first published October 22, 2009

Fall is aptly named. Not only do the leaves fall from trees, but our desire to garden seems to fall to the dumpster just as quickly. While spring is all about exuberance and rejuvenation, autumn is like the cleanup after a big party: tedious but necessary. After all, no one wants to stare at lawn furniture poking through the snow all winter. But while cleanup is a necessary evil to get our gardens in shape for next spring, there is still some opportunity to squeeze a bit of planting into the waning days of autumn. With that in mind, here is your fall checklist.

Plant some tulips. No, the recent cold snap has not been conducive to digging around in flowerbeds, but I have planted tulips in the middle of November some years and had great results. Mother Nature and her close friend El Nino will ultimately determine if you can plant tulips after the last trick-or-treater has left your yard, but be ready if the opportunity presents itself. Here are a few tips for great results. Choose bulbs that are firm and free of soft spots (the larger the bulb or corm, the larger the flower). Choose a location in full sun or that receives only morning shade. Plant to a depth that’s three times the height of the bulb and in a well-drained location where water doesn’t puddle.

Clean up fallen fruit and leaves. Very few pests head off for warm winter climes. One method of adaptation to winter is to toughen up by increasing the anti-freeze in their body chemistry so that they can endure the sub-zero temperatures. But even with this physical transformation, bugs can take only so much cold and, therefore, still require shelter to survive the bitter cold. Old dead leaves and plant debris can provide an excellent winter abode, so cleaning up your yard will reduce safe havens for pests. Leafhoppers (the culprits responsible for turning Virginia creeper leaves into scorched-looking skeletons) are particularly big fans of fall debris. To reduce the over-wintering population, clean up the leaf litter around the base of your Virginia creeper before the snow flies.

Grab a shovel and some steely resolve. Don’t let poor performers ruin your garden party. There’s just no sense hanging on to a plant that, year after year, is a perpetual disappointment. If you have a delphinium that consistently performs poorly, cut your losses and rip it out. Yes, I know it’s tough to get rid of a plant that you’ve nurtured for years, but sometimes it’s best to shed a few tears and then dump the deadweight. The same goes for any plant that’s been repeatedly susceptible to disease. Have a phlox that always looks great in the spring but is hopelessly infested with powdery mildew all summer? Rip it out. Patience is a great thing, but if you have plants that aren’t performing, replace them with improved varieties or something completely new.

Water your trees. Never have the trees in our region suffered from such a prolonged period of drought, and a late fall dousing of water can make a world of difference to your trees. Yes, I know the leaves have fallen off the trees, but the soil moisture levels are exceedingly low. Dry, cracked ground allows cold air to penetrate deep into the soil and damage roots. A good soaking can help to “seal” the soil.

Set out some garden mums. Aromatic, gigantic garden mums on the porch can keep the gardening spirit alive for a few more weeks if we don’t have a huge plunge in temperatures. Sure, you might be lucky to get more than a fortnight of colour and fragrance, but hey, a pizza costs about the same and, in my case, lasts mere minutes.

So there you have it. Don’t think of autumn gardening so much as a fall from grace; think of it more like a graceful fall. After all, a pot overflowing with masses of flowers is immensely satisfying, but so too is dreaming about and planning next year’s garden.

I admit that the path to completing the Enjoy Centre still isn’t clearly mapped out. Considering we’re several months into construction, these words don’t always sit well with our comptroller as she tries to nail down every cost. But because we’ve chosen the design-build route (where the design and construction phases overlap to tighten the delivery schedule), I don’t know all the answers.

In spite of the challenges, I think it’s the correct way to tackle this project. While I admire people who plan everything before construction begins (design-bid-build construction), we felt that method was too slow and limiting for our project.

On the other hand, as our comptroller is sure to remind me, the management strategy we’ve chosen is also filled with uncertainty. And she’s right. But as long as we don’t wander too far off the path, which she won’t let us do, I’m convinced it’s the right way to build the Enjoy Centre. It does mean decisions will be made days, hours and, sometimes, even minutes ahead of deadlines. But it also means we can nimbly choose the specific construction route, while staying true to the essence of our vision.

