Gardening in Ontario is a race against the calendar. We have a short, intense growing season. If you start too late, you get no tomatoes. If you start too early, the frost kills your hard work and you have to start over. Ignore the generic advice you see on Instagram from gardeners in California, unless you have a greenhouse you can't do what they can. Follow these steps instead. April 15: The False Spring The air feels warm, and the winter-cramped eager beavers race to the

People might think rain barrels are just an eco-friendly gesture—a nice thing to do for the planet. But why rely on city water and suffer through drought restrictions when you can catch the free water that falls from the clouds? A rain barrel isn't a plastic drum of mosquito water: it's a thermal battery, a chemical filter, and a gravity pump. Stop wasting money on the city and start harvesting the clouds. Rainwater is better for your plants. City water is treated to be safe

A garden bed isn't a lawn decoration. It's an organic factory that converts water and sunlight into calories. Like any machine, if it doesn't get enough power, it doesn't work properly. Orienting your bed to receive maximum sunlight is a crucial component to a successful harvest. In Southern Ontario, the sun is always in the southern half of the sky. In the winter it hugs the horizon, and in the summer makes wide overhead sweeps from east to west. You want to place your bed w