How do you like to be woken up? If you're like us, you like to be woken gently with soft sounds like chimes and soft gradual light from the sun. Doesn't that sound nice? We can apply this same thought process to your garden! There are things you can be doing in your garden right now to prepare it for the growing season ahead. Spoiler: None of these tips involve planting even a single plant! Colin and Brandi discuss how to prep you garden in today's episode >>>

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In this weeks episode....

• 00:00 | Introduction
• 02:20 | Where to begin?
• 04:15 | Trees & Shrubs check up     
• 05:00 | Dormant Spray Kit 
• 08:00 | Wake up your garden gently   
• 19:56 | Question: What to do with leaves on your lawn
• 11:30 | Leave some debris, save of a bug friend!
• 15:26 | Pace yourself
• 17:50 | Amending Soil 
• 19:53 | Compost Tea
• 24:00 | When happens when you leave debris on garden beds?
• 25:40 | Mulch Tips 
• 29:00 | Weeding & Dandelion Love
• 31:30 | Colin Transplanted a Dandelion....
• 33:40 | Raking 
• 38:05 | Using chemical straps in flower beds 
• 40:00 | Checking your garden tools and what to buy  
• 48:00 | Wrap up
• 36:40 | Question of the Week
• 40:15 | Next Week....  

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LINKS

Colin's favourite amendment: Coconut Coir

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK 

We had a few questions this week from excited gardeners on Instagram! See below...

• @Alex.paints.stuff |
  • "Left leaves on my lawn in the fall. When should you rake them up and can I mulch them with a lawn mower?"
  • A: 
• @Jennatabata | "When should we be planting seeds?"
  • A: You can plant now depending on the seed! If you're in Alberta, see our free seed starting chart. If not, check you regional garden centres for resources, so following each individual seed packet information to determine if seeds need to be started indoors or direct sowed outside toward the end of May.  
• @miss_melly1 | "New to gardening and don't know where to start!"
  • A: You came to the right place! Keep an ear on our podcast, attend our free webinars, or come into your local greenhouse for specialized advice :)
• Holly Marisco | "How do you amend soil in raised planters and is this needed annually?"
  • A: Yes! This should be done annually because plants aren't getting regular nutrients from the Earth. Ideally, you want something lighter so the roots have room to grow. Use things like peatmoss, worm castings, etc. 

Do you have a question or a comment for the Helpful Gardeners?

• Send us an anonymous voice note HERE
• send us an email [email protected]
• or find our question of the week every Tuesday on our Instagram

 

NEXT WEEK 

It's the "SODCAST". We've been sitting on this pun for a while now... we're so excited to be joined by a representative of Scotts Canada, Shelly Vance, who is a lawncare expert! Send us your questions so we can ensure you get the most out of your lawn this season.

Turn in Sunday's 8AM MST for more fun with the helpful gardeners!