Hits & Misses: Howling success & falling short
Question of the Week: My lawn is hard and compacted—what can I do?
Science & Technology: A dash of horseradish

It was my great honour last Thursday to accept the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce’s Pillar of Business Award on behalf of Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens. In the chamber’s words, the award—which was a surprise—recognized us as “a business that has proven its long-term commitment to our community by staying and growing in St. Albert for over 30 years.” Of course, what enabled us to win this prestigious award was the hard work and vision of our parents, our dedicated staff and the tremendous support of the community. Our congratulations go to other St. Albert businesses that also won awards.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Howling Success
Our Halloween event last Thursday was a great success. While I was attending the chamber event that evening, about 500 children came to our Pumpkin Patch, where they were entertained and given treats. To really set the tone for the evening, 10 of our staff dressed up as witches. Which witch was which, and which witch was most witchy? I’ll never tell…

Miss: Falling Short
Fall is bulb-planting season, but it’s tough to plant them when there’s blowing rain and snow flurries. So, although bulbs rapidly moved out of the store early in the fall, their exodus has been a little more leisurely of late. But don’t despair if you haven’t planted any yet. Bulbs, such as tulips, can be transplanted late and will still bloom wonderfully come spring. Since they’re easy-as-pie to plant, have them on hand and be ready when the weather cooperates—which it’s sure to do any day now.

Question of the Week
My lawn is hard and compacted—what can I do?
This is one of those situations in which the better question is “what should I have done?” Compaction is often the result of too much foot traffic, especially when the lawn’s extremely wet. To help alleviate compaction, aerate your lawn in the fall and spring. You can also top-dress your lawn with compost or manure—this addition of organic material will help lighten the soil.

Science & Technology
A Dash of Horseradish
Horseradish root extracts might be the ticket for controlling potato scab, according to preliminary research in Ontario. Scab (Streptomyces scabies) is a bacterium that causes ugly, but harmless, lesions on potato skins. A potato grower gave anecdotal evidence about horseradish’s ability to control scab to Dr. Eugenia Banks (of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture). She followed up with trials, and the preliminary results indicate a horseradish-solution soil drench offers considerable control of scab on ‘Yukon Gold’ potatoes. Of course, more testing will have to be done before a horseradish treatment could be recommended and registered for use on potatoes. But stay tuned!

Did You Know?
Plant structures called domatia provide nesting sites for ants or mites. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship—the plants provide food to the ants and, in turn, the ants protect the plants from other insects.

“It’s bad luck to be superstitious.”
–Bill Backman

Our spooky night in the pumpkin patch was a great success! Witches, pirates, bugs, fairies and dragons had a chance to wander through the pumpkins and enjoy a few treats. Even staff joined in on the fun and dressed in their witchy best. Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the evening with us. We can’t wait to see you next year!

Hits & Misses: Late bloomers & off-coloured bloomers
Question of the Week: The grass is very sparse under my spruce tree—is the soil too acidic?
Science & Technology: Nothing fishy about tomatoes
The Path to Enjoy: Destined to be enjoyed

The Attack of the Killer…Beet? Bill Franche, a good customer of ours, brought a gargantuan beet into the Garden Centre. It weighed an astounding 3.1 kg (6.83 lb) and had a circumference of 60 cm (2’). We were eager to find out what the variety was, but all Bill could remember was that he bought it here. One thing is for certain: that beet could make enough borscht to keep a family in soup for a month! Hmm…“It was quite a feat for Bill to grow such a beet.” Ah, forget it. I’ll never be a “Beet Poet!”

Bill Franche and his killer beet.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Late Bloomers
Garden mums flew out the door this past weekend. Why, you ask? Well, it’s always the late-season varieties that are the biggest and most spectacular. And what better addition to Halloween than a mum nearly a meter in diameter and jam-packed with fragrant flowers? Good looking, good price—good bye, garden mums!

Miss: Off-Coloured Bloomers
OK, not all colours of garden mums flew out the door this week. Bronzes, yellows and reds are always fall favourites, but the whites just don’t capture gardeners’ imaginations this late in the season. They’re great for events with non-fall themes (such as weddings), but they just don’t scream Halloween. Thankfully, there aren’t many of the less-favoured mums left.

