As winter’s end approaches...

at least according to local groundhogs, people are starting to shift their minds towards spring and summer. Hopefully being outdoors is somewhere near the tops of your spring to do list. One of the best ways to get outdoors in the spring is to dabble in some gardening. Whether you’re a beginner or someone who would just appreciate another seasoned gardener’s opinion there is a number of educational workshops that the community garden group wants to offer to their members this year and if there is interest expand this to all members of the community.

Workshops may include subjects such as:

• Composting Basics
• Starting Plants from Seed
• Food for Small Places
• Growing Food for the First Time
• Vegetable Gardening for Zone Three

Any other ideas would be appreciated and can be sent to garden@northernhills.ab.ca.

If you are interested in vegetable gardening and want to participate in these workshops keep watching the community garden blog or follow the Community Garden link at http://www.northernhills.ab.ca for more information and updates.

There are also some other great local educational opportunities offered by The Calgary Horticultural Society and Green Calgary, being but a few. Below is a great example of a fast approaching event, it looks like a lot of fun.

One step closer to planting...

Only one week until the garden plots are built and filled with dirt. It's got me eager for all things gardening. Unfortunately this cold weather has swept in I've been relegated to researching all things garden and agriculture on the web. In my marathon web surfing session I came across two websites that have amazing, if not interesting information.

Check out Food Politics if you are interested in the complexity and anxiety that our current food system can bring. Or for some information that's a little closer to home, or at least a little more immediate in its scope check out The Urban Farmer. Though be warned, the information is from Edmonton, so don't blame me if you start sprouting Edmontonians. It does have a great section on edible plants for the Alberta landscape, and a whole slew of other information. Of course there is always the fail safe perennial favourite Calgary Horticultural Society website, they have what seems to be an unlimited supply of information to meet any Calgary gardeners needs. And whats even better is if they don't have it on the site they have contact information for someone who is bound to know. If anyone else has some resources I would love to check them out, just post in the comments.