’s not their biggest plot twist.

Carrots will become sweeter when they’ve been left in the garden for a frost (or two)!
But why?? Well, in the simplest terms, the drop in temperatures forces the root vegetables to change their starches into sugars in an attempt to retain water in their cells. It’s like their built-in survival tactic.

Smart and sweet?? We’ll take it!🥕🥕

🌱💚Throwback Post💚🌱 Remember to apply y

🌱💚Throwback Post💚🌱
Remember to apply your mulch or insulation at least 3-4 inches thick to protect your perennials from winter damage!

🍅Happy Tomato Tuesday!🍅 These Thai Pink tom

🍅Happy Tomato Tuesday!🍅

These Thai Pink tomatoes were gorgeous and quite a treat for the students @thecloverschool

What varieties are you excited to try next season?

Give us aaaaallll the Swiss chard! Yesterday, we c

Give us aaaaallll the Swiss chard!
Yesterday, we cleaned out our gardens and did a little freezer bag prep for the winter months.

Swiss chard is a gorgeous and hardy leaf vegetable. The midrib of the leaf and stalk is mildly bitter, but it’s delicious when sautéed with garlic and finished with a touch of lemon.
It’s an awesome source of vitamin K, A, C, and tons of antioxidants which have anti-inflammatory properties.

Chard can grow up to two feet high if given the chance (it doesn’t in our garden because I can never wait).

Is this the year your start to grow under a poly-tunnel, greenhouse, or coldframe? Swiss chard, because of its hardy nature, is a great cold-weather crop. And I’d love to show you how! Reach out to me at info@growspaces.ca to find out how you can grow all year round!🌱💚

This week @thecloverschool the students worked tog

This week @thecloverschool the students worked together to remove the older growth from the summer beds and amend the soil with triple mix for the fall season.

The students also discussed seed production by different plants and their means of transportation (animal, wind, water).

🍅Because we missed Tomato Tuesday and just had

🍅Because we missed Tomato Tuesday and just had to share these cuties.🍅
While we fully appreciate the taste of a fully vine-ripened tomato, oftentimes by the time we pick ‘em they need to be eaten the same day or they’re too far gone.
Once your gorgeous tomatoes begin to show a little bit of a blush on their cheek(especially as the temperatures are cooling off), feel free to pick and finish ripening on a sunny windowsill. That way they’re right in your line of sight, you can monitor their colour, and they’re right there to place as a simple side dish addition on your plates.🍅

🍓You know the colder temperatures are rolling i

🍓You know the colder temperatures are rolling in when your strawberries are becoming smaller and the yield is leaner. 🍓

🍓Starting in late October, if you plan on storing your strawberry plants, prune the old foliage, [trim as close to the crown as possible], water well, cover with four inches of mulch (we prefer shredded bark, but any mulch is good mulch), and let them hibernate for the cold months.

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My name is Caitlyn, and I started Grow Spaces to teach people how to grow their own produce regardless of where they live, their space, or their level of expertise.

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