Question of the Week
The grass is very sparse under my spruce tree—is the soil too acidic?
What’s more likely affecting the grass is a competition for water and, possibly, a lack of sunlight. While evergreen trees like acidic soil, they have a minimal impact on soil pH. Unfortunately, even drought-resistant and shade-tolerant grasses can be difficult to grow under evergreens. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the fight. Try bark mulch or decorative rocks instead of grass.

Science & Technology
Nothing Fishy About Tomatoes
I recently wrote an article in the Edmonton Journal about a relatively new growing technique developed at the Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks, Alberta. It’s called aquaponics and involves growing plants, such as tomatoes, in a tank along with fish. Following publication, a reader wrote to the Journal concerned that she might die from her severe fish allergy if she ate vegetables grown in a tank of fish. I can understand her anxiety, but it is unfounded. Tomatoes (or any other plants, for that matter) are incapable of absorbing large molecules such as fish proteins. Just as you wouldn’t expect tomatoes to ever contain animal proteins after manure was added to garden soil, neither would tomatoes grown in fish waste contain fish proteins.

Did You Know?
The world’s largest beet weighed in at a whopping 23.4 kg (51 lb 9oz).

“If a building looks better under construction than it does when finished, then it’s a failure.”
–Douglas Coupland

by Bill Hole

Our enthusiasm for the Enjoy Centre is unabashedly biased. But when other people get excited about the concept, that’s even better.

Take, for example, Mark Harvey from CBC radio’s Edmonton AM who visited the construction site with my brother Jim last week. Speaking on the air later, Mark expressed not only an interest in the elements of the Enjoy Centre—including the café, spa and demonstration kitchen—but a particular intrigue for the whole concept.

“This is a garden centre becoming an enjoy centre—a lifestyle destination,” I heard him say.

That’s exactly what we want everyone who visits the Enjoy Centre to experience. So, I hope lots of other people were listening to CBC radio that morning because Mark nailed our objective. Our centre really will be a place that creates feelings of enjoyment and for more than just gardening.

Construction of the Enjoy Centre continues on schedule.

first published October 8, 2009

What would you say if I said you could own a system that grows top-quality tomatoes, requires no fertilizer, very little water and comes with a free fish dinner? Well, that’s exactly what I’m saying.

The fish/fruit system is not some futurist’s dream. It exists and was even developed (in large part) right here on the prairies, at the Crop Diversification Centre South, in Brooks, Alberta. The growing system is called aquaponics—a closed system where fish and plants coexist in a simple yet harmonious man-made ecosystem (essentially, an aquarium). The genesis of aquaponics can be traced back to 1999, when Eric Hutchings, a provincial aquaculture specialist at the Lethbridge Research Centre, began exploring the concept. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Nick Savidov, a researcher at the Brooks Centre, took over the project and tweaked the technology to the point that it positioned the centre as a world leader in aquaponics.

Now, to understand the nuances of aquaponic technology, it helps to be familiar with the basics of hydroponics—the science of growing plants in a nutrient-rich solution rather than in soil. There are many benefits to this system, but the most significant one is this: instead of plant roots having to fight their way through soil to acquire water and minerals, they can just sit passively by and let the nutrients move to them. It’s the plant equivalent of room service, really.

But while hydroponics is a good technique for growing plants, aquaponics has the potential to produce even more food, even more efficiently, in a comparable amount of space. As Dr. Savidov highlights in his research, the beauty of the aquaponics system is that it’s virtually self-sustaining: the plant leaves (tomatoes, in this scenario) absorb sunlight, the tomato roots absorb water and fish waste, the fish eat fish food (protein, fat, vitamins and minerals) and both species live happily together. Even people can’t seem to mess up the efficiency of the system: we feed the fish, the fish waste provides all of the nutrients that the tomato plants require, and the fish fillets and tomatoes feed the people. It’s a sweet deal (unless you’re a fish).

The other aspect of aquaponics that is highly appealing is the water-conservation component. Consider this staggering statistic. Currently, production of $100 worth of rice requires an incredible 470,000 liters of water. Now, compare that to the measly 200 liters of water it takes to produce $100 worth of tomatoes and fish. In a world of impending water shortages, aquaponics makes a lot of sense.

