You Call This a Zucchini?

Check out this little video I made on the street in Haarlem, NL yesterday. Yes- I am home from Floriade and will be posting bigger things soon - but this is a trial run!

P.S. WE have already been eating zucchinis at home. Here is a photo of a plant I am growing from  Renee's Garden seeds called Astia Container Zucchini. I seeded it on April 15th and my husband transplanted it for me into this patio pot mid-May. It was producing edible fruits when I returned from my trip to Floriade in Europe in late June. What fun! Just over two months from seeding to eating!

Report From Floriade in Holland

I will be reporting in about Floriade on CBC radio- Alberta at Noon - as soon as I get home from Floriade in Holland on June 22, 2012. If you  haven't heard of this premiere horticulture event look it up on line! My personal impressions and loads of photos will be put on this site as soon as I can after I return.

Meanwhile don't worry if you don't see any blog updates..... I will be back! Here is a sneak peak of the landscape views there:

What would Donna Do?

Yes my garden cartoon in the Calgary Herald is another fun addition to the body of work by Mariko McCrae and I - check it out in today's Herald. Here is a bit of a teaser -

If you are building pots make sure to add a thriller, spiller and filler!

Water Your Pots - Automatically

Today I interviewed Helen Gitzel at Regency irrigation in Calgary to get the details on watering pots automatically. My husband set up a system for me but - alas- I didn't know what to call the bits and pieces he used so I called Regency. If you want to set up your own self watering system and you are not too handy, you can call most irrigation companies  and they will walk you through it. Or you could go to Regency in person if you are local and want to customize something for your own pots and plants.

1. Hose y or splitter

2. Rubber garden hose (measure to get the right length so you don't have a bunch of extra hose)

3. Automatic timer (ranges in price 19.95- 115.00)

4. Multi- port bubbler

5. 1/4 inch micro tubing 

6. Micro sprinkler or bubbler - one for each pot you want to water.

After you set up the system test it out to make sure you have enough time. I have pots in a sunny area with soilless mix instead of soil so I use about 10 minutes of water every day. 

Have fun!