How to get your garden ready for springtime in Saskatchewan

With spring on the horizon, gardeners across the province are getting their green thumbs ready for planting.

Philip Rispens immigrated from the Netherlands to Saskatchewan over 20 years ago, where his dad was a plant breeder. Ever since, he has been interested in plants and agriculture.

Now, he is the co-owner of Regina’s Sherwood Garden Centre. And with spring finally here, he couldn’t be more excited.

He said there are ways to ensure your garden is healthy and doesn’t harm the nature around it. The key according to Rispens is the right combination of fertilizer and soil.

“If your soil is no good, your crop isn’t going to be very good either,” Rispens said. “In Regina we have very heavy clay, so it is smart to add things to the soil. Bring in good quality topsoil or actually amend it with compost or organic soils just to make that clay lighter.”

He went on to say small adjustments can be made to the garden for a better overall taste in your vegetables.

“Often times, store bought vegetables are very watery and mostly because of the high concentration of chemical fertilizers,” he explained.

“If you use a little bit of organic-based fertilizer on your garden, and improve your soil with compost, it just makes your food that much more flavourful.”

Rispens also suggests using seeds that have not been genetically modified and instead of using plastic planters, using fully-biodegradable peat pot.

He said insects can also be dealt with by the use of netting and amino acid-based sprays, as opposed to chemical sprays.

“The natural repellents for insects would be like insecticidal soaps, which are fatty acid-based, and not harmful for the environment. Just harmful for the insect,” Rispens said.

Those waiting for the ground to thaw may not have to wait long. According to Environment Canada, temperatures this week are supposed to be in the double digits throughout the week.