Intrigued? I hope so. The Crop Diversification Centre in Brooks has all the blueprints for commercial aquaponic systems, so if you’re set on becoming the next great fish/tomato grower, there’s really nothing stopping you. But don’t limit yourself to tomatoes. A wide variety of both plants and fish can be raised aquaponically—salad greens, basil, cucumbers and many other plants adapt well to the system. Tilapia has been the fish of choice at Brooks, but many others have thrived in the aquaponic tanks.

So there you have it. Cutting-edge science right here on the prairies. Although, even with that said, I’m sure Dr. Savidov would give the nod to a certain muse for her inspiration. And she, of course, would be Mother Nature.

We’re finding that attached to every new opportunity at the Enjoy Centre is an equally new challenge. Take our new event space, for example. We’ve often wanted to host events at our current location but haven’t been able to because we’re lacking the appropriate space. You can imagine then how excited we are about the event space at the Enjoy Centre. But here’s the challenge: how do we best take advantage of that space?

We will optimize usage of our new retail greenhouse area by turning it into an event space from mid July until April of each year. The space will be big enough to hold 600 people for a sit-down dinner, 1000 for a theatre-type event or 2000 for a standup reception. Not only will the space be large—it will also be spectacular. The greenhouse will be 10 metres high and have a stage at the east end. As an event space, it could be used for almost any kind of function—from weddings to exhibits.

Two events have already been tentatively booked for 2011— the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards gala in April, and the Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games ceremonies in February. St. Albert is the host city for both events. We couldn’t be more pleased.

With the event space, our tag line—Unearth the Possibilities—really does ring true.

Hits & Misses: Careful carving & spotty results
Question of the Week: How do I store winter squash?
The Business: A spooky evening

Did you notice September’s weather was like August’s weather, while October’s weather is turning out to be more like November’s? In the topsy-turvy weather world, we gardeners must do our best to adapt to everything—including snow in early October. The one good thing about a sudden drop in temperature, however, is that while we humans have trouble living with the adjustment, garden insects have trouble living through it. It may sound cruel, but somehow it’s easier looking at frozen geraniums when I know that aphids have been transformed into tiny green ice cubes.

Hits & Misses
Hit: Careful Carving
In my opinion, pumpkin carving ranks right up there with sword swallowing—both can lead to unnecessary bleeding. So I’m sure the popularity of our pumpkin-carving kits is a testament to those of us who are tired of running for bandages to stem the blood oozing from our fingers. The kits have four different cutting tools, each designed to cut the skin and flesh of pumpkins but to spare the skin and flesh of people! If you want a bloodstained pumpkin for theatrical effect at Halloween, I would stick with the fake stuff from a bottle.

Miss: Spotty Results
Insecticidal soap is a great tool for keeping insect pests at bay. It’s easy to use and, while not the most powerful insecticide, works quite well at the early stages of insect infestations. We have sprayed it on hundreds of varieties of plants without seeing any plant damage, yet one annual we treated this past week looked like it had succumbed to a case of measles within hours of receiving soap treatment. The plant is called Talinum. It’s a relatively new bedding plant that we’re growing two varieties of: ‘Limon’ and ‘Verde.’ Fortunately, we have only a handful of these plants. It just goes to show how important it is to trial treatments.

Talinum ‘Limon.’

Question of the Week
How do I store winter squash?
Storage life—which varies from variety to variety—is severely compromised if you don’t have a cool and humid location. Squash is best stored at about 10°C and with 50–70 percent relative humidity. Practically speaking, that means you need a cold room. Also to determine if squash will store well, try to pierce the outer skin with your thumbnail. If it doesn’t pierce, the squash is mature and ready for storage.

The Business
A Spooky Evening
It’s time to eat, drink and be scary! Last year our Halloween evening was a huge success, so we’re doing it again. Join us for a night of spooktacular fun on October 22, from 6–8 p.m. in our Pumpkin Patch. It’s a great opportunity for families to come in their Halloween best, take pictures and enjoy themselves.

Did You Know?
Plants get 90 percent of their dry weight from the air—more specifically, from the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
—Norman Vincent Peale

Eat, drink and be Scary! Join us in the Pumpkin Patch for a night of spooktacular fun. It’s a great opportunity to come out in your Halloween best, take pictures and enjoy the evening.

Thursday, October 22
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Be There and Be scared!